As mid-July approaches, summer is quickly wrapping up. Beautiful weather calls for outdoor adventures, hopefully, one related to some time by the ocean. A staple experience of the American summer, besides BYOB backyard barbecues and the mirth of an overcrowded water park, is the camping trip.
Camping trips are an enjoyable return to more primal roots, while still maintaining the relative comfort of a nylon tent and, if you’re lucky, maybe a hot shower. Bonfires, outdoor cooking (primarily a diet of hot dogs and s’mores), water sports, fishing and evading mosquitoes are bonding experiences for friends or families and offer a way to meet new people in the process.
Regardless of whether your ideal camping experience is a tent under the stars, a yurt or a tiny home with water and electricity, HipCamp will help you plan your next outdoor adventure. Founded in 2013, HipCamp offers privately owned camping locations across the country in an easy to use a format similar to Airbnb.
Boasting the slogan “Find yourself outside,” the HipCamp website lists hosts for tent camping, RV sites, lake camping, beach camping, camping on farms, yurts, glamping and many other unique experiences. Because HipCamp hosts privately owned land, the camps are often much cheaper than campgrounds or camp rental businesses.
Despite urbanization and technological advancement, the number of people in North America who went camping in the spring 2017 has increased roughly 5 million since the spring of 2010. Perhaps this is a response to the lack of daily exposure to nature in modern life, or simply just product of hipsters popularizing “rustic chic.” Whatever the reason, camping is in.
If trend alone doesn’t tempt you, the numerous health benefits of being outside including reduced stress levels, better physical fitness, a boosting immune system, a lower likelihood of developing nearsightedness and improved mental health, just might. An added benefit is that camping offers an opportunity for people to bond, whether that be over the beauty of nature or through braving mutual discomfort.
And for solo adventurers, camping offers a potentially spiritual experience much like the self-discovery journeys frequently made in memoirs and travel films. In his article about glamping vs traditional camping, former Study Breaks writer, Galen Patterson writes, “Through deprivation, I find appreciation and, with it, follows a new zest for life.”
If you’re a landowner who wants to share the beauty of where you live with others, through Hipcamp, you can list something as small as a meadow near a stream as a tenting location. By sharing the outdoors with others, you help encourage respect for nature, provide someone with the best trip of their life and create revenue for yourself.
As summer nears a halfway point, it’s not too late to enjoy the outdoors with the people you love or by yourself! Camping is a cheap alternative to other travel vacation plans and offers a guaranteed memorable experience in any level of comfort desired. AC or open air, the beauty of the outdoors beckons open-minded admirers to an adventure that will be talked about long after summer ends.
