Camping

Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or in a form of educational experience.

Modern campers frequent publicly owned natural resources such as national and state parks, wilderness areas, and commercial campgrounds.

School camping trips also have numerous benefits and can play an essential role in the personal growth and development of students.

[1] The Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary defines camping as:[2] The act of staying and sleeping in an outside area for one or more days and nights, usually in a tent.Camping describes a range of activities and approaches to outdoor accommodation.

Camping may be combined with hiking, as in backpacking, and is often enjoyed in conjunction with other outdoor activities such as canoeing, kayaking, climbing, fishing, and hunting.

The history of recreational camping is often traced back to Thomas Hiram Holding, a British traveling tailor, but it was first popularised in the UK on the River Thames.

By the 1880s, large numbers of visitors took part in the pastime, which was connected to the late Victorian craze for pleasure boating.

[8] During the early twentieth century, the popularity of camping in the United States grew as a result of the publicity created by The Vagabonds: Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, John Burroughs, and Harvey S. Firestone.

This group of famous American businessmen, inventors, and authors traveled for ten years to different states, and the press highly documented their trips from across the country.

Oftentimes, "...these rough and tumble pioneers would drive toward the Adirondacks and essentially live off the land, camping at farms and buying food along the way just like ordinary Americans out for a holiday on the road.

Workamping allows campers to trade their labor variously for discounts on campsite fees, campground utilities, and even some degree of pay.

Various church associations have also established campgrounds or conference centers in isolated locations, which provide retreat times for children and adults.

For instance, in survival camping the equipment consists of small items which have the purpose of helping the camper in providing food, heat, and safety.

These blankets are specially designed to occupy minimal space, can be used as emergency shelters for keeping the camper warm, and their reflective properties mean that they can be easily seen from an aircraft.

Rubber gloves, antiseptic wipes, tinfoil, jackknife, or halazone tablets (which purify the water) are also to be included in a survival kit.

Old kitchen gear purchased from thrift stores or garage sales may also be used in place of home items as an alternative to buying specialized (and more expensive) camping equipment.

Campsites can range from a patch of dirt to a level, paved pad with sewer and electricity with many public and private campgrounds also offering cabin options.

Other vehicles used for camping include motorcycles, touring bicycles, boats, canoes, pack animals, and even bush planes; although backpacking on foot is a popular alternative.

Some "walk-in" sites lie a short walk away from the nearest road but do not require full backpacking equipment.

Of these excursions, commercial caravan parks and camping grounds contributed to 52% of trips, 62% of nights spent, and 64% of total expenditure.

In Sweden, a right of public access – allowing outdoor recreational activity on privately held wilderness – is enshrined in the constitution.