AUGUST 2020
PAGE 6
Family
New Rules of Camping Booking apps, glamping, and tricked-out Sprinter vans: over the past decade, life under the stars has been upgraded. Here's your up-to-date guide for enjoying the ultimate socially distanced weekend. From the campers at Outsideonline.com As the country begins to reopen, we'll keep publishing news to help you navigate the state of travel today (), as well as stories about places for you to put on your bucket list once it's safe to start going more far-flung. In the past decade, camping has exploded from the outdoorsy set’s humble pastime to the most popular way to spend downtime. A record 78.8 million U.S. households camped at least once in 2018, says the , and for the first time, 51 percent of new campers were nonwhite. Popular apps like Hipcamp have made it easier to find and book sites on private and public land, and the company is so buzzy that last year, (among others) . The rise of glamping has also helped to make sleeping under the stars trendy: in 2019, Google searches for the term, which began in 2007, reached an all-time high. And #vanlife has fully mainstreamed, with 7.1 million posts on Instagram. Even as the U.S. remains under varying levels of lockdown, found that 46 percent of all “leisure travelers” view camping as the safest form of travel once restrictions lift. Experts that , as long as you avoid crowded campgrounds and ones with shared facilities like poorly ventilated restrooms. Despite the changes that have made camping more comfortable, convenient, and accessible than ever before, all the important stuff has stayed the same—the fresh air, the trees, the sense of escape, and the quality time by the campfire. Here’s your updated guide to what’s still the best way to spend a weekend. 1. Glamping is camping. Glamping was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016. The definition’s ambiguity—“outdoor camping with amenities and comforts (such as beds, electricity, and access to indoor plumbing) not usually used when camping”—allows for everything from bare-bones backcountry yurts to decked-out accommodations like the three-bedroom, two-bathroom tent introduced by the in Montana last year ($2,908 per night). Are you a camping purist who’s become glamping curious? Read about Outside editor Christopher Keyes’s at Under Canvas Tucson.
2. It doesn’t have to be glam. partners with landowners in 29 states across the country to set up basic canvas tents on their properties, each one stocked with a queen-size mattress, a heater, Adirondack chairs, a fire pit, and other essentials. Prices start at $50 per night. www.tentrr.com 3. Stay local. Many states are still under some level of travel restrictions. But even before the pandemic, more campers were sticking closer to home. KOA’s report found that 54 percent of campers traveled less than 100 miles to camp. And you don’t have to live near mountains or wilderness to do so. 4. Definitely take that dirt road. There’s a special joy in turning down an unpaved road, bouncing over miles of washboard, and winding up in an Instagrammer’s dream: gorgeous views, no other campers, and no host plying your wallet for the pleasure of sleeping in nature. This kind of free camping in undeveloped sites, called dispersed camping, is increasingly popular in the U.S. on public lands that permit it, such as National Forest or BLM land. Not long ago, the locations of the best spots were traded like gold, each gleaned from sheer luck or hours spent poring over maps and exploring unmarked roads. Today you can use apps like OnX and to digitally scope out tracks that could lead to potential campsites, or head to Campendium or to find spots marked with GPS coordinates and enhanced with user-submitted photos and reviews. However you find a site, make sure to minimize your impact by Leaving No Trace. Outside contributor Wes Siler. 5. Roughing it is out. The best thing about car camping is that you get to bring everything. Here’s a short list of the guilty pleasures Outside editors have been known to bring car camping: the Kelty Low Loveseat camping couch; a Tempurpedic pillow; homemade dough and a cast-iron skillet to make campfire pizzas; an Aeropress and grinder to make good morning coffee; cleansers, toners, and moisturizers to keep the nightly skincare routine on point; and a comforter with a $135 organic-cotton duvet cover by Alterra Pure.
Photo: Hannah McCaughey
