Zion Glamping Adventures doesn’t need an introduction anymore. For the second consecutive year, the Utah property, full of bell tents tucked into a peaceful cove surrounded by the Canaan Mountain Wilderness, just 45 minutes from Zion National Park, has taken the top spot in The Dyrt’s annual Glampy Awards.
It’s a first in the award’s five-year history. Until this year, repeat winners weren’t eligible. The Dyrt changed that rule for 2026, opening the field to every glamping property in the United States. Zion won anyway.
The rest of the list tells a story about where glamping has settled in 2026: past novelty, past trend piece, into something that keeps expanding its own definition. This year’s winners include a drive-in movie theater in a national monument, a space pod in the Big Bend desert with nebula lasers on the ceiling, and exactly one campsite on a hilltop in the Catskills.
“Glamping is no longer a new phenomenon. It’s a continued, collective experiment to expand the possibilities for campers and glampers alike,” said Kevin Long, CEO of The Dyrt. “Whether it’s outside-the-box accommodations like space pods and converted school buses, or just putting a drive-in movie theater at a campground, at the end of the day, there’s one common goal — provide an unforgettable experience in the great outdoors.”
Zion Glamping Adventures. Credit: The Dyrt
Repeat Glamping Winners
Six of the ten winners are returning honorees. Space Cowboys in Terlingua, Texas, which took the top spot in 2023, is back at No. 2. Located in the heart of the Big Bend region just 10 minutes from the national park and 15 minutes from a legendary ghost town, it draws visitors with hard-shell space pods featuring floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, nebula lasers that light up the ceiling, first-class airliner seats, and a queen-size memory foam bed. Hot showers are fed by a 750-foot-deep aquifer. That sentence, alone, earns a spot on any list.
Ofland Escalante in Utah returns at No. 3. Nestled within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, it features custom-designed deluxe cabins with panoramic windows, vintage Airstreams converted into guest suites, and an oversized pool and hot tub. The draw that gets everyone talking: a drive-in movie theater that shows a film every night of the week, popcorn included.
New Properties Into the Top 10
Four properties are new to the list. Dancing Fire Glamping and RV Resort in Port Huron, Michigan, debuts at No. 4. Spread across 25 acres overlooking Stocks Creek, the resort offers safari tents, a 1963 Airstream, A-frame treehouses suspended in the forest, and a converted school bus. Talk about a property that resists a single-sentence description.
Osa Trail in Kerhonkson, New York, makes its first appearance at No. 8 with perhaps the most stripped-down pitch on the entire list. There’s just one glampsite, perched on a secluded hilltop in the heart of the Catskills bordering Sundown Wild Forest, with views stretching all the way to the Berkshires. Along the drive to the site, a shale outcrop full of prehistoric fossils — mostly leaves and branches, but occasional Brachiopods — is yours for the taking if you bring a cold chisel and mallet. A detail that will either make or break your interest in going.
The Cabins at Sandy Mush Bald in Hot Springs, North Carolina, also new, earns its spot partly because of the inconvenience. A 2-mile hike alongside Bald Branch stream leads to the cabins at an elevation of 5,000 feet, which means you’ve already done something before you arrive. The Main Cabin was built in the 19th century in Tennessee, moved to the mountain, and rebuilt as a cantilever barn-style structure as an homage to Appalachian history and culture.
Nine Pines near Barkley Lake in Kentucky rounds out the newcomers at No. 9. Set within 100 acres of pine trees behind a private gated entrance, the property features geodesic domes with heated jacuzzi tubs and private decks outfitted with a gas grill, Blackstone griddle, and pizza oven, along with two handcrafted barrel saunas nestled among the tall pines.
One of the wagons at North Haven Campground in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Photo Credit: Alec Sills-Trausch
By Alec Sills-Trausch
Returning winners include Loving Heart Retreats in Burnet, Texas (No. 1 in 2024), where geodesic domes feature a star projector that transforms the interior into a private planetarium; North Haven Campground in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, with its handcrafted 25-foot Conestoga wagons featuring a king-size bed, twin bunks, climate control, and wagon-wheel dining table; and The Oasis at Bear Run Farm in Mount Storm, West Virginia, where an A-frame cabin sits directly beside a blue deepwater pond, illuminated by solar-powered lights and heated by propane.
Nominations come from The Dyrt’s camping community. Winners are chosen on a subjective basis: overall glampiness, originality, innovation, and how well the property integrates with its landscape. There’s no formula that produces a list like this. Someone just has to decide whether nebula lasers in a Texas desert pod beat a barrel sauna in a Kentucky pine forest.
Thankfully for all of us who enjoy funky places, both made the cut.
The 2026 Glampy Award Winners:
Here’s the complete top-10 list of winners this year.
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