KOA Reveals Camping Will Still Be Sought After In Upcoming Cold Months

An uptick in the number of camping trips Americans took this year was not exactly a surprise, given that it allowed people to change their surroundings without greatly increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19. So maybe this will be another non-shocker: we're likely to keep on getting out there as winter approaches.

According to a fall update to the annual North American Camping Report by Kampgrounds of America, 21 percent of leisure travelers went on a camping trip this summer and 42 percent still plan to take a camping trip in 2020. The report, which surveyed 3500 leisure travelers, was released in October, so lower temperatures aren't exactly taking the chill out out of more camping.

Over half of those surveyed, 54 percent, think camping is the safest type of travel right now, 10 points more than when KOA did its Growth of Camping amid COVID-19 study in May. That's one reason almost half of the people surveyed who went camping did so for the first time this year or restarted the hobby after not heading out "in recent years." These new campers—and those KOA calls "re-engaged campers"—trend younger, with 55 percent of those first-timers being millennials.

For a lot of people, when they think of camping, they think of RVs, and during the COVID era, a "home on wheels" presents a particular benefit: your own private bathroom. KOA's study found having your own restroom was important to 48 percent of all leisure travelers, 42 percent of campers, and 58 percent of prospective campers.

Check out the full article from Car and Driver here.