After a few years as the hot new housing trend, the tiny house movement is here to stay. And that’s good. Not only do these tiny houses make great lodging options, but they are also more affordable and eco-friendly. They come packaged with resort-style amenities and quaint interior décor, with many of them situated in lush natural surroundings for a more socially distanced vacation.
If you’re a vacationer looking for a much-needed bucolic, pandemic-friendly getaway, consider renting a tiny house. Read on for our list of the best tiny house vacation rentals for you to book this season.
Bozeman Carriage House
Bozeman, Montana
This tiny house vacation rental has won numerous awards, including “Best Airbnb” by Outside magazine. One look and it’s easy to see why. It’s a picture-perfect modern micro-home set just outside Bozeman, Montana. The Carriage House has been remodeled with reclaimed timber and includes a cozy fireplace and French doors that open to beautiful Big Sky sunsets. A private 2.5-mile hiking trail crosses the property and, for guests looking to explore the area, world-class skiing is within 40 minutes, and Yellowstone National Park is reachable within an hour.
Read more: Best National Park Lodges
The Ark Tiny House
Zion National Park, Utah
This one-of-a-kind tiny house rental pulls inspiration from the wooden ark of the Bible, although we imagine this one is a lot more modern and lavishly designed than that. The 360-square-foot interior blends high-end materials and bright blue pops of color to create a space that’s bold and eclectic. Outside, guests can relax on the private deck with separate dining and relaxing areas, plus a fire ring and a hot tub. It’s all situated just a short drive from Utah’s Zion National Park.
ShangriLala Tiny House Mountain Getaway
Topanga, California
It’s a treehouse, but with all the comforts and conveniences of a full-featured tiny home. Set back on a quiet, secluded driveway in Topanga, California, this vacation rental offers some of the area’s best canyon views. Cedarwood walls and ceilings, plus bamboo floors, create a modern Zen aesthetic throughout. Inside is a lofted bedroom overlooking the simple, open living area with a hideaway workstation (should you feel the need to be productive while on vacation) and a kitchenette. The space opens to a shaded yoga deck with a floating recliner swing and an outdoor shower.
Tiny House Siesta
Sarasota, Florida
For travelers who appreciate small space living, Sarasota’s Tiny House Siesta is a small collection of one-of-a-kind tiny homes. Each one features a unique layout, design, and feel. All are bright, bold, and thoroughly beach-inspired from nearby Siesta Key Beach (routinely ranked as the best beach in the United States). Each is also fully self-contained, with Wi-Fi, private living rooms, loft bedrooms, and full kitchens. Some even offer outdoor showers and private decks or patios.
Read more: Sarasota, Florida Travel Guide
Container Cabin in the Catskills
Catskills, New York
There’s something so cool about converting a shipping container into a legit home. This container in New York’s Catskills has been converted into a modern tiny house vacation rental with all the comforts of home. Guests enjoy essentials like a sofa bed, full bathroom, solar power, and running water. Plus, it boasts relaxing extras like a wood stove, a record player, and a yoga platform with a hammock. There’s even a 30-foot waterfall nearby, perfect for a chill weekend in the woods.
Read more: New York City Travel Guide
Escape Homes
South Cairo, New York
Escape Homes has been building tiny homes for more than 25 years. Within the tiny house community, however, the company’s popularity has recently gone supernova with the release of its Traveler series. The ultra-portable design features a streamlined, house-like exterior with a bright, beautiful interior of blonde wood, high-tech appliances, and modern gadgetry. Anyone looking to spend a few nights in, or kick the tires (literally) of, one of the company’s lovely tiny homes can do so. Escape Homes offers eight locations around the country, from the rural farmland of New York’s Hudson Valley to a stunning vineyard in Oregon. Guests happy with their experience can purchase their own customized Escape home and have it delivered anywhere in the U.S. within 90 days.
Hipcamp
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, California
Airbnb didn’t invent the idea of homestays, but they certainly mainstreamed it. Now, many sites are taking the concept a step further. Hipcamp is a niche homeshare site with a focus on rustic accommodations — think treehouses and tiny homes — in truly memorable destinations. Their database features hundreds of thousands of bookable listings on farms, vineyards, public parks, ranches, and more. While they don’t exclusively list only tiny homes, there are plenty of such accommodations to be found.
This off-grid tiny cabin perched high in California’s Tahoe National Forest, for example, would make John Muir proud. Perhaps the coolest part (aside from the dirt-cheap pricing of many listings) is that these rentals are searchable by terrain (waterfall, swimming hole, cave, etc.).
Read more: Best Rustic Lodges
Getaway
13 Different Cities
If your primary vacation goal is simply “to get away” without caring much about where you’re getting away to, Getaway may be just what you need. The company hosts several tiny house “communities” on wooded land that’s typically only a few hours drive from the city. But the catch (or hook, if you prefer) is that guests don’t know the exact address of their cabin until they’ve already booked. Once on-site, visitors will find the cabins to be intentionally rustic with minimalist interiors awash in raw wood. As the name implies, the houses are designed to be a proper remote destination — a reprieve from our always-connected lives.
All accommodations sleep two to four people and include the essentials: A kitchen cooktop, a sink for basic cleanup, and a built-in toilet and shower. Getaway’s first community of 35 tiny houses is situated on a rural 40-acre site in southern New Hampshire, not far from downtown Boston. Getaway was even featured on Shark Tank and has since expanded to other cities, including New York City and Washington, D.C., with additional destinations planned for the near future.
