What’s your favorite part about a camping holiday? Is it the moment when you get out the maps and begin to plan your route? Or setting up the campsite and the feeling of accomplishment when the tents go up? Or burning your fingers while cooking dinner – baked beans never tasted this good? Or when you sit at the entrance of your tent and watch the golden moon rise silently above the tall trees of the forest? Camping is made up of all of these and much more.
Camping is a favorite holiday pastime
What do you love about camping? It’s difficult to put into words, but most people let their actions speak for themselves. Camping is the great American pastime and one of the most popular ways of spending a vacation.
Whether they chose car camping, cabin rentals, RV or tent camping, 40.1 million Americans went camping in 2013. That’s 14% of the population over the age of six years. As of 2013, the annual revenue earned by campgrounds and RV parks was around 5 billion dollars.
Camping holidays plus more
Many campgrounds have other facilities for visitors besides campsites. They might offer hiking or biking trails, fishing, boating, playgrounds for children and even water fun with splash parks. Most people combine their camping holidays with other activities. These are mostly outdoor activities like backpacking, swimming or kayaking.
Families may also pick campsites that are near amusement parks or other attractions like historic sites or even shopping malls. Camping is a fun way to travel, and it’s also much more affordable than staying in a hotel or motel.
Down time with family and friends
For all of these reasons, camping is a favorite holiday pastime for families. Camping enthusiasts do several trips a year, and are no sooner back home than they’re planning the next trip. Mishaps like tents collapsing in the middle of the night, meetings with greedy bears and getting lost in the woods actually add flavor to the whole experience.
One of the nicest things about camping is that it’s a chance to spend time relaxing, going off-script and taking a break from the demands of the everyday world. There are no schedules, no meetings and no deadlines.
Many people have favorite campsites that they return to, year after year. For others, there’s always something new over the horizon, a new trail to follow or a lake to explore. Camping embodies all the lure of the outdoors, and that may be the best thing about it.
