Camping vs. Glamping: Which is Your Outdoor Style?

Summer and fall are ideal times to get outdoors and experience nature pretty much everywhere around the country. From hitting the beach for the week to spending a few nights in a National Park to just getting out and breathing in the fresh air on a short walk, the options are as varied as we are.

For many, many Americans camping is an activity to be looked forward to each year. In fact, 57 million households camped, glamped or RVed in 2021 according to the Kampgrounds of America 2022 North American Camping Report. That’s a lot of camping, glamping and RVing. Some of which is being fueled by digital nomadism, some by music festivals, some by COVID-19, and some just by humankind’s old-fashioned desire to commune with nature.

If you’re considering a trip to the great outdoors this year, good for you! Being outside is beneficial for the body, mind and soul. But before you go, you’re going to have to make some hard decisions so you can be sure to have the best possible time. Chief among them: are you the camping type…or the glamping type? In other words, do you want to get rugged with a S’more and a can of beans…or sleep in what amounts to a master bedroom suite underneath the stars?

Keep reading to find out our take on the pros and cons of camping vs. glamping. You may be surprised by what you find yourself drawn towards. Just come at it with an open mind, and soon enough you’ll be booking your stay…or hiking into the backcountry.

Camping Pros and Cons

PROS:

• Dial up or down the nature experience
• Cheap or even free
• Can be easily paired with another activity like fishing, hiking, etc.
• Easy to do all over the country
• Welcoming community
• Good for all levels
• Highly Instagrammable

CONS:

• Lots of things that go bump in the night, including the kinds with claws, hooves and teeth
• Can be uncomfortable, especially in bad weather
• Have to buy or borrow at least some amount of equipment
• Isolated if out in wilderness alone (see: things that go bump in the night)
• Must do all (or at least some of) the grunt work yourself

Glamping Pros and Cons

PROS:

• Do nothing, and enjoy the benefits
• Highly relaxing
• Luxurious
• Lots of choice: Airstreams, cabins, yurts, cubes, pods, treehouses – anywhere that can be tricked out outside is ripe for glamping
• Being in nature but with many of the comforts of home
• Highly Instagrammable

CONS:

• Expensive. Did we say expensive? Whoooooey. Expensive.
• Might feel slightly…inauthentic
• Might feel slightly ripped off
• Could be considered stifling, especially for those who just want to get away from it all

Hopefully our lists of pros and cons of camping and glamping, incomplete as they likely are, will help you figure out your next moves when it comes to getting into the great outdoors. Perhaps equally important: where you’ll go camping or glamping.

Camping Locations Around the USA

As we mentioned above, camping is easy to do all over the country. Maybe steer clear of the swamps of the Everglades or the heart of Grizzly country in Alaska, but anywhere else that has a reasonable climate and a semi-reasonable wildlife situation is probably fair game.

The National Park Service has an extremely helpful guide on how to find and set up a campsite within its nationwide network of parks. You can also make reservations, access more info about various spots, rent RVs and trailers, and buy permits and passes at Recreation.gov.

We recommend starting off close to home for your first few trips. That way, if you forget a key item or something goes awry, you’re not too far away from comfort and familiarity. Ask your friends and family where they like to go, and check Craiglist and Nextdoor for last minute deals from people selling their local camping reservations.

To inspire you for trips a bit farther afield, we’ve put together a bucket list of top five out-of-this-world camping locales that might not be in the cards today – but are definitely something to shoot for as you get more experienced and bold.

1. Malaekahana Beach Campground– Oahu’s North Shore campground offers tent camping and plantation-style huts year round for as low as $10 a night. It truly doesn’t get cheaper than that.
2. Assateague Island – Off of the coast of Maryland and Virginia, this picturesque island (complete with roaming wild horses) offers campsites for tents, trailers, RVs and horses for about $30 a spot.
3. Crater Lake – Oregon’s Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. and one of the most pristine on earth, also has two camping grounds on its shores: Mazama (for tents, trailers and RVs) in an old-growth forest and the much smaller Lost Creek (tents only).
4. Valley of Fire – Nevada’s 40,000-acre Valley of Fire State Park has two campgrounds with a combined 72 campsites. Set up a great homebase from which to check out the 2,000-year-old petroglyphs and Jurassic-era sandstone – not to mention the vast starscapes.
5. Inn town Campground – Nevada City, California is a quaint, historic town close to Lake Tahoe in northern California. This new campsite has “pitch your own” spots, RV hookups and even rustic glamping options in a soaring pine forest.

If you read through the info above and realized that glamping is definitely more your speed than camping, you’re in luck. Many of the more traditional camping areas have recognized and responded to the trend’s growing popularity with new offerings, which is smart because 30% of North American travelers say they have “glamped” in the past two years.

Keep scrolling for our quick tips on how to pick a glamping site that fits your outdoor adventure dreams to a tee.

1. Location, location, location. Think hard about what you’d like to wake up to: salt water, fresh water, mountains, forest or desert? There are so many wonderful and varied climates in the U.S. – the only hard part will be narrowing it down.
2. Wild – or not so wild – life. Consider what your tolerance is for wildlife. No glamping experience is going to put you in close proximity to anything dangerous (though safari is definitely a type of glamping, come to think of it), but some will get you more up close and personal with the local residents than others. 
3. Gimme shelter. Next, narrow down what type of accommodation you’d be comfortable in. We mentioned a few types above, but there are many more (e.g., Conestoga wagons, log cabins, canvas tipis, etc.), so do your research and read plenty of reviews before settling on a choice.
4. Daylight activities. Most people only think about the sleeping accommodations of a glamping experience – after all, that can be the most thrilling part. But what you do for recreation during the day is just as important. Make sure the daylight activities are of the energy and activity-level you prefer, and – if they’re not – you have the ability to stay back in the yurt and read a book.
5. Money matters. Last on the list but probably first on your mind is money. Some folks swear by taking lux vacations close to home so they cut travel costs. Others save for months or years to blow it all on a fantastic trip of dreams. Whatever your style, make sure glamping fits your budget before you go spending all your dough on it. As we’ve outlined above, camping can also be incredible – and a whole heck of a lot cheaper.

A wonderful aspect of life in the United States is our natural surroundings – and the pains our National Park Service and other agencies have taken to protect them for our usage. Regardless if you’re planning a camping trip or a glamping splurge – or even just fantasizing about a trip away – we hope we’ve inspired you to take another look at all the options available. Just don’t forget the bug spray!