St. Lucia, a teardrop-shaped island in the Lesser Antilles, nestled between St. Vincent and Martinique, is the tropical paradise you see on postcards come to life. And Jade Mountain, a 600-acre resort perched on its jagged southwestern shore, is the sultry spot where anyone would gladly be marooned. The lush retreat is nirvana for adventurers and hedonists alike, from its extravagant beachside...

There's no escaping the happy fact that you're nestled deep in the rainforest at this Central Pacific hideaway: just gaze up into the banana trees to see curious, white-faced capuchin monkeys staring right back at you. Mimic the laidback form of slinky sloths clinging to the canopy overhead by enjoying the many (human) creature comforts at Arenas del Mar. Relaxation is practically mandatory in...

At Red Cliffs Lodge, the iconic Colorado River and rippling Castle Creek come together—an aquatic intersection that leads to adventure in every direction. Rafters can cut through canyon country near Moab where the Colorado is mellow and welcoming, or ride roiling rapids in Westwater Canyon. Nearby slot canyons make for excellent canyoneering, with exhilarating rappelling routes down into...

Yearning to be pampered in a jungle hideaway? Itching to hike beneath a fern canopy to a thundering waterfall where you can take a plunge in the cool pool below? Jungle Bay Resort & Spa, a relaxing retreat on the southeast coast of Dominica, in close proximity to limitless adventure, is just the spot.

Dominica is the so-called "Nature Island" of the West Indies, a 29-mile-long...

This luxurious backwoods inn is small but mighty. It has just nine rooms, but each is adorned with its own unique New England flair, like the Allagash Suite in tribute to the 92-mile-long Allagash Wilderness Waterway (connected to Moosehead Lake by way of the even longer 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail). The warm, earthy room has vintage paddles and antique oars on the walls and the bed...

You'll find a lot of classic Minnesota in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and Bearskin fits the bill of the classic Minnesota family lodge. The lodge acts as a concessionaire for the nearby forest service campground, so tenting (or RVing) there has some perks that many national forest campgrounds don't—access to the lodge's vast trail system, for example, or a solar-powered...

Take a sunset soak in the gurgling, 100°F mineral pools after a hard day's play, set against a backdrop of aspens and the rocky relief of the San Juan Range, and you'll wonder why the mining town of Dunton Hot Springs (elevation 8,700 feet) was ever abandoned. Luckily the 19th-century log cabins, set on 1,400 wildflower-studded acres, were restored by local craftsmen in the mid-1990s'...

Every guest's first view of the remote Bugaboo Lodge is from above, as you approach via helicopter. From that vantage point, the lodge appears as a mere speck surrounded by the breathtaking, roadless wilderness of British Columbia's rugged Purcell Mountains. Upon closer inspection, it's an extravagant base camp at the epicenter of some incredible alpine adventure. Before going inside, guests...

Awakening in a sunlit room, snug beneath a heavy down comforter, it might seem like you're still in a sleep-addled dream. Just beyond a funky, glass-enclosed nook adjacent to the bed, an enormous glacier-cloaked mountain appears almost close enough to touch. At 12,795 feet, in the cozy confines of the Salkantay Lodge, this is simply reality.

Salkantay Lodge sits in Peru's Soraypampa...

Comfort and the Gobi Desert may not be synonymous in most travelers' minds, but Three Camel Lodge is one notable exception. The 50-acre wilderness outpost is nestled in the foothills of the Gobi-Altai Mountains on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Its location inside Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park makes it an opportune place to roam Mongolia's diverse terrain like one of the country's...