The Yurt Village at Barefoot Beach Resort in Penticton
Image Credit: Facebook/Barefoot Beach Resort
June 25, 2023 - 8:00 AM
It’s easy to find a place to stay overnight in the Okanagan but for something different you can opt out of hotels, Airbnb’s and RVs and go for a glamp.
“People like it because it’s not a hotel,” Bree Lindsay, owner of the Barefoot Beach Resort in Penticton, told iNFOnews.ca. “It’s their own individual spot. There’s no corridors to go down. They’re spaced out enough you’re not hearing people talk in the other tent. You’re not looking at your neighbour when you’re sitting out on the patio.”
What she’s talking about is her 13-unit Yurt Village that include studio yurts that sleep two, or two bedroom yurts that sleep six.
“People coming from Vancouver or Calgary still want the city stuff without having to stay at the Lakeside (Resort) or Airbnb an entire home,” Lindsay said. “It’s definitely a middle ground. And, the experience of a yurt is, you’re kind of cool. It’s got the round ceiling and the round building. People like it for their Instagram pictures or whatever.”
They come with kitchenettes, fridges and full bathrooms but they are not for the low budget minded, renting for $140 to $380 a night in the main village with 12 yurts. Plus, there’s a five-night minimum stay in July and August.
Then there’s the Rainbow Trout yurt that fetches $550 a night. So, why so much for this particular yurt?
“It’s the location,” Lindsay said. “It’s literally right on the beach. You’re steps away from the water. And it also sleeps up to eight people. If you do it per person it’s $69 per night per person. That’s as cheap as you’re going to find in the Okanagan in the summer.”
Skaha Lake
Image Credit: Facebook/Barefoot Beach Resort
Getting into the Rainbow Trout yurt is a challenge since it’s booked pretty solid in the peak summer months. One family has it for 17 nights and groups return each year.
Lindsay estimates 80% of her customers are repeat visitors so booking well in advance is essential, although there’s greater availability in the shoulder season. They’re available from about April 15 to the end of October.
At the other extreme is the year-round Double E Sportsman’s Camp in the Christian Valley about 20 km north of Wesbridge near Rock Creek on Highway 33, if a cabin camping qualifies as glamping.
Dictionary.com defines glamping as “camping but with nontraditional accommodations that include some of the comforts and luxuries of home.” So, rustic cabins likely qualify as much as luxury yurts.
“We have shower houses, outhouses, a little canteen store where I sell everything from firearms to yogurt,” owner Chris Lochhead told iNFOnews.ca. “It’s quite an array of goodies there.”
Double E Sportsman's Camp
Image Credit: Facebook/Double E Sportsman's Camp
His wife Tamara also makes a wonderful cheesecake and “probably some of the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve every had.”
There are eight rustic cabins, a wall tent, 10 camping spots, a breakfast nook and the canteen with “an array of needful things when you’re out in the bush.”
The cabins have heat and electricity but guests are asked to bring their own coolers, cook stoves (for outside cooking only) and bedding.
“On the north side we have a big beautiful open field that goes up into the mountains,” Lochhead said. “On the south side is part of the school board property which is wooded and kind of nice. When you look out the front of our property you see where the river is and see this beautiful mountain range. It’s just gorgeous.”
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There’s no lake on the doorstep and the West Kettle River is a 15 minute walk away.
A 20 minute drive away, up past where Lochhead takes people shooting, there’s Hoodoo, Pete and Taurus lakes. In the other direction is Thone Lake.
“That’s god’s lake up there,” he said. “You can see right to the bottom. It’s just gorgeous.”
One of the rustic cabins at Double E
Image Credit: Facebook/Double E Sportsman's Camp
And the price for such rustic glamping?
Lochhead just ran a special offering two cabins for $80 a night. Normally they’re $80 each.
“WOW, is all we could say,” Sandra Benko posted on the Camping in British Columbia Facebook page. “It was a FANTASTIC weekend away from the Kelowna Chaos! As soon as we got on site the owners, Chris and Tamara, greeted us with open arms. They are the most amazing, down-to-earth and kindest camping hosts I have ever met, truly. We LOVED every minute of our stay. The cabins we had were awesome. They were spotless, very spacious and warm.”
While they had the resort mostly to themselves, the Double E website advises booking in advance for their busy season from September to December.
Of course, there are a wide range of glamping experiences to be had in the Okanagan between the luxury of Barefoot Beach and the rustic beauty of Double E.
Check out Glamping Hub, Trip 101, Chute Lake Resort or Unique Canvas for some ideas.
Did we miss you're favourite glamping site? Let all our readers know about it in the comment section below.
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