Take Friendsgiving on the Road This Year

Stonewall Resort, West Virginia: A Classic Celebration at the Lake

For friends who enjoy making Friendsgiving dinner together, Stonewall Resort offers something you won’t find in the average hotel room: A well-equipped kitchen with plenty of space for everyone to prepare their favorite recipes.

Set within Stonewall Resort State Park in West Virginia, the resort’s Lake House Collection includes two-, three- and four-bedroom homes ranging from 2,000 to 2,650 square feet. Spacious living areas, oversized windows, and cozy fireplaces make it easy to spend the weekend cooking, playing board games, and catching up, while separate bedrooms give everyone space to recharge.

The kitchens come with gas cooktops, cookware, tableware, and enough counter space to prepare everything from turkey and mashed potatoes to pumpkin pie. Each lake house also has a covered patio with a gas grill and views of the surrounding woods and water. Smaller groups can opt for one of the resort’s cozy cottages, which also come with kitchens.

When you’re ready to venture beyond the house, explore 20 miles of trails with forest and lake views, challenge your friends to a pickleball match, or unwind at the indoor pool, hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms.

Give the group’s chefs a night off with a meal at one of the resort’s restaurants—perhaps while catching the football games on the big-screen TVs at TJ Muskies Bar & Grill.

The Wigwam, Arizona: A Warm-Weather Friendsgiving

The Wigwam opened to the public on Thanksgiving Day in 1929, giving the historic Arizona resort a fitting connection to the holiday—and nearly a century of experience bringing people together.

Located in Litchfield Park, just outside Phoenix, The Wigwam offers a warm-weather alternative for a Friendsgiving getaway. The 440-acre resort’s adobe-style casitas and luxury suites are surrounded by lawns, gardens, and citrus trees, creating a scenic desert setting where friends can trade November coats for sunny afternoons enjoying the resort grounds.

The group itinerary can be as active or relaxed as everyone wants. Golfers can tee off on three distinctive 18-hole championship courses, while spa-goers can book treatments at LeMonds Aveda Salon-Spa, which boasts amenities like a lap pool, saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzi tubs, and a sound therapy lounge.

With Phoenix-area temperatures often reaching the high 70s in November, there is also plenty of time for playing tennis, lawn games or lounging poolside.

When it’s time to gather around the table, the resort’s restaurants give Friendsgiving groups several ways to celebrate. At Litchfield’s, friends can start with a flight of fresh-baked breads and flavored butters before moving on to pecan wood-fired steaks. A smoked Old Fashioned adds a little theater to the evening, while The Wigwam Bar’s margaritas offer a toast to the Southwest, with hibiscus, lime, prickly pear and spicy watermelon flavors available individually or as a flight of all four.

Skamania Lodge, Washington: A Friendsgiving Gathering in the Forest

At Skamania Lodge, Friendsgiving unfolds against a photo-ready Pacific Northwest backdrop of towering evergreens, mountain scenery and the dramatic landscapes of the Columbia River Gorge.

The resort’s three-bedroom villa gives groups a comfortable home base in the forest, with three full bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a dining room and a spacious living area with high ceilings and a fireplace. Outdoors, friends can gather around the gas firepit to toast s’mores and cozy up under blankets in the crisp autumn air.

Skamania also offers lodge rooms, suites, and treehouses. Although these accommodations don’t have the same shared living and dining spaces as the villa, they give individuals and families the flexibility to choose the stay that suits them best, then come together for meals and activities throughout the weekend.

The setting makes it easy to build a Friendsgiving getaway around shared adventures. Groups can hike the surrounding trails, rent e-bikes to explore the Columbia River Gorge, try axe throwing or soar through the forest on the zipline.

For a quieter way to reconnect, follow the resort’s self-guided forest bathing experience along the Creek Loop Trail, pausing along the way to journal, reflect and share what you’re grateful for. Off property, venture to Multnomah Falls, a spectacular two-tiered waterfall that plunges 620 feet. If your Friendsgiving gathering falls earlier in the season, October foliage frames the falls.

Carve out some time to unwind at the resort’s Waterleaf Spa and enjoy a spa treatment, such as a warm-stone massage or a facial featuring seasonal ingredients.

Friendsgiving can also be a break from cooking: Skamania hosts a Thanksgiving Day buffet, giving everyone more time to enjoy the holiday together.

Explore more destinations across the Benchmark Resorts & Hotels portfolio, a collection of distinct, independent properties by Pyramid Global Hospitality. Located in diverse destinations across the globe, Benchmark’s resorts and hotels reimagine immersive travel, inspiring guests to create memories born from meaningful exploration, authentic moments, and innovative experiences – no matter the occasion. Benchmark guests can earn complimentary gift cards, on-property perks, and destination experiences through the collection’s signature Mosaic Rewards program.