3 Spots to Stay for Outdoor Lovers

When traveling, you want to experience the environment around you. These three spots offer amazing accomidations to go along with unforgettable nature.
BY TOURING & TASTING

SeaVenture Beach Hotel

Price Range: Call for rates
Address: 100 Ocean View Ave.
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

Talk about location: this casually elegant beachfront retreat sits at the southernmost point of 22-mile-long Pismo Beach, just three blocks from downtown. The rooms include featherbeds, fireplaces, and most have private balcony hot tubs. Guests can opt to have breakfast baskets delivered each morning. There’s also a third-floor restaurant with stunning ocean views. This is a great spot for beach weddings and meetings. Those seeking even more privacy will like the separate three-bedroom Beach House.

Pismo Beach is a classic beach town set on seven miles of pure white sand. It has a relaxed, friendly vibe and all the makings for a couples getaway—including the four-legged variety if you'd like to bring your pet. Pismo Beach is located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles along scenic Pacific Coast Highway 1 and Highway 101, so it’s easy to reach and settle into.
www.seaventure.com

A view of the SeaVenture Beach Hotel from the adjacent pier.

Willows Lodge

Price Range: $239 and up
Address: 14580 NE 145th St.
Woodinville, WA 98072

Dedicated to great dining, relaxation, romance, and inspired business meetings, Willows Lodge provides an ideal retreat in the heart of Woodinville wine country. The lodge is in a fabulous location for wine and beer lovers alike, with more than 100 wineries and tasting rooms nearby and Redhook Brewery right next door. The Sammamish River Trail, which provides access to plenty of outdoor activities, is also adjacent to the property. All 77 guest rooms and seven suites are spacious and well-appointed, featuring bathrooms with soaking tubs that offer clear sight lines to each room’s stone-trimmed fireplace and large flat-screen TV, beds with luxurious linens, fully stocked private bars, and in-room coffee service. There’s an exercise room as well as a 2,500-square-foot spa. Ideal for lounging at the start or end of a day of touring and tasting, the intimate Spa at Willows Lodge features a steam room, outdoor hydro-therapy pool, relaxation room, and six treatment rooms, including a Couple’s Massage room.

These exciting wining and dining options, along with the beautifully landscaped grounds, make Willows Lodge a perfect place for a meeting, corporate event, or wedding. With an array of indoor and outdoor venues totaling more than 5,000 square feet, accommodating groups of up to 180 people, meals catered by Barking Frog, and relaxed Pacific Northwest atmosphere, Willows Lodge delights guests, regardless of their agenda.
www.http://willowslodge.com

A nighttime view of the Willows Lodge front entrance.

Traverse City, MI

Set at the edge of Lake Michigan’s beautiful Grand Traverse Bay, Traverse City is known for its miles of sandy beaches and the Caribbean color of its waters – one reason why National Geographic named it one of its “Ten Best Summer Trips” for 2012. Ancient glaciers carved the long deep lakes and roller-coaster hills that give this region its splendid natural setting. (The magnificent Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, voted “Most Beautiful Place in America” by viewers of Good Morning America, is a breathtaking example.) Traverse City is a magnet for active vacationers who enjoy sailing, boating, beachcombing and kayaking, and has so many top-flight golf courses that Golf Digest named it one of the world’s 50 top golf destinations. Anglers can fish some of the nation’s finest trout streams, while hikers and cyclists explore miles of unspoiled trails in the surrounding forests.

The Traverse City area has a surprisingly moderate climate thanks to the warm Lake Michigan waters that surround it. Today the vineyards of the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas are increasingly known for their uniquely fresh and intensely fruit-forward wines. As the home of the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, the region is also winning recognition for its innovative cuisine. (In 2011 Bon Appetit named it one of the Top 5 Foodie towns in the U.S.)
www.traversecity.com