5 Best Hotels in The Sierra Nevada, California

Guests at Rio Sierra come for the river views, the sandy beach, and the proximity to Sequoia National Park (6 miles away), but invariably end up raving equally about the warm, laid-back hospitality of proprietress Mars Roberts. The charm of many Three Rivers establishments is their nod to family vacations of 1950s California—in some cases because the places actually haven't changed since then—but Roberts's shabby-not-trying-to-be-chic aesthetic lends her inn a contemporary, lived-in feel. And that beach! From May into October it beckons so compellingly you might have to remind yourself you came here to visit the park.

This mountain-lodge-style hotel, where the river-rock lobby has a wonderfully large hearth, is a good base for exploring the town or going skiing and trout fishing nearby. Rooms are elegantly furnished; request number 140 for a view of the creek. In summer you can sit around fire tables near the water's edge.

Every room at this two-story motel has a patio facing a sun-dappled grassy lawn, right on the banks of the Kaweah River; individually decorated cottages and cabins across the river have private outdoor spaces with barbecue grills. Accommodations are simple and well kept, and the lodge sits a mere ¼ mile from the park gate. Book well in advance.

Cottages, enormous rooms, and landscaping that includes several shaded sitting areas set this motel apart from its competitors in town. It's also off the highway by a few hundred feet, which means it's peaceful as well as pretty. The cottages lack the main building's lake views; some have kitchens and can sleep up to six.

Surrounded by 12 acres of green lawns and a split-rail fence, the Lazy J is a modest compound of one-story motel buildings and freestanding cottages near the banks of the Kaweah River. Some rooms have gas fireplaces; all have coffeemakers.