9 Options For Ecotourism Travel In The United States (PHOTOS)

Summer is the perfect time for travel, so make your summer vacation count by picking a fun and eco-friendly trip. The International Ecotourism Society describes ecotourism as: "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." Whether that means choosing an enticing eco-resort or volunteering for a weekend at your favorite hiking trail or local animal shelter, we here at HuffPost Green want you to get going.

Along the way, beware of greenwashing and don't forget to pamper yourself (and the earth) a bit too. Whether you hop a train to the other side of the country or take a staycation in your backyard, explore your ecotourism options starting with our slideshow. Vote on your favorite ecotourism choices and, as always, tell us your top picks in the comments. Bon Voyage!

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Plan a Volunteer Vacation!

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We can't think of a better way to use your time off then to take a volunteer vacation. Not only will you be able to relax and explore but also you can aid a cause that's close to your green heart. Check out The Daily Green's 11 eco-friendly volunteer vacations. One of our favorite suggestions from their list was to volunteer at your favorite trail. At the Colorado Trail volunteers maintain the trail and can stay the weekend for $25 or the week for $50.

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We can't think of a better way to use your time off then to take a volunteer vacation. Not only will you be able to relax and explore but also you can aid a cause that's close to your green heart. Check out The Daily Green's 11 eco-friendly volunteer vacations. One of our favorite suggestions from their list was to volunteer at your favorite trail. At the Colorado Trail volunteers maintain the trail and can stay the weekend for $25 or the week for $50.

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Top Ecotourism Destinations

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DIYGreen: To find a trip near you, use the Mother Nature Network's state-by-state guide to green spots.

Comments

[Aerows]

01:13 PM on 07/18/2010

A vacation isn't a vacation to me if it doesn't include exercise and the outdoors. I'd love the horse-riding shelter and the bike trail. I'm not big on camping, but I've been to many of the National parks.

I had a great time spelunking one year. I went to different caves - it was fantastic. This certainly gave me some vacation ideas.

[fourtruth]

11:04 PM on 07/15/2010

There a new eco-tourist attraction coming if a few rag tag activists get their way. And it will save tremendous suffering and possible extinction of one of America’s historical icons and save taxpayers huge amounts of money.

It’s too much to go into in this little space.

Start with PBS: Nature: Cloud, you can watch all three episodes on the internet. Then watch the little side videos. Where on earth can one visit one wild four legged animal that displays so much? Almost unlimited breath taking diversity of coloration. Socially structured beautiful animals. Sure a Zebra is interesting, but all zebras are, well zebras. America’s wild horses are also the animals that we rode in on. They possess a rich and wonderful history. They are indigenous and for some reason a few million years ago vanished from North American, but not before they crossed the Bearing Straight. Interesting note - we would not have Zebras if it were not for the American Wild horse. Then by twist of fate they were brought back by the conquistadors.

Now they are in danger from cattle, energy, mining and development. But they can be saved. Please visit The Cloud Foundation and see what can be done. There are a few tourist companies working now, but soon there will be no wild horses to see.

They are at risk right now of being zeroed out:

http://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/i-team-bp-connected-to-wild-horse-roundups/

http://www.thecloudfoundation.org/

[PartyPartyParty]

08:06 PM on 07/15/2010

Question: if you fly to an eco-tourist destination, are you really an eco-tourist?

[Jeanpierre Prieur]

09:31 PM on 07/15/2010

Really good question!

[Simon Woodward]

01:32 PM on 07/16/2010

Yes, according to the TIES definition but you are not necessarily a responsible tourist - visit www.icrtourism.org

[Aerows]

01:16 PM on 07/18/2010

Does it make it any better if you drive? That's the thing about travel. Unless you are on a bike pedaling your way across the country you are pretty much not being ecologically sound. The trouble is, many of us work in cities, and we have to use transportation methods to get us away from where we live and work.

There is nothing wrong with going somewhere green and not contributing to destroying it. I see the big picture but I can only do what I can do.

[ARPhotographer]

06:41 PM on 07/15/2010

Check out the Buffalo National River in NW Arkansas. One of the most affordable and unexpected eco-vacation destinations in the southern US. This 150 river, is an affordable vacationers paradise yet largely unknown. Amerca's first designated wild river, noted by AOL as one of the 10 best, but least-known National Parks that everyone must see. Volunteer to help complete the Buffalo River Trail. Visit http://upperbuffaloriver.com for more information. Less than 2 tanks of gas from 18% of the US population. The jewel of the Ozarks.

[StarDagger]

04:54 PM on 07/15/2010

And simply do NOT have kids, which is the largest environmental impact you will have on the planet, ADOPT, your genetic material is not special.
Save these poor kids who are just dying to have you roll up and literally save their lives!

[Simon Woodward]

01:34 PM on 07/16/2010

but don't use rubbers as prophylactics because they require petro-chemicals in their manufacture and are certainly not sustainable or eco-friendly - use a good old sheep's intestine or pig stomach from your neighourhood farm!

[ydnas639]

04:21 PM on 07/15/2010

It's a good time to mention, that when you are picking a national park to visit, for the near future, it would be good to avoid national parks in Arizona. Let the 'papers, please' folk eat cactus for a while. The Grand Canyon isn't going anywhere.

[StarDagger]

04:55 PM on 07/15/2010

I live in an Arizona town that is dependent on tourism for its very existence and I *STILL* say avoid Arizona, maybe the Rethugfooligans will think twice when passing racist legislation!

[Aerows]

01:20 PM on 07/18/2010

I lived in Arizona as a small child, and have visited the Grand Canyon. It is a shame that the place that was once a place of free-thinking and appreciation for the rugged nature of the land has become an oasis for h*te.

The West is slowly becoming subverted by corporate cowboys who know nothing of why the West was a place of sanctuary for so many who were different.

[Marvelle]

04:09 PM on 07/15/2010

This was not a very good post.

[Susana de la Luz]

02:53 PM on 07/15/2010

When I look up from the keyboard where I am now sitting I see thousands of acres of forested foothills with a 12,000-ft. mountain rising behind them. If I get up and look out the living room window I have a seemingly unending view of the plains sloping away to the east. When my husband and I run down our driveway and back (a total of almost six miles) each day at dawn, we run toward the rising sun and on the way back toward the mountains as they turn thousands of shades of orange, purple and pink, a sight of which I have never tired.

If I feel like getting out of the house, I saddle a horse and go riding in the foothills, usually with my daughter-in-law. Or I help her train the quarter horses she breeds, trains and markets. Or I visit with the almost never-ending stream of friends and relatives who come to visit and occasionally stay a few days.

As an aside, a considerable amount of the food we consume -- seasonal vegetables, apples and peaches, chickens -- is raised right here; about 200 yards from where I am sitting.

Though we have seen much of the world and are not too distant from many of the tourist destinations of the southwest, my husband and I cannot imagine why we would want to go anywhere on any kind of vacation.

[bella citta]

03:37 PM on 07/15/2010

Bravo! Thoreau might have written this with you and your family in mind:

I went to the woods because I wished to live delibeately,
to front only the essential facts of life,and see if I could not learn
what it had to teach and not, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived.

peace.

[CCee]

03:51 PM on 07/15/2010

Can I Like.. Have your house :o)

Please :o)

[Yohuntsy]

02:39 PM on 07/15/2010

Sounds like too much work and money. I can get 3 gallons of vodka, watch Youtube and dance naked in front of the computer for a lot less. And I doubt I would experience Double Rainbow Guy by taking a trip.

[seniorfellow]

02:00 PM on 07/15/2010

so ,, I notice the National Park we see is the Grand Canyon in Arizona,,, I'm there ,

[CCee]

03:56 PM on 07/15/2010

It is a thing of absolute stunning beauty - take your polarized shades with you to cut through the atmospherics and haze and it's just like - breathtaking...

Don't forget your AZ approved ID.

[j-tho]

12:40 PM on 07/15/2010

who can afford to go anywhere???

[Gretel1or2]

04:15 PM on 07/15/2010

I can afford to take a walk down the street and around my neighborhood park. It helps me keep in shape while keeping the environment clean.

[leftpinkie]

12:06 PM on 07/15/2010

There's no such thing as an eco-resort or eco-vacation as long as we're still carbon dependent for our energy needs. Do they only serve locally and seasonally produced food? Also how do these eco-resorts deal with their waste? Landfill? More greenwashing by corporations.

[ydnas639]

04:29 PM on 07/15/2010

Do you live in a cave without power of any kind and wear clothing you've hand made out of dead grass and only eat vegetables you've grown uncooked?
If not, then you mind your carbon footprint, and I'll tend to mine.
Simple just doesn't do for complex problems, simple.

[angelinarosa]

12:03 PM on 07/15/2010

A train sounds great but is usually more expensive. I've tried to plan trips and compared Amtrak and flying and it was soooo much more pricey! What a shame. When I was young, we went to California from Oklahoma every year via the Santa Fe Railroad. Took 2 days and nights but oh, what wonderful experiences we had!

[HBHB]

11:08 AM on 07/15/2010

I volunteer every week but if I didn't the last thing I would want to do is take a "volunteer vacation".

[Ljilja]

11:02 AM on 07/15/2010

Some of these ideas are better than others. I love the suggestion to stay at home, ride a bike, or take a train.

But going to environmentally pristine places (especially in massive numbers) surely can't be good for the environment in the long run!

http://graciouslivingdaybyday.com/