Camping, in many ways, is the antithesis of these places.
![vintage gay men camping vintage gay men camping](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7d/df/d0/7ddfd045867c2429bb177bb8055bd4bf.jpg)
This newfound camping craze coincides with a recent cultural shift away from iconic queer spaces like urban gayborhoods and gay bars. The summer’s busiest weekends will draw roughly 2,000 visitors to the grounds. Weekend sites at The Woods Campground, a seasonal gay resort in the Poconos Mountains, went just as fast when bookings opened in March. Tickets to Honcho, a queer music festival where attendees spend the weekend roughing it in rural Pennsylvania, sold out within minutes of going on sale earlier this year. And as popularity booms, the demographics of who’s camping is starting to change, too.įor LGBTQ travelers, the influx of curious campers has caused an increased demand for queer-centric tent retreats. The e-commerce company Pattern, which tracks consumer behavior, found that demand for camping tents was up 97 percent compared to this time last year and up 85 percent from 2019. This year, camping is shaping up to be busier than ever. According to Kampgrounds of America’s annual North American Camping Report, over 10 million people camped for the first time in 2020, citing the health crisis as a critical factor in their decision-making process. Outdoor escapes provide a much-needed cure. This year, it’s a little bit of both as queer American travelers are breaking down the binary by donning Patagonia drag, pitching tents, and shirking big cities for a new kind of vacation destination: LGBTQ campgrounds.Īfter a year of pandemic-induced cabin fever, it’s no wonder Americans are antsy to get campy.
![vintage gay men camping vintage gay men camping](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Qm0AAOSw4E1hAHxg/s-l300.jpg)
Camp is also the spirit of simplicity, as Henry David Thoreau outlines in the dreamy prose of Walden. “Camp is the spirit of extravagance,” writes Susan Sontag in her famous 1964 essay on the subject.