Have you ever slept in a yurt? Do you even know what that is? My family enjoys camping, and when we discovered yurts a few years ago, we found that we liked the experience.
We have long taken advantage of the benefits of camping in Pennsylvania’s state parks, where you can have non-tent accommodations at really good prices compared the same buildings elsewhere. When I discovered that they had yurts in some of their parks, we decided to book one for a partial week.
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The yurts at the Pennsylvania state parks are pretty popular, and they generally require a full week reservation, so it can be hard to get one at the last minute.
If you want to stay for a few days, you can call (the online booking doesn’t always work for shorter stays, but you can give it a try!) and ask and they will manually book it for you.
During that particular year, all our camping gear was in storage. The yurt made it nice, because it was furnished with bunk beds and a fridge and stovetop. That allowed us to cook without our campstove, and have a place to stay without our tent and a place to sleep without air mattresses or cots or sleeping bags.
The yurt had a heater, but no air conditioning. The top window could open letting out excess heat, and there was a ceiling fan.
There was a deck attached to the outside, and there was a picnic table on it. The fire ring was a little ways away from the yurt, and had benches to sit on if you didn’t have chairs.
The one downside was bathrooms. There were portable toilets close by, but if you wanted a real flushing toilet, sinks with running water, or a shower, your option was a little further (but still not far).
Our experience was at Yellow Creek State Park, but I imagine other parks are similar.
We have also stayed at Promised Land State Park in a cabin that was $35 per night (also without running water, which was available close by).
Rates are different for Pennsylvania residents and non-residents, but generally one night in a yurt will be under $70 per night (We paid around $38 per night).
Some of our favorite places we’ve been in Pennsylvania are Knoebels (a vintage amusement park with free admission and great food), Carnegie Science Center (the extensive miniature railroad is my favorite), and the Johnstown Inclined Plane Funicular.
