Campers opt for creature comforts
The ready aren’t so rough anymore. Fueled by baby boomers’ preference for warm beds and showers in the wilderness, more Americans appear to be giving a cold shoulder to camping in the nation’s parks. Camping at national park sites slid 12% between 1999 and 2004, according to the Park Service.
Long a prime demographic for the parks, boomers are increasingly opting for more outdoors amenities, including lodges, hotels or cabins. They may hike or mountain bike by day, but by nightfall they head for the place with the complimentary shower cap.
“There are more lifestyle choices, and a national park is another lifestyle choice, like a video game or NASCAR. Society keeps coming up with other things to fill our minds and time,” says William Tweed, chief naturalist at Sequoia National Park.
Other factors have also cut camp attendance, including fewer international visitors, a struggling economy and harried two-income families.
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Joe Robinson
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