Camping can include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or a tarp, or no shelter. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities that provide them enjoyment or in a form of educational experience. Spending the night away from home distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.
Camping as a recreational activity became popular among elites in the early 20th century. With time, it grew in popularity among other socioeconomic classes. Modern campers frequent publicly owned natural resources such as national and state parks, wilderness areas, and commercial campgrounds.
In a few countries, including Sweden and Scotland, public camping is legal on privately held land as well. Camping is a key part of many youth organizations around the world, such as Scouting, which use it to teach both self-reliance and teamwork. School camping trips also have numerous benefits and can play an essential role in the personal growth and development of students.
The Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary defines camping as;
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. Survivalists and wild campers typically set off with as little as possible to get by. Other campers might use specialized camping gear designed to provide comfort, including their own power and heat sources as well as camping furniture. 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. Fastpacking involves both running and camping.
There is no universally held definition of what is not camping. Just as with motels, which serve recreational and Business guests, the same campground may serve recreational campers, school field trips, migrant workers, and the homeless at the same time. Fundamentally, it reflects a combination of intent and the nature of the activities involved.
A children's summer camp with dining hall meals and bunkhouse accommodations may have "camp" in its name but fails to reflect the spirit and form of "camping" as it is broadly understood. Similarly, a homeless person's Lifestyle may involve many common camping activities, such as sleeping out and preparing meals over a fire but fails to reflect the elective nature and pursuit of spirit rejuvenation that are an integral aspect of camping.
The History of Camping goes back to the time when travelers used to travel and explore worlds beyond their motherland.
During that time, travelers used to camp in jungles and far-flung areas to explore the flora and fauna of distant places. Having said that this became popular and can be traced back to recreational camping done by Thomas Hiram Holding, a British traveling tailor, but it was first popularized in the UK on the River Thames. By the 1880s, a large number of visitors took part in the pastime, which was connected to the late Victorian craze for pleasure boating.
Although Thomas Hiram Holding is often seen as the father of modern camping in the UK, he was responsible for popularising a different type of camping in the early twentieth century. He experienced the activity in his youth when he spent much time traveling across the American prairies with his parents. Later he embarked on a cycling and camping tour with some friends across Ireland. His book on his Ireland experience, Cycle and Camp in Connemara led to the formation of the first camping group in 1901, the Association of Cycle Campers, later to become the Camping and Caravanning Club. He wrote The Campers Handbook in 1908 so that he could share his enthusiasm for the great outdoors with the world.
Different types of camping may be named after their form of transportation, such as canoe camping, car camping, RVing, backpacking, including ultralight backpacking, and overlapping.
Camping is also labeled by lifestyle: Glamping (glamorous camping) combines camping with the luxury and amenities of a home or hotel and has its roots in the early 1900s European and American safaris in Africa. Workamping allows campers to trade their labor variously for discounts on campsite fees, campground utilities, and even some degree of pay. Migrant camps are formed not for recreation but as temporary housing arrangements. Campgrounds for custom harvesters in the United States may include room-to-park combines and other large farm equipment. Camping is also popular at air shows, notably at the Oshkosh Air Show, where people often camp in a small tent under their aircraft's wing.
Enchanted Valley Carnival, although a carnival that happens at Aamby Valley City Airport is a kind of camping where people sleep in tents and enjoy their favorite music bands that come and perform there.
The equipment used in camping varies by intended activity. For instance, in survival camping the equipment consists of small items which have the purpose of helping the camper by providing food, heat, and safety. The equipment used in this type of camping must be lightweight and it is restricted to the mandatory items. Other types of camping such as winter camping involve having specifically designed equipment in terms of tents or clothing that is strong enough to protect the camper's body from the wind and cold.
Many people around the world who go camping, usually go in an SUV and also ensure that below things are available;
Much of the remaining needed camping equipment is commonly available in the home, including dishes, pots, and pans; however, many people opt not to use their home items but instead utilize equipment better tailored for camping. These amenities include heavy plastic tableware and salt and pepper shakers with tops that close to shelter the shakers from rain. Old kitchen gear purchased from thrift stores or garage sales may also be used instead of home items as an alternative to buying specialized (and more expensive) camping equipment. Backpackers use lightweight and portable equipment.
But the trend has been changing and these days more and more people are going towards professional camping equipment sold online or at stores like Decathlon, which is good also because people get better-suited things that help them ensure safe camping.
Survival camping involves certain items that campers are recommended to have in case something goes wrong and they need to be rescued. A survival kit included mandatory items that are small and must fit in one's pocket.