As a travel writer since 1977, Candy Harrington has been writing about accessible travel exclusively since 1996. She’s the founding editor of Emerging Horizons, and the author of the popular Barrier-Free Travel national park series. With thousands of bylines to her credit, Candy hits the road often, in search of new accessible travel finds. Candy and her travel photographer husband Charles Pannell reside in NE Washington, where they tend to their chicken flock and enjoy a rural lifestyle.
Perched high above the namesake mountain lake, Crater Lake Lodge (explorecraterlake.com) has been welcoming visitors since 1915. And although the historic lodge evokes memories of a kinder and gentler time, this National Register property also boasts modern-day access upgrades. As a result this lakeside retreat is the perfect overnight choice for wheelchair-users and slow walkers who want to extend their stay in this scenic national park. So pack your bags and get ready to explore Crater Lake, with an overnight or two at wheelchair-accessible Crater Lake Lodge.
Wheelchair-Accessible Crater Lake Lodge
Crater Lake Lodge
Although steps grace the front entrance, there’s ramp access on the left side of Crater Lake Lodge. Accessible parking is located around the corner near the side door, which is just steps from the accessible room. And there’s also a drop-off area in front, for folks who can’t manage distances.
Inside, there’s plenty of room to navigate a wheelchair around the cavernous lobby, which is dominated by a massive stone fireplace. There’s also a barrier-free pathway to the front desk, and to the accessible room just down the hall.
Accessible room 107 features a wide door with a lowered peephole, and plenty of room to navigate a wheelchair or scooter inside. It’s furnished with a 26-inch high queen-sized bed with wheelchair access on both sides, a desk with a chair, and a side chair.
Room 107 at Crater Lake Lodge
The bathroom is equipped with a tub/shower combination with grab bars, a hand-held showerhead and a fold-down tub bench. The toilet grab bars are located on the back and right walls (as seated), and the bathroom also has a roll-under sink. And like the bedroom, the bathroom is very spacious, with plenty of room for a wheelchair or scooter.
Bathroom in room 107 at Crater Lake Lodge
Additionally, in keeping with the ambiance of days gone by, the guest room is pleasantly devoid of a phone and a television — as are the remaining guest rooms.
Pleasant Public Areas
There’s also good access to the public areas of the lodge, including the great hall, the terrace and the dining room. Guests can enjoy a selection of beverages, appetizers, soups, salads and desserts in the great hall or on the terrace; or indulge in a full menu of Northwest specialties in the dining room.
The terrace offers the best views of the lake, but you’ll also get an eyeful if you snag a window table in the dining room. And for an even better view of the lake, take a stroll on the accessible paved trail behind the lodge. Just take the ramp down from the terrace, and you’re good to go.
Even if you don’t spend the night, Crater Lake Lodge is definitely worth a stop. Sit back and enjoy a cocktail on the terrace and watch the sunset over the lake. It’s the perfect — and very accessible — way to end a day at this scenic Oregon national park. Keep in mind though that wheelchair-accessible Crater Lake Lodge is only open from May to October, so plan ahead to avoid disappointment.
Sunset view from the terrace at Crater Lake Lodge
Barrier-Free Travel Washington National Parks for Wheelers and Slow Walkers
Barry Dobner was looking forward to his birthday vacation in Greece with his wife and a friend. Sadly he never got further than the Manchester airport. Dobner, who is 79 years old, uses a wheelchair due to a stroke. And according to the Dobners, they informed easyJet of this when they made their booking.
And it all seemingly went well when they boarded their flight in Manchester, as Dobner received the required assistance to transfer to the aisle chair and then transfer to his aircraft seat. And then this wheelchair-user was denied passage on easyJet.
So how did the issue arise that led to him being deplaned? Well apparently either the flight attendant or a passenger overheard someone in Dobner’s party talking about a portable urinal that was stowed in a carry-on bag. Subsequently a flight attendant approached the Dobner party to question them about it; and his wife subsequently informed the flight attendant that yes, they were indeed carrying a portable urinal.
The flight attendant left, and then returned a few minutes later and asked if Mr. Dobner could walk to the toilet. When he replied that he couldn’t — remember he was boarded in an aisle chair — he was told that he would have to deplane.
So What Happened?
Why was this wheelchair-user denied passage on easyJet?
Well according to easyJet it was because he couldn’t get to the lavatory. Now granted they did have an aisle chair on board the aircraft, but according to easyJet, the flight attendants cannot assist with transfers inflight,. They can however push the aisle chair to the lavatory.
It’s unclear if the flight attendant ever asked Dobner if he could transfer unassisted to the aisle chair. Instead she asked if he could “walk to the bathroom”. And quite frankly those are two total different questions. Although Dobner could not walk to the bathroom, he may have been able to transfer to the aisle chair by himself, or with assistance from someone in his party. But apparently that question wasn’t asked.
Generally speaking most flight attendants don’t ask if you can walk to the bathroom if you board in an aisle chair. But apparently the discovery of the portable urinal escalated the issue, and prompted that discussion.
easyJet subsequently issued an apology to the Dobner party for the denied boarding, and then issued a full refund.
But that doesn’t erase the fact that this incident happened. easyJet has had a number of denied boarding incidents for disabled passengers over the years, so it certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for an airline. That said, if you do fly them, it’s a good idea to keep quiet about the portable urinal you may or may not be carrying.
Play it safe — mums the word, when it comes to a portable urinal. Especially on easyJet! And for more tips about flying with a wheelchair, visit www.EmergingHorizons.
Opened in 1898, the historic Castaneda Hotel (castanedahotel.org) was the flagship property of the newly christened Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. After a successful opening of this Las Vegas, New Mexico Harvey House, the railroad proceeded to build more trackside hotels across the Southwest. These properties were run by hospitality entrepreneur Fred Harvey, who successfully operated trackside restaurants along the line. Harvey subsequently recruited Midwestern women to move out west and become Harvey Girls to staff his restaurants. And just like that, the rail travel era in the west was born.
And although the Harvey Houses prospered for decades, the Great Depression and the the rise of the popularity of automobiles ultimately took its toll on the trackside hotel business model. The Castaneda Hotel was closed by the railway in 1948, and sat largely unused for the next 70 years. That’s when a modern-day Fred Harvey — Allan Affeldt who also restored Winslow’s La Posada to its former glory — came on the scene. Affeldt and his artist wife, Tina Mion, purchased the Castaneda Hotel, along with the historic Plaza Hotel, and ignited the rebirth of Las Vegas.
After an ambitious renovation, the Castaneda Hotel reopened in 2019. And although the restored property has the ambiance of yesteryear, modern-day access features were also added, so today wheelchair-users and slow walkers can overnight in a well appointed wheelchair-accessible room in this grand old gem.
A Grand Transformation
Designed by architect Frederick Louis Roehrig, the Castaneda Hotel was built in the Mission Revival style, with an original price tag of $105,000 — an impressive sum for the time. It had 37 guestrooms, plus an 108-seat dining room and a 51-seat lunch counter. The railroad also had their offices on the first floor.
The guestrooms were most often described as cozy — today we would call them downright tiny — and they were spartanly furnished with a bed, a radiator, a dresser and a sink. There were only six bathrooms at the hotel, which were shared by overnight guests — a common practice of the time.
Today the property boasts 22 spacious suites, all equipped with equally spacious bathrooms. And if you look carefully in the rooms, you can see the vague outlines of the former room borders on the floors. The hallway doors to the original rooms were also left intact — some now go to storage rooms, while others are merely decorative.
Furnishing the historic property was a project in itself, as Affeldt networked with antique dealers across the country to find Victorian-era furnishings. And luckily he also found some era-appropriate furnishings in the Southwest, to give the property a real local feel.
Tina Mion played an equally instrumental role in the design of the property, as many of her provocative paintings hang in the guestrooms and public spaces of the Castaneda Hotel. She also crafted a series of stained glass windows for the guestroom transoms, which each depict a different endangered Southwestern animal. Her collective work serves to unify the theme of endangered treasures — both buildings and animals — that can be saved.
Wheelchair Access And More
Entrance to the Castaneda Hotel In Las Vegas, New Mexico
Although the Castaneda Hotel was not originally designed to be wheelchair-accessible, the renovation allowed Affeldt to add access upgrades to the property. And he did an excellent job of providing modern day access features, while still retaining the historic Harvey House charm of the property.
There’s accessible parking located in the front and on the side of the property, with barrier-free access to a ramp that leads up to the front porch. From there, a wide door leads into the large lobby, which has wood floors and plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair or scooter over to the registration desk. A grand staircase dominates the stately lobby, but there’s also elevator access to the second floor, where the accessible guest room is located.
There’s good wheelchair access to the public spaces of the property as well, including the second floor sitting area which features Mion’s art work. Downstairs there’s barrier-free access to the lobby, the bar and the dining room. Enjoy a drink or have a meal, and take in the view of the nearby restored depot. Then, take a walk around to the trackside of the property — just follow the accessible path — to see the facade that greeted folks as they disembarked from their long train journeys.
Wheelchair-Accessible Guest Room
Room 204 at the Castaneda Hotel
Located on the second floor, room 204 has a bevy of accessible features that were unknown in Fred Harvey’s days. Access features include wide doorways, lever handles, wood and tile floors, and excellent pathway access. The room is furnished with two 28-inch high open-frame queen-sized beds with wheelchair access on all sides.
Other furnishings include two night stands, a secretary, a table and two easy chairs — including one chair that is 14-inches high. There’s also a roll-under sink with a lowered mirror located on the far end of the room, but even with that addition there’s still plenty of room to maneuver even the largest wheelchair or scooter around the room.
The bathroom is equally accessible, and it boasts a full five-foot turning radius. It’s equipped with a custom-built roll-in shower with grab bars and a fold-down shower bench. The toilet grab bars are located on the back and right walls (as seated); and the right wall also has a vertical grab bar in addition to the standard horizontal one.
Bathroom in room 204 at the Castaneda Hotel
The room includes lots of homey touches, including two antique headboards, a pair of bedside lamps made from coffee earns, vintage windows that actually open, and one of Tina Mion’s transom pieces — and endangered squirrel. Add in some modern conveniences such as a TV and internet access and you have a very comfortable room — one that Harvey House guests of 1898 would surely envy.
All in all, the Castaneda Hotel features the charm of the yesteryear, and the comforts and access features of today. And that’s a winning combination in any book!
Tina Mion’s stained glass transom
Barrier-Free Travel the Grand Canyon for Wheelers and Slow Walkers
Although there are many contenders for the World’s Largest Peanut, the true winner resides in Ashburn, GA. You can spy the stately goober from I 75, just south of exit 82 on the west side of the highway. And if you’d fancy a closer look, then take the Washington Drive exit and turn west, then make a left on Sylvia/Whittle, between Zaxby’s and the Pizza Hut. The big nut can be found on a small service road on the left, about a half-mile from the turn. Although it was knocked from its perch in Hurricane Michael in 2018, it was replaced and renovated in 2023. During that interim phase, several other peanuts claimed “largest” status, but after the replacement the Ashburn giant regained the title.
There’s a small paved parking lot, and although it’s not striped it is level and seems adequate for the amount of traffic the peanut gets. There’s level access over to the nut, but if you are expecting a big peanut gift shop filled with tasty treats, coffee cups and t-shirts, you will be sorely disappointed, as the only thing at this stop is a commemorative plaque, and the World’s Largest Peanut. Still it’s a fun stop, and there’s a journalistic twist to the nut too, as it was erected in memory of Nora Lawrence Smith, the former editor and co-publisher of the Wiregrass Farmer, Turner County’s award-winning newspaper. So why a peanut? It is of course Turner County’s most important agricultural product. As an added bonus, if you hit this site after dark, it’s also lighted.
Cano’s Castle is constructed almost entirely of beer cans. Owner Donald “Cano” Espinoza actually claims that God constructed this masterpiece. The main structure — a four story house (the king) — was damaged by a fire in 2022. The towers (the queen and the rook) survived undamaged, and they are covered in beer cans, hubcaps and scrap metal. The whole property is surrounded by a structure called the crown, and everything is covered in shiny — sometimes blinding — scrap metal. According to Espinoza this monument serves as a thank-you to the powers-that-be for sparing his life during the Vietnam War. He also notes that he received his inspiration for the structures from Vitamin Mary Jane and Jesus. It gets pretty strange after that, and let’s just say that if you happen to run into Cano, he will give you an earful. Cano’s Castle is located on State Street, between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue, about three blocks east of Highway 285. Although it’s not wheelchair-accessible, there’s room to pull of and take a few photos.
Located in the middle of the California desert midway between Barstow and Las Vegas, the World’s Tallest Thermometer makes a nice stop on the way to Sin City. The brainchild of local businessman Willis Herron, the 134-foot tall thermometer was constructed in 1990 as a tribute to the record high temperature in the US — 134 degrees in nearby Death Valley. Unfortunately Herron didn’t account for the high winds in the area in his original plans, and as a result a strong gust brought the monument down, smashing a nearby gift shop that was under construction.
Undaunted Herron rebuilt the thermometer, and filled the second model with concrete to keep it steady. And although the thermometer was shut down for a while after Herron’s death, today it’s up and running again. It’s easy to find too — just take the Baker exit on Interstate 15 and follow the main drag until you see it on the south side of the street. To be honest, you can see it towering over the hamlet long before you even exit the freeway.
The best vantage point is from the fast food restaurant parking lot next door, because once you pull up too close to the thermometer, it’s hard to get a good photo. There’s lots of accessible parking is available in that lot, and it’s a nice level roll over to the far end, where you’ll get a good view of it all. After you’ve gotten your photos, you can just roll on over to the thermometer, go inside and check out the gift shop and photos of the construction of the thermometer.
Opened in 1911, Casa Del Desierto was considered the crown jewel of the infamous Harvey House chain. This Barstow icon provided elegant meals and comfortable overnight accommodations for passengers of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway; and also housed an elegant ballroom for dances and other social events. Today this stately structure not only offers visitors a glimpse into the past, but it also houses the Western America Railroad Museum.
The museum’s collection is comprehensive — some claim it borders on eclectic — while a cadre of enthusiastic volunteers eagerly await the opportunity to share their collective railroad knowledge with visitors. Exhibits include everything from railroad tools and machines, to vintage schedules, uniforms, dinnerware and signs. And then there’s the model railroad. Access is excellent at the museum too, with accessible parking in the adjacent lot and plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair throughout the galleries.
There’s also a nice collection of rolling stock out in the yard, with level access around the cars. Highlights include an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe caboose and diesel engine, a 1968 Cline wheel truck, and a Union Pacific caboose. There’s also a large Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe horse car, that was used to transport race horses and their owners across the country. And although the cars themselves do not offer wheelchair access, most of them are better admired from afar.
Although this Southern California artistic creation is located about 35 miles off Interstate 8, it’s definitely worth the detour. Just take exit 118 B, east of El Centro, and follow Highway 111 north. When you hit Niland, make a right on Main Street, which soon turns into Beal Road. Once out in the desert, you’ll pass the city dump and the makeshift community of Slab City, before you spot Salvation Mountain on the right.
This colorful masterpiece was crafted by Leonard Knight, who sadly passed away in 2014. His vision was to create a piece that reflected God’s love; and the 100-foot wide concrete mountain colorfully announces that belief to all who visit. And although age has taken it toll on this desert masterpiece, it’s still worth a visit. There’s no striped parking at the site, but there’s plenty of room to parallel park an adapted vehicle in the dirt parking lot. Although there are steps up to the top of the mountain, you can get an excellent view of the entire piece from below.
If you happen to be driving around Northern California on Highway 101, then plan to stop in for a brief photo op with Paul Bunyan and Babe. These massive sculptures are located in the Trees of Mystery (emerginghorizons.com/explore-californias-wheelchair-accessible-coastal-redwoods/) parking lot; and although there is a charge to visit the forest, you can take a selfie with the larger-than-life duo for free. Paul stands over 49 feet high, and Babe measures 35 feet between her horns. You definitely can’t miss them. And for added entertainment, Paul Bunyan waves his hand and says hello, tells a variety of jokes and even asks kids questions. All in all it’s a fun stop, and there’s plenty of accessible parking with ample room to roll over to the iconic duo.
36005 Highway 99
Traver, CA
www.bravofarms.com
Located in sleepy little Traver, Bravo Farms offers a much needed break from California’s monotonous Highway 99. To be fair, this gift shop-restaurant-farm-cheese factory has three other locations; but since the Traver one is the flagship, it’s also the kitschiest.
Accessible parking is located near the restaurant, and there’s level access to the restaurant, ice cream shop, gift shop, fudge shop and saloon. The gift shop has a wide selection of local products including Bravo Farms Cheese, (they have samples) and there’s even a wine tasting bar at the far end. And if you arrive at the right time you can also get a gander at the cheese-making process. Out back there are level pathways around a shooting gallery, a treehouse, a playground, a petting zoo, and a collection of old wooden buildings that are lined with vintage road signs and filled with memorabilia. It’s a great stop for kids of all ages!
