With these 40 interesting camping stats, we’ll dive into the world of camping and the numbers behind it.
With each crackling campfire and every starfilled night, camping offers an escape into a world where time slows down, and the air feels fresher. Millions find solace and adventure in the great outdoors, and the world of camping continues to evolve with exciting trends and transformations.
These camping stats will offer a window into the modern camping world of 2024.
Key Camping Stats
In 2020 and 2021 over 50 million Americans went camping (above the age of six years) (Statista)
Tent camping was more popular than vehicle camping in the same period (Statista)
In 2020, there was a fivefold increase in first-time campers compared to 2019, likely influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, as camping was viewed as a safe and socially-distanced travel option. (North American Camping Report)
In the 2023 Camping Report by The Dyrt, the most common camping type was RVing, with 44% of campers (35.8M), followed by tent camping at 38,2% (30.6M) (The Dyrt).
The number of U.S. households engaging in camping reached 92 million in 2022, with 58 million of these households participating in at least one camping trip during the year (KOA).
Tents are the most used camping accommodation in North America (Statista).
Nearly all campers (97%) bring some form of technology with them on camping trips (Forbes).
When asked “What is the best part of camping?” 28 out of 103 Reddit votes said campfire activities. Another 25 said sleeping under the stars is their favorite part about the experience (Reddit).
Solo camping is becoming more popular. Camping alone saw an increase of 28% from 2021 to 2022 (The Dyrt).
1 in 4 Americans prefer to take a hiking vacation involving RV camping (TheWanderingRV).
The camping industry in North America reached 21.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 (Statista).
Camping is a way to get off the grid, relax and unwind for a bit. In other words, a perfect way to blow off some steam. But how exactly do campers prefer to blow off steam while camping?
When asked about their preferred ways to blow off steam while camping, walking, followed by fishing and then sitting around the campfire with a beverage were the winners. (64%, 50% and 49%) (KOA).
From The Dyrt’s camping community, glamping is up 10% in 2022 compared to 2021 (The Dyrt).
Why Should We Camp and Spend Time in Nature?
Natural environments can improve cognitive performance, working memory, and attentional control (Current Directions in Psychological Science).
Not only that, but contact with nature is associated with more happiness and subjective well-being, as well as increase in a sense of meaning and purpose, while mental distress shows decrease (American Psychological Association).
In a scoping review of the impact of nature on human health, 39 of 952 studies met the inclusion criteria. 92% showed consistent increases across any health outcome where people engaged with the natural outdoors (Journal of global health).
Camping Stats With Pets
When it comes to traveling pets, about 30 percent of them are camping out with their family (Embrace Pet Insurance).
57.1% of campers camped with their pets in 2022, 91% of them camped with dogs (The Dyrt).
Apparently, 50 percent of dogs like to swim (Embrace Pet Insurance).
Wildlife and camping stats
While people are afraid of wildlife attack, dying from wildlife attack is rare compared to other causes (Washington Post).
There were 664 brown bear attacks on humans, worldwide, between 2000 and 2015. Encountering a female with cubs was the main scenario (Nature.com).
14.3% of the brown bear attacks ended with death of the person attacked.
The risk of grizzly bear attack is 1 in 2.7 million visits, according to National Park Service.
National Park stats
In 2022, there were 13 254 119 overnight stays in the National Parks system (National Park Service). Overall there were 312 million recreational visits.
The leading causes of unintentional deaths in national parks, are drowning, motor vehicle crashes, and falls. Drowning 33%, crashes 31%, and falls 17% (National Park Service).
Canadian Camping Stats
Amongst Canadians, 44% reported hiking or backpacking as the most popular outdoors activity, while 32% answered wildlife viewing or photography and 24% said tent camping (Statistics Canada).
In Canada, 52% of adults engage in outdoor activities once a week or less (Statista).
41% of Canadians participated in three or more outdoor kinds of activities (Statistics Canada).
75% prefer to go camping with their partner, amongst Canadians 18 years or older with a Hipcamp account (Statista).
United Kingdom Camping Stats
42.2% go camping once a year or more, in the UK (Ubuy).
£4.6 billion, measured by revenue, is reportedly the camping market size in the UK (IBISWorld).
Germany Camping Stats
In 2023, around 12.8 million German travelers prefer camping vacations, from 23 524 respondents (Statista).
According to IBISWorld, the caravan & camping sites market size in Germany is around 800 million euro.
17% of German campers were between 20 and 29 in 2023 (Statista).
The best countries for camping
According to Hipcamp Worldwide Camping Index, the following countries are the best for camping.
- Canada – 45
- Finland – 42
- Brazil – 41
- Spain – 40
- Sweden – 40
- USA – 40
- Australia – 39
- Norway – 39
- Argentina – 39
- Russia – 39
(Hipcamp)
Conclusion
That’s it for my list of interesting camping stats.
As someone who loves camping, I really enjoyed putting these stats together and getting a clearer picture myself.
I’d like to hear your thoughts:
Which Camping stat from this list surprised you the most?
Or perhaps you have something I should add to the list?
Leave a comment below!
Simon, the founder of HappyHammockCamper, is a passionate hammock camping enthusiast who discovered the joys of this unique camping style a few years ago. Through HappyHammockCamper, he shares his knowledge and experience in hammock camping, gear and camping tips.
