Go Green at Eco-Friendly Bed and Breakfasts

While you're checking off "fireplace in room" and "spa services" in your Web search for that perfect bed and breakfast, take time to remember the most important amenities of all: our natural resources. Many inns are energy efficient and designed to fit the surrounding landscape. Their proximity to national parks and wildlife sanctuaries remind us that traveling is neither decadent nor a luxury - it's a reality check. A person who has spotted a whale breaching the surface of the ocean or looked at a bird's nest from the foot of an ancient Redwood tree is more likely to be mindful of other habitats that go unseen from an office window.

You'll see it all from the Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast in Sandpoint, Idaho, which has only three tent sites within 42 acres of forest. This low-maintenance lodging option offers easy access to hiking trails and a view of the stars. Standing between you and nature is your simple canvas structure built on wooden planks with a Queen size bed and a kitchen with cooking utensils and a wood stove. The hot breakfast served every morning makes roughing it is a little less rough.

The Arbor House, An Environmental Inn in Madison, Wisconsin, was drawn, built and maintained to sustain. The architects planned around the root system of surrounding trees and the contractors used non-toxic lumber cut from sustainable forests. Light shines on the solar-powered roof and through the recycled glass windows, while heat and cold stay out of the well-insulated walls. The beds are made with organic, unbleached cotton linens and washed with biodegradable cleaners. Here a return visit is considered recycling.

Organic, organic, organic. That is the theme at Mast Farm Inn in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The idyllic grounds serve as location for organic vegetable and flower gardens. Without using pesticides or chemical fertilizers, the innkeepers produce a bounty of vegetables, many of which fill the plates at the historic inn's award-winning restaurant.

Have a sniffle-free vacation at Natural Bed & Breakfast in Tucson, Arizona. The innkeeper is especially sensitive to the needs of his guests, offering as allergen-free an environment as possible. Pets and smoking are banned at this Arizona bed and breakfast, and guests are asked to remove their street shoes after entering the inn, as well. Air purifiers are used throughout, but chemicals are not used either on the grounds or inside the inn. Breakfasts feature healthy foods, many of which are made from organic ingredients.

Melitta Station Inn once served 19th-century guests as a stagecoach stop. Now the Santa Rosa bed and breakfast offers guests rooms decorated with antiques and period charm, as well as being environmentally friendly. For several years, the bed and breakfast has run on solar power via a 6-kilowat solar array and special daylight pipes that reduce the dependence on artificial light.

All of the eco-friendly inns have a warm atmosphere and a welcoming environment. Innkeepers are available to direct guests to nearby parks and healthy restaurants -- but they won't leave a light on.

About the Author

Jane Leisteiner enjoys writing and loves traveling to B&B inns. For more information on Wisconsin bed and breakfast inns or Arizona bed and breakfasts, search the iLoveInns website.

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