Glamping Sweeps America, Embracing Gaia With Soothing Natural Refuge In Trumplandia
/
New Yorkers are increasingly desperate to get back in touch with nature, writes The New York Times. If that means 'glamping' at a $650-a-night campsite on Governor's Island, let the Gaia connection begin.
Arriving by ferry boat only enhances the magic of Manhattan's twinkling skyline and Lady Liberty's torch nearby. In that moment liberal New Yorker's can reflect on all the the Statue of Liberty has meant in America's DNA without stressing over the whereabouts of children separated from their parents at the Mexican border.
Phones are off and a family game of Scrabble is in. Roasting marshmallows in the community firepit plays homage to hunting and gathering forbearers, while other pampered New Yorkers are found eating $120 prix fix meals in the permanent Three Peaks lodge. Who is game for beanbag toss?
According to a report by Kampgrounds of America, 2.6 million more American households camped last year than in 2016. A major reason was to relieve stress. Nearly all millennials surveyed (93 percent) said they would like to try camping this year, many gravitating toward glamping.
Kevin Rosenberg, who runs Gear to Go Outfitters, an online equipment-rental and guide service, spent years in the military and hires veterans as guides. Rosenberg doesn't even take an air mattress or a stove when he ges deep into Gaia country to commune with nature. But Rosenberg doesn't deride glampers.
“Protecting the environment is very important to me,” said Mr. Rosenberg, who once ran his company out of a Brooklyn storefront but now lives upstate. “The more people bond with nature, the more they want to protect it. Whatever form it takes, it’s fine with me as long as what they’re doing is responsible. You might as well be comfortable and enjoy it.”
Collective Retreats, Tentrr, Getaway and Terra Glamping all provide cushy accommodations to help a growing wave of indoorsy people become outdoorsy, writes The Times. .Tentrr currently has 500 campsites throughout the Northeast, many of them on struggling farms that welcome glampers.
Many believe that the rise in glamping isn't only due to stressed out liberals trying to get away from Trump's often-hourly Twitter assaults. Zach Denes, the manager of Hatchet Outdoor Supply Company on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, thinks camping generally is front and center as Trump presses to turn over public lands to mining and drilling companies.
Glamping in America might not rival a glamping safari in Africa, but it just might beat a five-star hotel in the middle of Manhattan or LA. And if you're one of the million urbanites who can afford luxury camping, you will soon find out that the best spots aren't always in the wild, but once-removed, yet far awy, from your usual routine.
Speaking of safaris, I don't believe they've imported any big game -- and they better NOT -- but Hawley Farm, located near Kansas City Missouri, promotes itself as a secluded, luxury, safari weekend camping getaway.
Related: Glamping Slips Into the Mainstream New York Times
The 14 Best Places to Go Glamping for Your Next Girlfriend Getaway Country Living
