The Dyrt's 2023 Camping Report

2023 Camping Report

— RVtravel.com on The Dyrt’s 2022 Camping Report

“... the statistically most meaningful picture of what it’s like to go camping in America that the industry has produced to date.”

The surge in demand for camping kicked off by the pandemic is now in its third year. The effects of this shift, and how campers and property managers have adapted, have come into much sharper focus in our most recent surveys of The Dyrt camper community and property managers.

As the influx of millions of first-time campers continues (page 2), campers say it was 5x harder to find an available campsite to book in 2022 than it was in 2019, making 2022 the most booked-up year ever. (page 4)

In response, property managers are adding camping capacity, dates and exciting new amenities. (page 6) The Dyrt has also introduced Dyrt Alerts availability scans to help campers get reservations at sold-out properties. (page 5) We also launched discounts on camping at over 1,000 locations for The Dyrt PRO members.

As the leading app for camping information and booking with over 30 million visits annually, The Dyrt is uniquely positioned to offer this snapshot of the camping community and marketplace. The data in this report also guides our mission to help more people find the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors, and to help campers of all types have great experiences.

Happy camping,

Sarah Smith Founder, The Dyrt

The

community is

7.6%

In 2021, only 39.5% of respondents reported household income above $100,000

44.6% of campers report household income over $100,000 Over $250k

More than half of campers (57.1%) say they camped with pets in 2022.

Top 3 states with higher-than-average proportion of campers per capita:

91% camped with dogs 6.8% camped with cats 1. Montana 2. Oregon 3. Colorado

Campers also reported camping with: Chickens, parrots, cockatiels, guinea pigs, horses, rabbits and livestock

Top 3 states with lower-than-average proportion of campers per capita: 1. Hawaii 2. New York 3. New Jersey

“As the closest campground to Washington, D.C., we’re very used to hosting first-time campers. We’re a good option for new campers because we’re a high-amenity, high-service campground, with an on-site RV parts store, full hook-ups, and staff who go above and beyond to help guests.”

— Mike Gurevich, Cherry Hill Park Camping (College Park, Maryland)

Dyrt Alerts X

Did you know — South Campground at Zion National Park is reserved 97% of the season!

Be the first to know about cancellations with Dyrt Alerts availability scans.

Photo: The Dyrt camper Mike H.

Wednesday is the best day for camping availability.

TUE

Property managers report the best availability for campers on Wednesdays, closely followed by Tuesdays

Wildfires and natural disasters increasingly affecting camping plans

18.1% 2022

11.6% 2020 11.2% 2021

6.13% 2019

3x increase since 2019 in campers who say wildfires or natural disasters disrupted their camping plans.

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—

Create your first Dyrt Alert at thedyrt.com/alerts Reserve

Property managers respond to

— Stephen Radl, Radl Ranch (Santa Barbara, California)

Who campers are, and how they camp

“The Dyrt’s users may comprise the country’s broadest demographic profile of the camping public. So when The Dyrt’s users have their temperature taken, it pays for other industry participants to take notice.”

Booking camping

Depending on their destination and personality, campers book anywhere from one hour to one year in advance.

> 1 YEAR

Planning ahead Spur of the moment

8.6% of campers booked camping a year or more ahead at least once in 2022.

< 1 WEEK

50.7% of campers booked camping less than a week ahead at least once in 2022.

> 3 MONTHS

60.9% of campers booked camping 3 months or more ahead at least once in 2022.

< 1 MONTH

21.1% of campers say they never book more than a month ahead.

Glamping up 10% in 2022

Compared to 2021, 10% more of our camping community said they went glamping in 2022.

Property managers are responding to this demand: Of those who added a new type of camping in 2022, 44% say they added glamping — the most of any camping type by far.

“In our first season we had full hook-up sites, primitive camping, tent sites and deluxe cabins, and we got a lot of requests for smaller cabins or glamping accommodations. We added five glamping tiny cabins last year, and in 2023 we’re adding a sixth glamping cabin plus four vintage glamping campers.”

— Dave Ridgeway, Summersville Lake Retreat & Lighthouse (Mt. Nebo, West Virginia)

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About a quarter of campers work remotely from the campsite

“With return-to-the-office efforts across the country, one might have expected the workfrom-campsite rate to decrease, but it stayed level. Work from campsite is here to stay.”

The Dyrt CEO Kevin Long

23.8% of campers say they worked remotely while camping in 2022 — about the same as 2021.

“Our go-to resource is The Dyrt PRO. The public land maps and cell phone coverage maps allow us the option of selecting a place where we can stay and still work online.”

— Shari Galiardi, full-time camper, co-founder of Freedom in a Can

Camping alone is up 28%

Between 2021 and 2022, our camping community indicated a 28% increase in camping alone.

“I saw a lot of solo campers this year, especially women. I guess during the pandemic people went camping to be with their friends and family. As the pressures of work and life resume, I think they are looking for quiet time and to get away from it all.”

— Annette Sallee, Netties Mountain View Retreat (Osceola, Washington)

—

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Camping on wheels

Over half of U.S. campers camp in a vehicle. That’s 40 million people camping in an RV, trailer, camper, van, truck or car. Compared to other types of campers (tent, backpack, glamping, etc.) vehicle campers on average are …

50% more likely to camp in the winter

3x more likely to take 11+ camping trips/year 11+

More likely to report higher household income

2x more likely to bring a laptop

6x more likely to bring a TV

20% more likely to report difficulty finding available campsites

“The Dyrt provides detailed information that’s hard to find anywhere else, making it an essential tool for discovering new campsites and having the best possible experiences at them.”

— Peter Knize and John Sullivan aka The RVgeeks, co-hosts and co-executive producers of the Discovery & PBS TV series The RVers

Avid campers

13.4% of our survey respondents say they took 11+ camping trips in 2022.

Compared to respondents who camped 10 or fewer times per year, these avid campers indicated they ...

are more likely to be 24 years old or younger and 55 years old or older, and less likely to be 25-54 years old.

Work from campsite nearly 2x more

Winter camp 2x more

Camp alone 36.1% more

More than half of The Dyrt PRO members are avid campers.

Over 90% of The Dyrt PRO users say they are always looking for new places to camp.

78% of The Dyrt PRO users want to know whether or not they will have cell service when camping.

The Dyrt

Camper backgrounds

8.2% of our survey respondents self-identified as LGBTQ+. On average, these campers indicated they ...

Are young, reporting their age as:

• 24 years old and under 2x more than survey average

• 25-34 years old 29.4% more than survey average

Tent camp, listing their primary camping type as tent, 23% more than survey average.

Camp alone, with 51% more than survey average saying they camped alone at least once in 2022.

“When the pandemic hit, I became Chicken Little. I was certain that bankruptcy was right around the corner. But we grew almost 30% the first year of the pandemic and added another 20% on top of that in 2021 and 10% in 2022.”

Survey respondents who self-identified as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) …

Went glamping for the first time in 2022, 50% more than survey average.

Had camping plans disrupted by wildfires and natural disasters in 2022 more than survey average.

Listed tent, rooftop tent, backpacking, bivouac , cabin, overlanding and dispersed camping as their primary camping type more than survey average.

— Michael O’Connor, Campit Outdoor Resort (LGBTQ-focused campground in Fennville, Michigan)

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Photo: The Dyrt camper Edward S.

Campers

Survey respondents of different ages indicated different interests and habits.

Campers aged 35-44 went glamping for the first time in 2022 more than any other age group.

Campers aged 45-54 went RV camping for the first time in 2022 more than any other age group.

Campers 55 and over did more winter camping in 2022 than younger campers.

Campers 65 and over listed RV as their primary camping type at 2.5x the rate of younger campers.

Survey respondents who self-reported household income of different levels correlated with various camping trends. (See full breakdown of camper income levels on page 3.)

+11 trips

Campers who report household income under $50,000 are more likely to be avid campers (11+ trips in 2022) than campers who report higher incomes.

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Campers with household income between $101k and $250k reported the most difficulty finding available campsites to book compared to campers with higher or lower incomes.

Campers who report household income above $250k were more likely to have tried RV camping for the first time in 2022 than campers reporting lower incomes.