# National Parks and Well Rated Timeshares - Mutually Exclusive?



## CMF (Feb 26, 2006)

I'm having trouble finding a good timeshare that belongs to II in or near one of the Great National Parks, e.g., Yosemite, Yellowstone.  It seems that there a few choices available and nothing that has a really good TUG rating.

Is there stuff out there and I should keep looking, or am I going to have to go the hotel route if I want to visit a great National Park?

Charles


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## DonM (Feb 26, 2006)

Sorry- I didn't notice that you prefaced your quiry with a request for II.

I don't know about the others I mention below, but I feel fairly confident that you can get Island Park through Trading Places



I haven't been to most of the great nat'l parks- I'm still working on it! However, I have been to arguably three of the best ones, and I stayed at T/S' for two of them.

I guess you need to define the words "good timeshare" and "near", because I feel I stayed at two good timeshares, but they weren't located at the entrance of the parks. 

I stayed at Island Park Village a RCI Gold Crown in Idaho which is about 20 miles from the entrance of Yellowstone. The resort is rated over 7 by tug members.

I stayed at Ptarmigan Village silver crown rated over 7 by Tug members- It's about 30 miles from Glacier Nat'l Park. I believe that Glacier Wilderness resort is just a mile from the entrance.

For Yosemite I didn't stay at a T/S- the demand was too great- but I think there are some good ones, but they are probably about an hour's drive away.


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## mtngal (Feb 26, 2006)

It all depends on your personal definition of a "good timeshare."  I love WorldMark Bass Lake, but can understand why some people might not think much of it.  There's a swimming pool but not some huge, luxurious activities center.  The units remind me of my first ever apartment, which was a 2 story townhouse - roomy, well appointed and comfortable.  However, it's not fancy and doesn't have much "Wow" like many other timeshares.  Does that make it a bad resort to stay at when your time will be spent exploring Yosemite and the national forest around Bass Lake, then relaxing in the evenings by a gas fireplace?  While for some people the simple (not spartan) accommodations would be a detraction, I find it comfortable and desirable.  You'll need to answer that question for yourself.

I've stayed at the WorldMark resort at Angels Camp several times and will be staying there again in April.  It's a long drive (several hours) to Yosemite Valley, but it works for a base for exploring the northwest part of the park.  We're taking our niece to see her first giant sequoia trees, as well as introducing her to Yosemite.  It's quite a bit bigger and has lots more resort amenitites (big activities center) as well as having more variety of activities in the area.  However, I still prefer Bass Lake.

There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to your question, it depends on what you are looking for and what you find "good."


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## eal (Feb 26, 2006)

*Glacier Wilderness Resort*

We own a Memorial Day week at this resort, although I don't think it trades through II.  It is a wonderful place, again best suited for enjoying Glacier National Park rather than participating in more typical resort activities.  Soaking in the hot tub on the front porch after a day of hiking to gorgeous alpine lakes and walking up to the magnificant waterfall on the property at sunset makes this place my favourite of all the ones we own (well, Sedona is pretty fabulous as well, it SHOULD have been made a national park).


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## PrairieGirl (Feb 26, 2006)

*WorldMark St. George, UT*

The WorldMark in St. George UT. is about a forty-five minute drive away from ZION - and as parks go, this one is great to both drive and hike!!  Or just gawk at the splendor.....

Oh yes, the timeshare is top notch as well - but not huge on activities.
LeAnn


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## Egret1986 (Feb 26, 2006)

*My family and I loved WorldMark Bass Lake also!*



			
				mtngal said:
			
		

> It all depends on your personal definition of a "good timeshare."  I love WorldMark Bass Lake, but can understand why some people might not think much of it.




We stayed there when we did a two-week trip to CA.  We stayed at this timeshare for a week.  We really liked the unit, the area and its proximity to Yosemite.  Yosemite is a wonderous place!


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## Egret1986 (Feb 26, 2006)

*We're staying for one week at Ptarmigan Village this July...*



			
				DonM said:
			
		

> I stayed at Ptarmigan Village silver crown rated over 7 by Tug members- It's about 30 miles from Glacier Nat'l Park. I believe that Glacier Wilderness resort is just a mile from the entrance.



DonM,

We'll be doing a two week trip to Glacier and Yellowstone in July staying in timeshares, with two nights reserved inside Yellowstone.  While at Ptarmigan Village, did you find it convenient for visiting Glacier and seeing what you wanted to see?  Do you think it is necessary to stay inside the park for a night or two?  It may be too late to make reservations at this point.  I don't know.  Anything you want to share about the resort and and area?  Thanks!


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## marcmuff (Feb 26, 2006)

We, too, loved Worldmark at Bass Lake.   We were there over Thanksgiving.  I have several albums of our week there, including pictures of the resort, Bass Lake, Yosemite and Kings-Canyon-Sequoin National Parks, on my webshots website.  Click on the URL below--they are probably about in the middle of the albums.

Again, I know Worldmark trades with RCI--I'm too sure about other exchange companies.


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## mtngal (Feb 26, 2006)

I'll second the WM resort at St. George as a base for Zion, as well as Bryce (though it is about a 2 hour drive) and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  

WorldMark does have owners that belong and trade with II so that units can be found, and it has a number of resorts that are reasonably convenient to various other western national parks.  I haven't stayed at the Oregon or Washington resorts, but Discovery Bay is reasonably close to Olympic National Park, the resort they are adding on to in Estes Park is right by Rocky Mountain National Park (they have some units available now, but many have less than the usual WM amenities), they've purchased property in West Yellowstone (to be open 2007?), Crater Lake can be done as a day trip from Klamath Falls, and they have several resorts close to Lake Tahoe (while not in a National Park, it is one of those awesome places that should be IMHO).  I'm probably forgetting some others, but you get the idea.


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## Judy (Feb 27, 2006)

*Worldmark Resorts near National Parks*

The February issue of Worldmark's _Destinations_ magazine has an article on its resorts that are near national parks.  It can be found online here  It might take a few seconds to load.


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## DonM (Feb 28, 2006)

Egret1986:

It's been several years since we're been to Glacier. The area is beautuful, and as I said the t/s is about 30 miles from the park- but the area in general is very beautiful so the trip to the park is enjoyable. Once you get to the park, it will take more driving to get to the center of the park- but again it's all enjoyable. Our visit also was in July, and it snowed and the main road was closed on July 4th!! Beware that the locals love fireworks if you happen to be there on the 4th- they also seem to enjoy (guns) hunting, fishing, and gambling. We thoroughly enjoyed the area.


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## Laurie (Feb 28, 2006)

I'm repeating part of what some others have said, but don't hesitate to stay at Glacier Wilderness Resort if this is II-affiliated. Glacier NP would top many people's lists of "greatest" of NP's.

Expand into Canada, and consider a stay at Pacific Shores (and/or the Aviawest resort in Ucluelet whose name I can't recall). Then visit Canada's Pacific Rim National Park. 

Also, I agree that Lake Tahoe has areas that while not quite National Park, are really lovely - we loved DL Bliss State Park, especially Rubicon Trail. A stay there in North Lake Tahoe would feel closer to a park experience, than some other glitzier resorts in South Lake Tahoe, IMO. We loved our stay at Red Wolf Lakeside Lodge.

Those are 3 very nice resorts for walking/ hiking vacations that I recommend without hesitation. We trade thru RCI though, so I'm not sure about II affiliations. 

And, don't forget Banff/Canmore. There are several resorts there - we stayed in a low-rated one which was fine for us since we spent almost zero time in our unit, too much to do. I think there are some nice II resorts in the area.


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## Egret1986 (Feb 28, 2006)

*Snow in summer*



			
				DonM said:
			
		

> Egret1986:
> 
> Our visit also was in July, and it snowed and the main road was closed on July 4th!! Beware that the locals love fireworks if you happen to be there on the 4th- they also seem to enjoy (guns) hunting, fishing, and gambling. We thoroughly enjoyed the area.



DonM,

Thanks!  Wow, I was just reading something a couple of days ago about snow in June.  I never considered snow in July!  Thanks for that heads up.  We won't get there till 7/8.  We love fireworks, too, like the locals you mention.  They're illegal in Virginia.  We always used to pick them up in SC on our way back from Hilton Head and shoot them off on our property for things like July 4th, Labor Day, New Year's Eve.  The neighbors would come out in their backyards and watch and cheer us on.  We did this for quite a few years.  Unfortunately, last year we got busted and a police lady came in and confiscated our stuff.  She said, we put on a good show, but it's illegal and someone in the neighborhood had called to complain.  Oh, well.  Fireworks are expensive anyway.  

But I digress......Thanks for your reply!  We're excited to be able to visit the Great White North!


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## gmarine (Feb 28, 2006)

CMF said:
			
		

> I'm having trouble finding a good timeshare that belongs to II in or near one of the Great National Parks, e.g., Yosemite, Yellowstone.  It seems that there a few choices available and nothing that has a really good TUG rating.
> 
> Is there stuff out there and I should keep looking, or am I going to have to go the hotel route if I want to visit a great National Park?
> 
> Charles



The problem with timeshares regarding Yellowstone is the shear size of the park. Island Park, while only 20 miles or so from the west entrance, is still another 1-2 hours and longer from other areas of the park. I spent 8 nights at three different park lodges and still didnt see it all.

I would reccommend staying inside the park at one or more of the lodges. Though more money than a timeshare, you will save hours of travel time, especially in the summer or on weekends when there is a lot of traffic.


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