Wake Up Among California Redwoods At This Luxurious Glamping Spot

The freshly restored Alila Ventana Big Sur Resort is turning heads. Resort renovators BraytonHughes attempted to "tap into the free spirit of The Golden State" and give the grounds a facelift that adhered to the "deeply rooted bohemian character" of the area. Their work received high marks: The USAToday 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards ranked the roost as the 9th best all-inclusive stay in the entire country, and the Forbes Travel Guide awarded the sweeping views and villas of this resort with 4 stars of verified luxury. 

Ventana Big Sur has beautiful rooms, relaxing spas, and Santa Barbara prawns, but there's more to these weathered-cedar grounds than suites and villas. There are also canvas tents thoughtfully pitched in beautiful creek-side corners of the Ventana Wilderness. The campsites on these hollowed grounds are arguably some of the best glamping in all of California. Sure, there are several epic glamping destinations near Joshua Tree National Park, but this resort glamping spot positions you directly under the towering redwoods of Big Sur, equipped with wood-burning fireplaces, handheld lanterns, and USB charging ports.

You'll wake up to the sun filtering through a canopy of colossal trees, the scent of sequoias smacking your nostrils fueled by the ocean breeze. Sleep outside here in a tent packed to the brim with modern features only minutes away from the beauty of the Pacific Ocean and footsteps from ancient redwoods.

The glamping coordinators at Ventana Big Sur have done a great job of latching onto aspects of traditional campsites that work — privacy, sounds of the river trickling by while you sleep, and picnic tables in the woods — with modern amenities and sweet upgrades, including one of the fanciest campground bathrooms you'll ever see.

Staying in the glamping section does not grant you access to the rest of the resort grounds. That means no swimming pools or fitness studios, but also no resort fees. Call ahead and stock your tent with firewood, s'mores, and beverages, or you can pick them up at check-in and stop by the SurStream, where mixologists meet the redwoods and create hand-crafted, tent-friendly cocktails. Grab a drink and tuck into the seclusion of your riverside property. 

Each glamping tent has a propane-powered firepit and a wood-burning fire pit to stay toasty. The rooms also include hot and cold water, power outlets, lanterns, and the cherry on top: Two cushioned Adirondack chairs.If that's too many amenities for you, you can rough it further at one of the 60 camping sites that are B.Y.O.T — bring your own tent. 

The easiest way to get into the wilderness from your glamping site is to step outside. Voila! You're there. Walk around camp and you'll soon find a hiking trail that guides you deeper into the forest. Take a breather on benches built amongst the redwood trees before you finish the pathway overlooking the Pacific Ocean as it meets the West Coast.

The best way to explore California's striking coast is to cruise the length of Highway 1, and the Alila Ventana Big Sur serves as a great stop along your route. Canvas tents at this resort place you a half-mile away from some of the best action on the entire Pacific Coast Highway. The nearby Rocky cliffs have earned recognition among the best sunset stops along the entire highway. You can set off from your campground in any direction and quickly bump into some of Big Sur's most breathtaking sights. 

If you pull out of your campground and turn North towards Monterey, you'll soon pass Pfeiffer Beach, where watching the sunset bounce through the iconic Pfeiffer Beach Keyhole Rock can feel like a pilgrimage. Make a whole afternoon of it by combining the sunset at the beach with a hike to Pfeiffer Falls. This 2.5-mile loop trail meanders amongst massive redwoods and pokes through to provide views of Big Sur before taking you to the falls. 

If you're heading south from the campground, you'll soon hit the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, home to an 80-foot waterfall feature known as McWay Falls. You can get a closer look at the falling water via a quarter-mile hiking trail that keeps the falls constantly in your sights. Whether you turn left or right out of your tent, you're in for a treat. Several small towns in the Big Sur area rival Italy's Cinque Terre, and the jaw-dropping cliff views from the highway will have you stopping for photos at every bend in the road.