As this is written, we are at the start of our third day at Cavallo Point, located in California’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This is our country’s newest national park lodging facility, although a qualifier is required because the lodge is in a century-old U.S. Army post located just north of the famed Golden Gate Bridget.

Near-completion of a $2.5 million, two-year remodeling was evident during our recent stay at Death Valley National Park's Furnace Creek Ranch.

One of the most beautiful settings for a national park stay is Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park. Set on the shores of Swift Current Lake with a view of the craggy Rockies in all directions, the lodge is one of the venerable old souls of the National Park System's lodging fraternity. But, sadly, it's well-worn and shabby in places. To remedy that, there's a renovation plan under way.

Regular guests of national park lodges have undoubtedly noticed persistent increases in room rates. Although we no longer have the receipt, it seems that we paid $225 per night during our 1996 stay in Yosemite National Park’s Ahwahnee for a room that now goes for approximately $500 per night. It probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that during the past decade lodging rates in national parks have risen faster than the Consumer Price Index.