What Is Glamping

Glamping is camping with the comforts of home. The tent, cabin or dome is set up for you, the bed is made, and a bathroom is often steps away. What you get depends on the stay, because the bathroom, heat, power and open months change from one camp to the next.

Glamping Meaning and Definition

Dictionary.com defines glamping as "the activity of camping with some of the comforts and luxuries of home." The same entry gives the British English definition as "a form of camping in which participants enjoy physical comforts associated with more luxurious types of holiday."

The word blends "glamour" or "glamorous" with "camping," and it was first recorded between 2000 and 2005. A person who goes glamping is a glamper. Under Canvas, which runs tent camps near Zion, Bryce Canyon, Glacier and Yellowstone, uses plainer terms: "glamorous camping" and "upscale camping."

The practical difference from camping comes down to who does the setup. When you camp, you bring the shelter. When you glamp, the tent, cabin or dome is already standing when you arrive, and the bed is ready to sleep in.

What a Glamping Stay Includes

What a glamping stay includes depends on the operator and the tent type, so read the listing for bathroom, heat and power before you book. At every Under Canvas camp, the stay comes with sheets, pillows, down comforters, blankets, towels, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand sanitizer. Pack any other toiletries you use, because none are sold at camp.

Bathrooms

Glamping bathrooms come in two main forms. A private ensuite belongs to your tent alone: the Deluxe, Stargazer and Suite tents at Under Canvas have one with a shower, sink and flushing toilet. A shared bathhouse is a separate building with private stalls, and that is what the Safari tents at Under Canvas Moab and Under Canvas Glacier use.

Capitol Reef Resort in Torrey, Utah, sits between the two. Its teepees and Conestoga wagons each have a private bathroom that is detached from the unit, so you step outside to reach it.

Heat and Cooling

Each stay lists its own heat source. Under Canvas tents have wood-burning stoves with wood, firestarter and matches provided, except Kids Tents, which have no heating element. Open Sky Zion gives every camp a mini-split for heat and air conditioning (AC), plus an indoor gas fireplace and radiant heat under the bathroom tile.

Capitol Reef Resort uses a space heater and a portable cooling unit in its teepees and wagons. For a cold-season night, ask the operator how the unit is heated before you book.

Power, Wi-Fi and Air Conditioning

Under Canvas has no Wi-Fi at any location, no electrical outlets in the tents and no AC. Battery-powered fans and lanterns with USB (Universal Serial Bus) plugs can charge at least two phones, and cell coverage varies by location and provider. The Grand Circle camps, which include Zion, add USB fans and misting systems that cool the tents a little.

Types of Glamping Stays

Glamping stays near Utah and Montana parks come in at least six shapes, from canvas tents to glass pyramids, and the bathroom setup varies by shape and operator.

Group size changes the choice inside each type. Capitol Reef Resort's teepees sleep up to two adults plus one child on a cot, while its Conestoga wagons sleep up to 6 with a king bed and twin bunks. AutoCamp Zion's BaseCamps pair an Airstream suite with a canvas tent and have room for six.

The Ranch at Rock Creek has 10 glamping cabins in four styles. The Trapper is a hybrid canvas, wood and stone tent for two with in-floor heat, and the three-room Sweet Grass cabin sleeps up to 7 with two private full baths. For more stays in the state, including ULUM Moab and Conestoga Ranch at Bear Lake, see Glamping in Utah.

Campers, Airstreams and Glamping

A camper or recreational vehicle (RV) counts as glamping by the dictionary definition when someone else has set it up for you. AutoCamp Zion markets its Airstream suites as glamping, and each suite has a sitting room, a private full bathroom and a kitchenette. The Airstream is set up for you before you arrive.

Towing your own RV to a campground is a different trip. You bring and set up the shelter yourself, so by the dictionary wording it counts as camping with more comforts.

Moose Creek RV Resort in West Glacier, Montana, is mainly an RV resort, but it rents four glamping pods. Each pod has a full-size bed, a kitchenette, a private bathroom, a deck, a grill and a fire pit.

Glamping Downsides and Fixes

Each downside below comes with a way to plan around it.

• Short seasons. Under Canvas Bryce Canyon's 2027 season runs May 6 to September 27, and Under Canvas Glacier's runs May 28 to September 13. Capitol Reef Resort opens mid-May through mid-October. For a late-fall or winter trip, look at the Trapper and Sweet Grass cabins at the Ranch at Rock Creek, which are open year-round. Winter Glamping in Utah and Montana lists the season dates of other stays.
• No Wi-Fi or outlets. Under Canvas tents have neither. Pack a USB charging cord, download maps and park information before you arrive, and ask for a USB-C adaptor at check-in, which is first come, first served.
• Minimum stays. Capitol Reef Resort usually asks for 2 to 3 nights. Build that into your route before you plan a one-night stop in Torrey.
• Shared bathhouses. Safari tents at Under Canvas Moab and Glacier share a bathhouse with private stalls. If you want a toilet steps from the bed, book a Deluxe, Stargazer or Suite tent, which have private ensuites.
• No food in the tent. Under Canvas does not allow food inside tents, though drinks are allowed. Plan meals around the camp: Under Canvas Zion has a seasonal, locally sourced menu, while Under Canvas Moab offers grab-and-go snacks and communal grills.
• Warm nights. Under Canvas tents have no AC. If heat keeps you awake, pick a stay that lists cooling, such as Open Sky Zion's mini-split or Capitol Reef Resort's portable cooling unit.

When Camping or a Hotel Fits Better

Camping fits better if you want to bring and set up your own shelter. Glamping fits better if you want a made bed and a bathroom without hauling gear from the car.

A hotel fits better if you need Wi-Fi for work, outlets for devices through the night, or a room in the months when canvas camps close. The exception is a glamping stay open in those months, such as the Trapper and Sweet Grass cabins at the Ranch at Rock Creek. For the full side-by-side on cost, gear and comfort, read Glamping vs Camping.

Glamping Under Dark Skies

Several stays near Utah parks build the night sky into the room. Stargazer tents at Under Canvas Zion and Bryce Canyon have a viewing window above the bed. Both camps call themselves one of the world's first DarkSky resorts and hold star parties on site. Bryce Canyon National Park itself was certified as an International Dark Sky Park in 2019, and Dark Sky Parks in the US lists others.

Glass rooms put the whole sky overhead. Clear Sky Resorts' domes near Bryce Canyon have large geodesic windows, and Bubble Hotels & Glass Domes compares stays of that kind. Dark Light Collection's glass pyramids near Bryce Canyon and Glacier, opening 2027, are designed with triple-pane glass and a king bed positioned for sky-gazing.

Once you know what glamping is, open the page of the stay you are looking at and check four things before you book: the bathroom, the heat, the power and the season.