When I moved to Ohio many years ago to enter a doctoral program, I camped out for a few days until I found a place to rent. When I mentioned that to a fellow student who was a long-time community member, she was shocked. Why didn’t I stay in a motel like a normal person?
I found that an odd reaction because where I was from — the Pacific Northwest — people tend to be outdoorsy. Even so, I have noticed in more recent years that even folks out here appear to take more stuff with them when they go camping.
To be fair, there have long been people who hauled around big Airstream trailers or drove Winnebago motor homes. And during the 1970s we saw the rise of camper vans that could be decked out with pop-up roofs and other fancy doodads.
By the same token, when I go camping today I still see a fair number of minimalists like me who drive a small car, pitch a tent and watch the stars come out rather than a TV in the confines of a trailer, camper or motor home.
More gear can mean bigger vehicles
All that said, my sense is that the general trend has been for camp sites to be filled with more and more gear, such as bikes and large flotation devices. In addition, vehicles with off-road capability have become increasingly popular.
There also seems to be a boomlet in what I call the apocalypse van. Those are extra-large vans that appear to be so fully decked out that their owners may be able to live on the road for extended periods of time. I have seen a few that are painted camo colors.
This eclectic mix of approaches to camping can result in scenes such as in the banner photo, where a Toyota RAV4 is parked next to an enormous camper van.
One of the things I appreciate about national park camp grounds is that you get to see a fascinating cross-section of people, all enjoying camping in their own way.
NOTES:
The camping grounds shown in photographs are at Kalaloch Beach and Lake Quinault in the Olympic National Park (2025a, 2025b).
RE:SOURCES
- Olympic National Park; 2025a. “Visiting Kalaloch and Ruby Beach.” Accessed June 29.
- ——; 2025b. “Visiting Quinault.” Accessed June 29.
I have a few thoughts here… might come back for more comments. The PNW has some beautiful areas. Two summers ago, we went up the coast from San Francisco to Seattle. Way back when we were tenting, we visited Olympia National Park before taking the ferry to Victoria and Vancouver. We had a GMC Safari van, so for overnight or super wet weather, we just slept in the van. For a longer stay, we pitched the tent. I don’t want to draw attention to our favorite stops, though they’re probably everyone else’s too.
By camping in state and national parks, you will see smaller rigs and meet campers who mainly dry camp even if they’re in trailers or RVs. Dry campers have more in common with tenters than with those people with huge RVs and fifth wheels. Staying in big paved RV parks doesn’t have much appeal to me.
During the pandemic, we watched a lot of You Tube of camping channels, some much better than others. Although we have been camping for decades, we picked up tips and ideas from them. You Tube has helped inspire people to design quite a variety of rigs.
One problem that spoils the ability to spontaneously go on a trip is the state and federal campground reservation system. If you don’t know six months ahead of time if you can go, good luck getting weekend dates. Yet when we go mid week, we see reservations gone empty.
We have had tents; we have had a small vintage Airstream. Currently we have a B van, around 20 feet long. It looks like we’re delivering your Amazon package! It sleeps two. We can park it anywhere; it fits in a regular parking spot. We don’t have to pay for storage. It’s great for day trips. We travel with our dog, so we can keep the rig air conditioned if needed. We love being able to stop anywhere and have a little kitchen and bathroom. It’s easy to take naps. We do have to break camp to go places, but it’s minimal work, especially since we rarely camp anywhere with hook ups. The van gets good gas mileage, and Ram parts should be easy enough to find on the road if needed. When our son joins us, he gets to sleep in a tent.
Some people like the 4 x 4 vans, but we’ve driven carefully on washboard roads. If you do more dispersed camping, the 4 x 4 might be necessary.
Those over the truck tents are, well, interesting. To each his own. At least they’re out camping! (I wouldn’t want to climb down the ladder to use the restroom in the middle of the night!)
Anything that gets people outdoors is a good thing, even if the flip side is dealing with reservations.
About student camping: many years ago, for six years, I tutored a brilliant student who worked hard to be at the top of her class. (She was indeed the valedictorian.) One of her college application essays was about her father’s persistence and determination. He came from South Korea to live in America. When he was a student at UC Irvine, he could barely afford to be there. He lived for a while in his red and white VW van. He was so attached to that van; he just couldn’t sell it even after he replaced it with a Vanagon. I am trying to remember if UC Irvine actually had student camping or if it still does. A quick internet search came up empty. My student was accepted to Yale early decision.