Cold-weather camping is apparently going to be a “thing” over the next few months.
The KOA Monthly Research Report – December Edition projects that 8.69 million camping households are planning a cold-weather camping trip this year. Whether traveling to winter destinations or warmer locales, more than 22 million households plan to take a camping trip during the remaining holiday season. Bolstering findings from the April release of Kampgrounds of America’s (KOA) annual North American Camping Report, research indicates the increased popularity of camping will continue through the end of the year.
High interest in winter camping for new RVers
Those that camped for the first time in 2021 are particularly interested in trying a winter camping trip. It is estimated that 69 percent of new camping households are considering a winter camping trip. RV trips are the most popular form (51 percent) of winter camping trips though first-time campers are also interested in hut-to-hut winter camping (31 percent) and overlanding (26 percent).
“Camping is increasingly becoming a year-round activity regardless of climate,” said Toby O’Rourke, President and CEO of Kampgrounds of America. “We are seeing that new campers are really enthusiastic about the camping lifestyle and the options and variety it offers. This isn’t just a trend, camping’s popularity will continue to increase across locations, seasons and experiences.”
A strong indicator of camping in general, 22.47 million camping households – 44 percent of campers – plan to camp over the holidays in cold or warm weather locations. Popular states for December camping trips include California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New York.
Snowbirding also remains popular with 2.9 million households planning to spend three or more months on a campground. Public (43 percent) and private campgrounds (35 percent) are the top choices for snowbirds.
No canceled trips this year
Overall, there is increased optimism for all types of off-season camping. In addition to the increased number of guests, only 3 percent indicate that they have canceled trips. While COVID-19 concerns and increases in gas prices and the cost of goods and services have some impact, it has decreased drastically.
“Not only are people camping, they are less resistant to outside forces when considering trips,” said O’Rourke. “Other sectors of the travel industry are feeling the effects of COVID-19 and inflation in a way that is not impacting camping. People are eager to vacation and they’re choosing to camp.”
According to KOA’s latest projections, over 56 million households are projected to camp in 2021, compared to 48.2 million in 2020 – a 16 percent increase. An estimated 9.16 million households will camp for the first time this year. When added to the 10.1 million first-time campers in 2020, over 19.2 million households will have joined the camping lifestyle in the last two years.
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I hope RVTravel has some classes for winter RVing.
It’s a mess out there. I participate in several RV forums and these newbies are freezing up all over the place. I guess that is one way to learn….
The headline is clearly wrong! All the RV’ers are not “new”.
I wonder how many “new campers” understand that cold weather can freeze pipes and cause the use of all the on board propane for the heater in their RV.
Projections are for 2021?
Hi, Traveler. I think that since the report from KOA was produced before the end of the year, they’re projecting the number of households who would camp through the end of 2021 (at that point). I wondered the same thing, so went back to look at KOA’s report to make sure. Have a terrific 2022! 🙂 –Diane