Amid the beautiful backdrop of Yellowstone National Park, Walt Disney World performer Carol Stein hauled out a keyboard stowed in her camper and played a rousing rendition of “America The Beautiful.”
It was just one of the many incredible spots she saw while traversing the United States for six weeks with her husband, Lee Wolfson, and their newly purchased 28-foot RV.
Stein was no stranger to traveling — she’s performed on pianos around the world and is fond of European vacations. But when the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way of a three-week trip to Greece, Stein and Wolfson instead turned to camping for the first time.
Amid social distancing and travel restrictions, she’s one of 46 million Americans who say they’ll travel by recreational vehicles in the next 12 months, according to research from Ipsos.
And that’s not to mention the millions of other Americans who will venture out to spend time in tents in the coming months. Ron Pinks, REI store manager in Greensboro, North Carolina, said he has seen a big demand for camping gear.
“You have this big transition of people traveling globally to traveling within the country and choosing parks as their destination,” he said. “I’m not seeing as many people come in to just buy that one thing they need. It’s more people that are like, ‘We’re getting into this and we’re taking that money we would have spent on going to Disney and now we’re spending it to go camp.'”
An RV Revolution
Sales and rentals of RVs — recreational vehicles including towable trailers and motorhomes — are surging since COVID-19 arrived in the United States.
It’s no wonder why. Nearly a third of Americans plan to travel in the next four months, and two-thirds of them say because of COVID-19, they’ll probably be taking more road trips to avoid airline travel, according to The Harris Poll.
While RV manufacturers struggle with supply chain disruptions, they’re also experiencing record-breaking sales. In May, Airstream saw a 49 percent increase in retail deliveries year over year, representing a record for the company, according to Car and Driver. Forty to 50 percent of Winnebago buyers in recent months have been first-time RVers.
For Stein and Wolfson, the hole in their schedule caused by Disney’s closure and a canceled Greece trip made way for this new opportunity. The couple thought about renting, but then did the math and decided to buy one instead.
“We fell in love with it. We bought one and four days later, we left,” she said. “It’s a 28-foot, it has a separate bedroom, it has a nice kitchen with three burners and a little oven. It has two theater chairs that vibrate and are heated.”
Off they went, exploring destinations from Georgia to Kansas to South Dakota to Colorado and Wyoming. Along the way, the pianist and her husband saw family members, old friends and occasionally staged an impromptu performance, much to the delight of Stein’s Facebook following.
“We just had so much fun together. We went fishing. We went tubing, I went hiking,” Stein said. “I am so filled with gratitude that we had the opportunity to do this and that we had saved enough for another trip, so we just took those funds and put it toward this instead.”
Initially, the couple had thought about selling the RV upon returning from their trip. Now, their minds have been changed.
“We’re not selling it, we like it,” Stein said.
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Feeling ‘Outdoorsy’
While some new recreationists are deciding to commit to purchasing RVs, others might not be ready to take that dive. A marketplace app called Outdoorsy allows first-time recreationists to dip their toes by renting a camper or motorhome.
The service’s co-founder, Jeff Cavins, is on a cross-country trip to meet customers and employees.
“We’re meeting people all over the country that are classical airplane travelers, the Marriott and Hilton crowd, and they’ve all taken to RVs,” he said. “When you travel in an RV, you’re traveling with your own bathroom, your own shower, your own kitchen, so you can completely control the environment and you can keep it away from strangers.”
He said that Outdoorsy has grown 4,500 percent since early April and that more than 93 percent of bookings in May and June came from first-time renters.
Although the pandemic will subside eventually, Cavins said he thinks that the increased interest in camping is here to stay.
“The effect of being in the outdoors and interacting and interfacing with nature has a calming effect and you have less interest in, for example, watching the news,” he said. “You really just want to see the Grand Teton and you know, go catch a fish in Snake River or hike up the mountains in the Rockies.”
Taking to the Tent
While RV travel can offer some of the creature comforts of home while on the road, tent camping presents an opportunity for almost anyone to head to a state park or private campground for an overnight stay.
Pensacola resident Kristen Saxon, along with her boyfriend, Dale Halstead, and two daughters, have together discovered the joys of camping for the first time. She had owned tents and gear previously but usually opted for cruises or resort-based vacations.
“We had to cancel our Disney Alaskan cruise … that was supposed to be Memorial Day weekend. That got canceled in late February,” she said. “We went camping in late February and it was unusually cold, which we were not prepared for. Me and the girls had to sleep in the car, but it was still exciting and everybody still wanted to do it again.”
They gave it another shot on a warmer weekend in March and came better prepared . Saxon and her family have realized that they don’t have to leave all of the luxuries of home behind while spending a night in the tent. They pack electric fans and sometimes have shows and movies downloaded for entertainment.
However, those forms of entertainment aren’t usually necessary, as Halstead pointed out.
“At the end of the night, you’re so tired from gathering wood, keeping the fire going. By the end of the night, once it gets dark, you’re ready for bed,” he said.
Saxon said they’ve taken up charades as a simple in-camp game to play, and they sometimes fish to catch their dinner.
She’s also booked campsites on Hipcamp, an Airbnb-like platform for campsites on private farms and public lands alike. Saxon thinks the family will continue camping in the future.
“We never get bored, there’s always something to do,” she said.
Beginner Basics
For REI’s Ron Pinks, it’s exciting to see so many new people exploring the outdoors.
“We really believe in this ‘outside for all’ mentality, regardless of gender or color or background, so it’s really cool to see people showing interest in something that maybe they wouldn’t have if a hotel was available,” he said.
Because he’s seeing a lot of first-time campers heading out, Pinks said it’s especially important to understand how to “recreate responsibly,” a phrase that’s become a hashtag and website.
The online resource urges recreationists to plan campsites ahead of time, choose lower-risk activities, explore locally and leave no trace by packing out garbage.
Pinks also brought attention to the essential gear of camping.
“You’ve got the important items — there’s sort of this 10 essentials list that exists out there that you can reference and follow. Following the 10 essentials is critical — kind of things like hydration and first aid,” he said.
REI offers online resources to help assist new campers in their journeys by making gear recommendations and providing packing lists. Outside magazine also provides a beginner’s guide.
Like others, Pinks is noticing the renewed interest in camping and thinks the trend is here to stay.
“I think there’s a lot of people realizing the joys of the outdoors and maybe getting back to something they knew as a kid or something they did one time and sort of moved on from,” he said. “I think there’s quite a bit of staying power … Once you’ve got the gear, it’s pretty easy to plan a low-cost trip to camp.”
To learn more: Visit floridastateparks.org, nps.gov
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, recreation.gov, outdoorsy.com, hipcamp.com and rei.com.Find me on Twitter @PConnPie, Instagram @PConnPie or send me an email: [email protected].