Want to travel in the US while keeping your carbon footprint light? We’ve done the hard work for you and created a round-up of the best eco attractions, hotels, destinations and experiences in the country, which put sustainability at the heart of everything they do. Take a look through and get planning your next adventure.
If you’re after eco-luxury and willing to splash out a bit, look no further than the hotly-anticipated Chatwal Lodge. Situated in 2,500 acres of pristine wilderness in Bethel, around 95 miles north of Manhattan, the resort is built in harmony with its stunning location. Its main restaurant, the Timber Lounge, serves up farm-to-table cuisine with a focus on hyper-seasonal and foraged produce. Plus, there are countless ways to engage with nature, from kayaking on the Toronto Reservoir to stargazing, birdwatching and hiking on local trails.
As the largest botanical garden in any US city, New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) allows visitors to discover a wealth of plant species while working towards their conservation. As well as being breathtakingly beautiful and endlessly fascinating, the historic greenhouse and gardens are also working hard to run as sustainably as possible. To that end, there are modernized, energy-efficient lighting, electric vehicles, composting restrooms, stormwater management systems and other measures to keep its carbon footprint as low as possible.
Las Vegas might not be the first place you think of when it comes to sustainability, but one hotel is looking to change that. ARIA Resort & Casino has not one but six Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certificates and has been awarded platinum by Tripadvisor’s Green Leaders program. It’s at the forefront of energy-efficient design, with measures resulting in a 30% energy reduction across the resort, including a state-of-the-art heat and power plant that captures excess heat to use for hot water. And it’s utterly luxurious to stay in, with spacious rooms offering breathtaking views of the city’s twinkly lights.
The otherworldly emerald waters of Key West’s mangrove islands can be explored in a variety of ways. But whether you choose stand-up paddleboarding, snorkeling, sailing or kayaking, keep things green by booking with Key West Eco Tours. A family-run provider with a passion for preserving the local ecosystem, the company gets all guests to participate in a five-minute clean-up during their visit, while it also runs several clean-up days throughout the year and hires marine science students at Florida Keys College to help create its unique tours.
Frequently listed as one of the greenest hotels in the US, Virgin Hotels’ Chicago resort has earned plenty of eco brownie points. It has energy-saving features throughout, including smart thermostats, water-efficient toilets and well-insulated walls. Guests can also pay a small extra fee to offset any further carbon emissions from their stay. What’s more, with its convenient location in the heart of downtown Chicago, it’s the perfect base for exploring the Windy City.
Thrill-seekers need look no further than ROW Adventures for a fun (and sustainable) way to get their adrenalin fix. The company offers whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing and other watersports along some of America’s most breathtaking waterways, including Idaho’s Salmon River, Oregon’s Hells Canyon and Montana’s Clark Fork River. As well as recognizing, and raising awareness of, the indigenous communities whose land it uses, it also supports the conservation of these areas through a number of initiatives.
The first hotel in America to gain a prestigious LEED platinum certification – a step up from gold – Proximity Hotel, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, certainly has impressive sustainability credentials. Its roof is covered in 100 solar panels which generate electricity and provide hot water, while the hotel’s energy-saving measures mean it uses 33% less water and 39.2% less energy compared to similar luxury hotels. It’s a joy to visit, too, with spacious loft-style rooms decorated with custom artworks, while in the vibrant restaurant you can enjoy farm-to-fork cuisine and choose from 75 different wines.
Nature by name and nature by, er, nature, this stunning eco lodge sits in the heart of Bald Eagle State Park in Pennsylvania, overlooking a tranquil 1,700-acre lake. The hotel has just 16 rooms in total but each is an oasis of calm, offering lakefront views, sweeping balconies and natural-wood furnishings. It’s heated and cooled by geothermal technology, while a rainwater recycling system is used to flush toilets and recycled metal, glass and wood are used throughout. These adaptations, along with other energy-saving measures, have allowed it to achieve a 30% water use reduction and a 14% decrease in energy costs.
It may have been declared the nation’s Farm-to-Fork capital since 2012, but Sacramento’s history of serving up uber-local produce goes back further than that. With some 1.5 million acres of farmland around the city, chefs and residents here have relied on local farmers’ bounties for generations. To get the full experience, head to the Farm-to-Fork Festival (pictured), which takes place each September. Attracting 100,000 visitors each year, the event is a full-blown celebration of sustainable, local farming, with a range of street food, regional wine and craft beer stalls, as well as cooking demos and live concerts.
To keep its stunning beachfront location as pristine as possible, Miami’s The Palms Hotel & Spa doesn’t use any single-use plastic. Instead, there are reusable takeout containers and paper straws at food and drink outlets, as well as refillable toiletry containers in rooms. At the hotel restaurant you’ll find dishes created with a ‘slow food’ ethos, which means sourcing local, seasonal ingredients where possible (some vegetables are even grown in an on-site garden). Meanwhile, the decor takes inspiration from its oceanside setting: think natural furnishings, fresh tropical flowers and sumptuous white bedding.
As the region which is responsible for more than half of America’s biodynamic wine output, Oregon is leading the way in this eco-friendly method of producing wine. What does biodynamic mean exactly? Essentially, it’s a process that views the farm or vineyard as a whole organism and aims to create a self-sustaining system, doing away with chemical pesticides and fertilizers in favor of time-honored natural practices. There are lots of fantastic vineyards to choose from, but Maysara Winery, Beaux Frères and Brick House are all worth a visit.
It’s hard not to be wowed by The Allison Inn & Spa. Perched on a verdant slope in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the hotel’s well-positioned terrace, spa and restaurant allow guests to soak in the views (and sunshine, if you’re lucky). This LEED gold-certified hotel has more than just good looks to offer, though, with efficient measures achieving 50% energy savings across the board compared to similar resorts. Among other things, these actions include solar hot water and electric systems, LED lighting and eco-friendly cleaning and laundry practices.
Not only is Albuquerque's Hotel Andaluz ultra-sustainable, it’s also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and dates back to 1939. The LEED gold-certified resort saves on energy thanks to an award-winning motion-sensitive system, which detects when guests are in the room and adjusts light and heat accordingly. As for the energy it does use, 70% is from renewable sources. Throughout the rooms,1940s Hollywood-style decor provides a nod to its past, with plenty of gilded surfaces, antique wooden furniture and copper bathtubs.
If you’re after something a little quirky for your next break, look no further than Earthship Rentals. Situated in the heart of New Mexico’s desert, around 20 minutes from Taos, there are a number of different ‘earthships’ to suit various travel styles and budgets. According to its website, the ultra-eco accommodation is designed in such a way that it heats and cools itself without the need for fossil fuels, while each structure has its very own renewable power plant to provide light and electricity. Despite being completely off-grid, they feature all the mod-cons you could need, including Wi-Fi, TVs and washing machines.
In Portland, which regularly ranks as one of the best cities for vegans in the world, skipping meat and dairy doesn’t feel like a sacrifice at all. In fact, with so many vegan restaurants and food outlets, the only sacrifice is that you can’t possibly visit them all in a single trip. We’d recommend making a beeline for Plant Based Papi, which serves up meat-free comfort food and Cultured Kindness, a fully vegan cheese shop. Meanwhile if it’s sweet treats you’re after, Voodoo Doughnut is an unmissable Portland institution.
Looking to completely reconnect with nature? Consider booking a lodge or cabin at Nurture Through Nature, an off-grid, solar-powered retreat which makes the most of its incredible location within western Maine’s lakes and mountains region. To go completely back to basics, opt for a yurt, in which you’ll have no electricity but rely on olive oil lamps and solar lanterns for light and use a wood stove for warmth. For a (slightly) more luxurious option, the lodges and cabins are equipped with electricity and Wi-Fi as well as plusher furnishings. The real selling point here though is the tranquil woodland, which is the perfect backdrop for hiking and watersports, or taking part in the retreat’s yoga and meditation classes.
Thankfully, being climate-conscious doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the finer things in life. In California’s Napa Valley, almost a quarter of the county’s 500 wineries have the Napa Green certification, which recognizes them for sustainable growing and production methods, so you can sip away safe in the knowledge you’re doing the planet some good. Highlights in the Green Wine Trail include Ehlers Estate (pictured), a 100% organic vineyard in St Helena; Spottswoode, a female-led operation which uses biodynamic farming methods; and CADE Winery, the state’s first LEED gold-certified winery built from 98% recycled materials. Now the only thing left to decide is: red, white or rosé?
Longstanding environmentalist and conservationist Dayton Hyde is the man behind the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. In 1988, he bought an 11,000 acre patch of land near Hot Springs, South Dakota and turned it into a sanctuary for rare and endangered wild mustangs which couldn’t be adopted. His legacy has endured to this day. Not only does the seemingly-endless patch of prairie support 350 horses, it’s also home to unspoiled natural landscapes, native plants and wildlife, as well as providing an opportunity for visitors to learn about conservation.
Many people head to Yellowstone National Park for its amazing scenery, and rightly so. But if you’re eager to go off the beaten track and learn about how we can protect the region’s beautiful wildlife, make a beeline for West Yellowstone’s Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (GWDC). At this not-for-profit sanctuary, visitors get to see bears, wolves, otters, birds of prey and other animals which, for various reasons, are unable to survive in the world. As well as protecting these stunning creatures, the park provides a wealth of resources so guests can learn about the dangers they face.
Even the most die-hard eco-warriors would be impressed by the vineyard-studded region of Sonoma County, California, where 99% of wineries are certified sustainable by a third-party organization. The area, which is on a mission to become the greenest wine-growing region in the world, is made up of small, family-run farms which focus on reducing emissions and preserving planet-friendly growing techniques. There are around 1,800 to choose from, but Donum Estate, Gundlach Bundschu, Hamel Family Wines and Scribe Winery are said to be the best of the best.
Perhaps one of the easiest – and most rewarding – ways to travel sustainably in the US is just by visiting a less popular national park. As well as avoiding the crowds associated with big hitters like the Great Smokies and Yellowstone, you’ll get to see epic landscapes and unique wildlife which far fewer people have experienced. Among the least visited are Washington’s North Cascades (pictured), Michigan’s Isle Royale, Florida’s Dry Tortugas, South Carolina’s Congaree and Alaska’s Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark and Katmai.
The food at Chicago Green City Market travels on average 65 miles to get there, which is just 5% of the distance traveled by produce in the average grocery store. The food market is also the first in the country to ensure all its stall holders are recognized by third-party sustainability organizations, including USDA Certified Organic, Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Naturally Grown. So if strolling through farmers' markets at the weekend is your thing, this incredible place alone might be enough reason to book a city break to Chicago.
Those visiting the Big Apple shouldn’t miss a trip to the Javits Center’s seven-acre green roof – the second-largest of its kind in the country. As well as serving as a working urban farm which grows 40,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables, the rooftop is also home to a solar farm – the largest in New York City with more than 3,000 panels. Last but not least, it serves as a crucial habitat for bees, bats and birds.
One of the hottest debuts in the world of sustainable travel in 2023, Spirit will be a stunning luxury eco resort in Utah’s Zion National Park. Created by Nomadic Resorts, it will comprise 36 individual suites and four homesteads, whose unique leaf-shaped rooftops will be covered in 3.2kWh of solar panels and photovoltaic fabric to generate energy. Other planet-friendly features include an aquaponic greenhouse, where guests can check out a range of plant life, plus electric bikes for traveling around on.
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