- Mount Rainier's pristine summit contains a potentially deadly volcano.mt rainier in winter image by Maximilian Effgen from Fotolia.com
Tropical destinations may be the dream vacation for some travelers, but a resort tucked away in a mountain range offers its own appeal as a holiday getaway. Mountainside hotels offer spectacular vantage point views of the surrounding countryside. Many mountaintop hotels offer access to outdoor attractions like snowy ski slopes and forest trails for hiking during the summer months. While mountainside hotels exist across the globe, the United States is home to many of its own on the country's various mountains and ranges. - As an active volcano, the largest glacial system and the second-highest peak in the lower 48 continental states, Mount Rainier attracts thousands of visitors annually. At 5,400 feet up the 14,411-foot-tall mountainside, the historic Paradise Inn offers a true mountain retreat experience for travelers looking to escape technology. With no cell phone reception, no Internet service and few landline phones, guests have limited access to outside distractions, leaving plenty of time to focus on local activities like skiing, fishing, camping and hiking up to the snow-covered summit. At the 10,080-foot-halfway point called Camp Muir, keep a lookout for an odd, slide-like track carved into the snowfield where many hikers traditionally--though unofficially--use their jackets to slide partway downhill, reducing the two-hour climb up to a 45-minute trip down.
- With more than seven miles of snowy terrain in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, which includes the seven legendary Back Bowls, Vail Mountain offers some of the best skiing in the country for every level, from easy to death defying. Lion Square provides ski-in/ ski-out lodging directly beside the Eagle Bahn, Vail's only gondola running up Vail Mountain year-round. The luxury hotel provides an on-site gourmet restaurant, an outdoor heated pool, a sauna, three hot tubs, a fitness room, a computer center and free Wi-Fi Internet access. Beyond skiing, Vail provides an array of winter activities like snowboarding, sleigh rides, ice skating, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. Visitors to the area outside of the ski season can enjoy whitewater rafting, zip-lining, horseback riding and local events like the Bravo Music Festival and the Vail International Dance Festival.
- Located in New York's Hudson River Valley, on the Shawangunk Ridge of the northern Appalachian Mountains, the historic Mohonk Mountain House was established by Albert Smiley in 1869 as a peaceful retreat promoting environmentalism and conservation. Growing from a 10-bedroom inn to a seven-story National Historic Landmark New York castle, the resort blends modern amenities with a preservation of nature and history. Known as the "lake in the sky," the Mohonk is both a lakeside and a mountaintop hotel with plenty of recreation options to fit the terrain. On the mountain, visitors can enjoy rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding, caving and more than 85 miles of hiking trails.
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