Home sweet mobile home?
RV, tent and cabin campsites in high demand for summer vacationers
There are more than 5,000 tent, RV and cabin sites in state parks across Pennsylvania. But over the Fourth of July weekend this year, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources spokesman Terry Brady reports, “There was one campsite open. One.”
Parks and campgrounds have seen huge spikes in visitors this summer. At first, it was mainly outdoor activities other than camping because Pennsylvania campground facilities were closed by COVID-19 lockdown rules. But once campgrounds opened their facilities to the public, visitors flocked to the sites.
Camping is a wallet-friendly activity, especially for people who already own the base equipment — a night in a state campsite or at an Adirondack-style shelter in Pennsylvania typically costs between $15-$25, depending on the type of site and the amenities.
Private camping facilities are seeing a boom, too, said Beverly Gruber, chief procurement officer and executive director of the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association, which represents more than 200 private campgrounds in the state.
The camping interest isn’t limited to Pennsylvania. In the two weeks that ended May 2, Port Washington, N.Y.-based consulting firm NPD Group reported that sales of camp sets rose 119%, recreation tents spiked 30% and campfire equipment rose 42%.
“There’s a sweeping trend at play here: From the backyard to the campground, consumers are seeking refuge in the outdoors,” said Matt Powell, a sports industry adviser, in a release addressing the trend.
Because indoor spaces and close contact with many people are seen as high risks for transmitting COVID-19, the ability to camp at a safe distance from others is viewed by many as a good way to get away from home without taking on too much risk.
Still, there have been challenges for campgrounds in the time of COVID-19. Private campgrounds closed their bathrooms and playgrounds during the early phases of the pandemic response. That meant the majority of visitors stayed in RVs or cabins as opposed to pitching tents.
When the counties that the campgrounds were in entered the state’s COVID-19 green phase,
operators reopened those facilities, Ms. Gruber said.
Campgrounds continue to practice frequent cleaning of high-touch areas like bathrooms, Ms. Gruber said, but keeping COVID-19 transmission risk down is relatively easy in the campground environment.
“Since everyone sleeps in their own bed, basically, it’s not as hard a job as it is with hotels,” she said.
At Bear Run Campground in Portersville, which offers tent and RV sites as well as cabin rentals, it has been a busy summer. The park has seen more than 400 families come to stay during the past two weeks, in addition to 150 long-term “seasonal” camping groups.
Tent sites cost about $40-$50 per night, RV sites are around $50-$80 and cabins cost anywhere from $100-$200 for one night.
Todd Wehr, a co-owner, emphasized that guests are able to have a relatively normal experience during their stays, saying, “It’s been a change in operations of the park more than anything. The experience [for visitors] is very similar.”
The campground offers live entertainment and family friendly activities alongside its other amenities. Mr. Wehr said that while certain activities, like face-painting, have been canceled due to the inability to do them while socially distanced, the park has still been able to offer much of its regular programming, including live music performances with the audience safely distanced from the band and each other.
“Generally speaking, we’ve been able to ... modify the entertainment in order to accommodate CDC guidelines,” he said.
For state parks, the high turnout this summer also presents a problem: Some parks, Mr. Brady said, are being “loved to death” from too many visitors — especially newer visitors who may be less familiar with the environmentally friendly practices needed to preserve resources. An example: the Leave No Trace guidelines that ask visitors to carry out all trash they may generate during their stays and avoid straying from designated trails to protect delicate forest undergrowth.
Still, he’s optimistic that the rising interest in outdoor recreation will be a net positive for the parks. Pennsylvania state parks have an annual budget of around $110 million, but necessary maintenance work on reserves across the state will require at least $500 million in funding, according to state officials.
“It comes at a cost of crimping our resources, sometimes, and sometimes injuring our resources, but that said, it also brings new people,” Mr. Brady said. “... We’re seeing a lot of people visiting our state parks for the first time, and with that interest comes, hopefully, new ranks of people who will be willing to step up and help the parks.”