> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.greenlodgingguide.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The 12 Coolest Places to Escape the Summer Heat — and Where to Stay - URL: https://www.greenlodgingguide.com/the-12-coolest-places-to-escape-the-summer-heat-and-where-to-stay/ - Published: 2026-07-14T15:01:03.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-01T23:57:49.000Z - Description: Crisp air, empty trails, and long golden evenings — a dozen cool-climate stays for the height of summer, from an Icelandic lava field to the edge of the North Atlantic, each one measured for how it treats the ground it sits on. - Author: Jonny Bierman - Tags: Europe, North America, #Jonny Bierman The best summer trips are getting cooler. As the classic July hotspots push toward the high thirties, a growing number of travelers are pointing the other way — north, and up — toward places where the evenings still ask for a sweater and the trails aren't shoulder to shoulder. Coolcation, the industry calls it, though the idea is older than the word: go where the heat isn't. In Booking.com's 2025 research, nearly four in 10 travelers said they actively avoid crowded destinations, and more than a third choose an alternative to dodge the crush. Cool-climate regions answer both impulses at once, spreading visitors (and their spending) into quieter corners well outside the peak-season scrum. The places that do it best don't just sit in a good climate; they run on it. Rivers turned to hydropower, boreholes tapped for heat, roofs laid with solar — the same landscape that keeps the summer mild often keeps the lights on. With that in mind, we pulled 12 to highlight, across Europe and North America and every budget, where the cool air and the clear conscience come in the same room. ## The 12 Coolcation Stays - [Torfhús Retreat, Iceland](#torfh%C3%BAs-retreat) - [Ollero Eco Lodge, Finnish Lapland](#ollero-eco-lodge) - [Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland](#alladale-wilderness-reserve) - [Bryn Elltyd Eco House, Wales](#bryn-elltyd-eco-house) - [Chetzeron, Switzerland](#chetzeron) - [Landal Resort Maria Alm, Austria](#landal-resort-maria-alm) - [Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland](#fogo-island-inn) - [Ilimanaq Lodge, Greenland](#ilimanaq-lodge) - [Klahoose Wilderness Resort, BC](#klahoose-wilderness-resort) - [Tutka Bay Lodge, Alaska](#tutka-bay-lodge) - [Salishan Coastal Lodge, Oregon](#salishan-coastal-lodge) - [Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado](#dunton-hot-springs) Green Lodging Guide chooses every property on merit. Some booking links earn us a commission — it never costs you more, and it never buys a place on this list. ## [Torfhús Retreat](https://www.torfhus.is/) *Golden Circle, Iceland · Luxury* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/booking?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fis%2Ftorfhus-retreat.html) Set on a lava plain within reach of the Golden Circle, Torfhús Retreat looks like a Norse farmstead redrawn for the design age: turf roofs pulled low over villas of reclaimed timber, each with a private hot pot steaming against the cold. Inside, the walls are hand-worked oak and pine; outside, the light stretches past midnight and the only sound is wind off the highlands. #### ****The Green Scene** The retreat draws all of its electricity from the Brúarvirkjun hydroelectric plant a few miles away, and its heat from a geothermal borehole reaching roughly 1,000 meters down. Villas are built from reused oak and pine worked in Torfhús's own on-site workshop, down to a repurposed Icelandic fishing boat set into the design. ![Turf-roofed timber villas with private geothermal hot pots at Torfhús Retreat on Iceland's Golden Circle](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/torfhus-retreat-1.webp) ****Torfhús Retreat** ## [Ollero Eco Lodge](https://www.olleroecolodge.com/) *Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland · Mid-range* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/booking?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Ffi%2Follero-eco-lodge-including-a-glass-igloo-on-the-ice.html) On the Arctic Circle outside Rovaniemi, Ollero Eco Lodge trades the price tag of a glass igloo for the same slice of sky: log cabins and a single glass-roofed room where the Lapland night comes to you from bed. Summer here runs long and pale, the forest cool and mosquito-loud, the midnight sun refusing to set. #### ****The Green Scene** Power comes from a supplier running entirely on wind and bioenergy; the glass igloo adds solar and renewable biodiesel. The cabins use composting toilets, full recycling, and log construction. Ollero holds both the Green Key certification and the Sustainable Travel Finland label administered by Visit Finland. ![Glass-roofed cabin under the midnight sun at Ollero Eco Lodge near Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/ollero-eco-lodge-1.webp) ****Ollero Eco Lodge** ## [Alladale Wilderness Reserve](https://alladale.com/) *Sutherland, Scottish Highlands · Luxury (exclusive-hire)* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/expedia?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expedia.com%2FArdgay-Hotels-Alladale-Wilderness-Reserve.h20318092.Hotel-Information) Across 23,000 acres of Sutherland, Alladale Wilderness Reserve hands you a Victorian lodge and the glen around it: red deer on the ridgelines, salmon in the river, and Scots pine going back into ground that lost it centuries ago. You book the lodge whole, staff and all, and the wilderness comes with it. #### ****The Green Scene** An on-site hydro turbine powers zero-emission food production, including aquaponic greenhouses that feed the kitchen. For more than 20 years the reserve has been restoring ancient Caledonian pinewood and peatland, work carried out with The European Nature Trust and supporting Scottish wildcats, red squirrels, and raptors. ![Victorian lodge and glen at Alladale Wilderness Reserve in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/alladale-wilderness-reserve-1.jpg) ****Alladale Wilderness Reserve** ## [Bryn Elltyd Eco House](https://www.ecohouse.wales/) *Blaenau Ffestiniog, Eryri (Snowdonia), Wales · Budget* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/expedia?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expedia.com%2FBlaenau-Ffestiniog-Hotels-Bryn-Elltyd-Eco-Guest-House.h39799262.Hotel-Information) In the slate country of Eryri, Bryn Elltyd is a family-run guesthouse with a hydro lake at the door and the peaks of Snowdonia rising behind it. This is the whole coolcation idea at its plainest and cheapest: walk from the breakfast table straight onto the mountain, and come back to a house that costs less than a city hotel. #### ****The Green Scene** The house runs its own micro-hydro and has been powered by renewables since 2013, which its owners report leaves it carbon-negative. Electric-vehicle chargers have run off the same supply since 2012\. It's a genuine owner-operator eco-house rather than a resort: rooms only, mountains included. ![Family-run Bryn Elltyd Eco House below the peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia) in slate-country Wales](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/bryn-elltyd-eco-house-1.webp) ****Bryn Elltyd Eco House** ## [Chetzeron](https://chetzeron.ch/) *Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland · Luxury* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/expedia?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expedia.com%2FLens-Hotels-Chetzeron.h9369783.Hotel-Information) At 2,112 meters above Crans-Montana, Chetzeron began as a cable-car station and came back as a hotel of stone and glass, its infinity pool set out over the Rhône Valley. Ski-in in winter, hike-out in summer: either way you're above the tree line, in the thin bright air the Valais does better than anywhere. #### ****The Green Scene** Two hundred square meters of photovoltaic panels supply more than half the hotel's electricity, and a wood-pellet boiler burning local Valais pellets covers about 80 percent of its heat. Its walls came from 1,400 square meters of stone recovered within three kilometers, laid by Valaisan craftsmen. The building carries the Swiss Minergie-P low-energy standard. ## [Landal Resort Maria Alm](https://www.landal.com/parks/resort-maria-alm) *Maria Alm, Salzburgerland, Austria · Mid-range (family)* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/booking?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fat%2Flandal-resort-maria-alm.html) At the foot of the Steinernes Meer, Landal Resort Maria Alm is a cluster of chalet-houses built for families who want the mountains without the concierge: self-catering kitchens, room for the kids, and hiking trails that start at the door. The Salzburg Alps keep July in the low twenties and the meadows in wildflowers. #### ****The Green Scene** The resort runs on its own hydroelectric plant on the Urslau river (a station first built in 1906 and modernized to supply electricity and heat to some 550 beds) with EV charging drawn from the same source and a local biomass plant covering peak demand. ![Family chalet-houses below the Steinernes Meer at Landal Resort Maria Alm in Salzburgerland, Austria](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/landal-resort-maria-alm-1.webp) ****Landal Resort Maria Alm** ## [Fogo Island Inn](https://fogoislandinn.ca/) *Fogo Island, Newfoundland & Labrador · Ultra-luxury* [BOOK NOW](https://fogoislandinn.ca/) On stilts at the edge of the North Atlantic, Fogo Island Inn stands where the map runs out, a long white line of a building above the rock, the ocean filling every window. Summer barely clears the low twenties here, and the point of the place is the weather it faces down: fog, wind, iceberg season, the raw north made comfortable. #### ****The Green Scene** The inn runs on hydroelectric grid power plus 69 solar-thermal panels feeding its radiant heat, with a rainwater cistern flushing the toilets and ecological greywater treatment, a first for Newfoundland. It operates as a community social business, returning its surplus to the island through the Shorefast charity, and sources 80 percent of its kitchen from Newfoundland and Labrador. A Relais & Châteaux member with three Michelin Keys. ![Fogo Island Inn's long white facade raised on rust-red stilts above a rocky, lichen-covered headland, with the deep blue North Atlantic and distant islands beyond, Newfoundland](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/glg-1787856223537-Fogo-Island-Inn-Photo-by-Justin-Parsons.jpg) Fogo Island Inn. Photo by Justin Parsons ## [Ilimanaq Lodge](https://worldofgreenland.com/en/ilimanaq-lodge/) *Ilimanaq, Disko Bay, Greenland · Mid-range to luxury* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/expedia?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expedia.com%2FIlimanaq-Lodge-World-Of-Greenland.h117036415.Hotel-Information) In a settlement of fifty people on Disko Bay, Ilimanaq Lodge sets glass-fronted cabins over the water and lets the icebergs do the rest, drifting past from the Ilulissat Icefjord just up the coast. The season runs mid-June to mid-September, when the Arctic light is endless and the temperature rarely troubles double digits. #### ****The Green Scene** The cabins run on solar, and their surplus electricity feeds back into the settlement's own grid. The lodge hires locally, sends leftover food to the village's sled dogs, and has restored 18th-century colonial buildings to house its restaurant, keeping both the economy and the architecture of Ilimanaq in use. ## [Klahoose Wilderness Resort](https://www.klahooseresort.com/) *Desolation Sound, British Columbia · Luxury* [BOOK NOW](https://www.klahooseresort.com/) Reached only by boat or floatplane deep in Desolation Sound, Klahoose Wilderness Resort is owned by the Klahoose First Nation, who bring guests into their own territory for grizzly viewing and cedar-weaving in the cool coastal air. The fjord keeps the summer mild and the crowds absent: there is no road in, and that's the entire point. #### ****The Green Scene** The resort is off-grid on micro-hydro; a 2022 upgrade tripled its generating capacity and retired the diesel generators, cutting roughly 38 tonnes of carbon a year. Guest conservation fees fund stewardship across Klahoose territory, alongside local hiring and cultural programming. It holds a GSTC-recognized Sustainable Tourism Silver certification. ![First Nation-owned Klahoose Wilderness Resort on the fjord in Desolation Sound, British Columbia](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/klahoose-wilderness-resort-1.webp) ****Klahoose Wilderness Resort** ## [Tutka Bay Lodge](https://withinthewild.com/) *Kachemak Bay, Alaska · Luxury (small)* [BOOK NOW](https://withinthewild.com/) In a protected cove off Kachemak Bay, a boat ride from Homer, Tutka Bay Lodge is six rooms set against a wall of Alaskan wilderness: spruce, tide, and the odd sea otter working the kelp. Maritime summers keep it cool and green, and the kitchen, run by a chef the lodge is known for, leans hard on what the bay and the nearby farms give up. #### ****The Green Scene** Self-contained and off-grid, the lodge runs on solar panels, wind turbines, and a biodiesel generator, with wood-stove heat and spring-fed water. It composts all its food waste, buys produce from local farms in returnable containers, and serves Alaska-only fish. Within The Wild is a member of the Regenerative Hospitality Alliance. ![Aerial view of off-grid Tutka Bay Lodge in a cove off Kachemak Bay, Alaska](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/tutka-bay-lodge-1.webp) ****Tutka Bay Lodge** ## [Salishan Coastal Lodge](https://salishan.com/) *Gleneden Beach, Oregon Coast · Mid-range* [BOOK NOW](https://www.stay22.com/allez/expedia?aid=greenlodgingguide&campaign=coolcationstays&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expedia.com%2FGleneden-Beach-Hotels-Salishan-Coastal-Lodge.h104381.Hotel-Information) Above Siletz Bay on the Oregon coast, Salishan Coastal Lodge is tucked into a forest of shore pine, connected by covered walkways, with the Pacific holding the summer somewhere in the sixties. Golf, a spa, miles of estuary trail: it's the most easygoing entry on this list, and the easiest to reach without a floatplane. #### ****The Green Scene** Salishan holds EarthCheck Bronze benchmarking, has cut single-use plastics, and runs recycling and composting across the property. Guest-supported programs fund reforestation through One Tree Planted, and the kitchen sources from Oregon growers and fishers. ![Shore-pine forest and coastline at Salishan Coastal Lodge above Siletz Bay on the Oregon Coast](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/glg-1787864194992-salishan-coastal-lodge-hero.jpg) ****Salishan Coastal Lodge** ## [Dunton Hot Springs](https://www.duntondestinations.com/) *San Juan Mountains, Colorado · Luxury* [BOOK NOW](https://www.duntondestinations.com/) At nearly 9,000 feet in the San Juans, Dunton Hot Springs is a whole 1800s mining town brought back to life: hand-hewn cabins, a saloon with the original bar, and natural hot springs steaming under cold mountain nights. The altitude does the cooling; the springs do the rest, and the whole place is yours to roam between the aspen and the peaks. #### ****The Green Scene** Dunton's Colorado properties run on 100 percent renewable electricity. Food scraps are composted in-ground and kitchen byproducts go to a nearby farm, while a partnership with Kind Traveler sends three dollars a night to a homeless shelter in Cortez. (The hot springs are for soaking; the renewable claim is the electricity, not geothermal building heat.) ![Restored 1800s mining-town cabins and hot springs at Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado's San Juan Mountains](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/dunton-hot-springs.webp) ****Dunton Hot Springs** **Related on Green Lodging Guide** [8 Hotels Secretly Saving America’s Wild PlacesFrom Alaskan aurora igloos to Big Sur redwood retreats, these eight extraordinary properties prove that the most unforgettable stays in America are also the ones doing the most to protect it.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/GLG_Mark_Fill_Forest-Green-2.png)Green Lodging GuideKatherine Parker-Magyar![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/Borealis-Basecamp-aurora-domes.jpg)](https://www.greenlodgingguide.com/north-america/8-hotels-secretly-saving-americas-wild-places/) [Welcoming Bird Lodges and Reserves for BeginnersNine lodges and reserves that lend the gear, slow the pace, and teach you how to look — the friendliest places in the world to become a birder.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/08/GLG_Mark_Fill_Forest-Green-2.png)Green Lodging GuideJenn Smith Nelson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c2/dec20e3b-1a9e-48c8-98f6-df6fc8a84574/content/images/2026/07/glg-00-lead-9-1.webp)](https://www.greenlodgingguide.com/welcoming-bird-lodges-and-reserves-for-beginners/) ## Frequently Asked Questions #### ****What is a coolcation?** A coolcation is a summer trip planned around cooler weather instead of heat — heading north or to higher elevations where evenings stay mild and trails stay quiet. It has grown as travelers look to dodge both extreme heat and peak-season crowds, and it spreads visitor spending into off-the-beaten-path regions. #### ****Which of these cool-climate stays is best on a budget?** Bryn Elltyd Eco House in Eryri (Snowdonia), Wales, is the most affordable pick — a family-run, renewable-powered guesthouse with mountain trails at the door that costs less than a typical city hotel. Ollero Eco Lodge near Rovaniemi and Landal Resort Maria Alm are solid mid-range options. #### ****Which stay is best for families with kids?** Landal Resort Maria Alm in Austria's Salzburgerland is built for families, with self-catering chalet-houses, room for children, and hiking trails that start at the door. The Salzburg Alps keep summer temperatures in the low twenties Celsius and the meadows full of wildflowers. #### ****Which of these is the most remote, off-grid escape?** Klahoose Wilderness Resort in British Columbia's Desolation Sound is reachable only by boat or floatplane and runs off-grid on micro-hydro. Tutka Bay Lodge in Alaska and Ilimanaq Lodge in Greenland are similarly remote, both powered by their own renewable systems. #### ****When is the best time to visit for a summer heat escape?** Most of these stays are at their best from June to September, when the far-north destinations — Iceland, Finnish Lapland, Greenland and Newfoundland — get long days or the midnight sun while staying cool. Arctic-edge lodges like Ilimanaq Lodge run a short season from mid-June to mid-September. #### ****Which stays are easiest to reach without a long journey?** Salishan Coastal Lodge on the Oregon Coast is the most easygoing to reach — no floatplane required — followed by Landal Resort Maria Alm in Austria and Chetzeron above Crans-Montana in Switzerland, both accessible by road and cable car. #### ****How do these hotels stay cool without heavy air conditioning?** They rely on climate and elevation rather than energy-hungry cooling: high-altitude and far-north settings keep summer temperatures naturally mild, from Chetzeron at 2,112 meters to Dunton Hot Springs at nearly 9,000 feet and the maritime cool of Fogo Island and Tutka Bay. #### ****What makes these stays genuinely sustainable rather than greenwashing?** Each runs on the landscape that keeps it cool — hydropower, geothermal boreholes, solar and wind — and most carry independent credentials, including Green Key, EarthCheck, GSTC-recognized certification and Switzerland's Minergie-P standard, alongside conservation, local sourcing and community programs.