If you want to get closer to nature, but not so close that you can feel its rocks in your back while you sleep, glamping just might be for you.
The term – a mixture of “glamour” and “camping” – refers to stays in luxury cabins and well-appointed recreational vehicles.
But true glamping has its roots in the safaris of Africa, where wealthy Europeans and Americans retire to comfortable tented accommodations while exploring the bush country.
“In a canvas structure, you hear the noises, you hear the birds. You can sense the outdoors. You can feel the wind blowing,” said Pat Jensen, owner of ConTENTment Camping in Buffalo, which provides the tents and furniture for campgrounds here and across the country. “Once you shut the door to an RV or a cabin, you’re inside again.”
Glampsites offer heavy-duty canvas tents that are already erected when a glamper arrives. Perched on a wooden deck is a real bed frame and mattress. Jutting from the front of the tent is a wooden porch area, frequently outfitted with a rustic table and chairs. Many glamping sites even offer electricity.
Evangola State Park offered the experience a couple years ago, and Darien Lake Theme Park and Resort last month introduced a pilot program for glamping at its campground.
“You don’t have to worry about camp – it’s already here,” Heather Euson said at her site at the Darien Lake campgrounds.
She and her husband, Andy, of Cincinnatus, south of Syracuse, love to camp but haven’t done it in years because they both suffer from back problems. Having a real bed to sleep on allowed them to spend the night after a day at the park with their daughters, Paige, 10, and Kendre, 6, without having to make the usual eight-hour, round-trip drive in one day.
“We unrolled our sleeping bag on the bed and we were done,” she said. “We got to just walk away and enjoy the park.”
The trend has exploded in Europe and Canada, with many traditional campgrounds now offering glamping-style options. In fact, many of the folks staying in Darien’s white, canvas tents are vacationers from Canada.
But the trend has been slower to catch on here.
Until two years ago, Jensen orchestrated glamping sites at Evangola, Four-Mile Creek and Golden Hill State Parks, but demand was not as robust as expected, and the program ended.
Since then she has focused on setting up hundreds of “tent cities” for outdoor music festivals, such as the world famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California. Rental rates at music festivals range from $300 per tent per week at the Christian Creation Festival, to upwards of $3,000 for rock festival accommodations with backstage, VIP access.
Such festivals have long offered regular tent sites and parking for RVs. Glampsites offer a middle-of-the road option for those who want comfort and convenience but still want to be outdoors.
Glamping elsewhere in the United States has turned into a five-star event, complete with flat-screen TVs and air conditioning.
Glamping resorts such as Paws Up in Montana (starting at $1,025 per night) and Dunton Hot Springs in Dolores, Colo., (from $950 per night) offer such amenities as wine tasting, catered gourmet meals, personal butlers and organic toiletries.
In New York state, though, glamping accommodations tend to be more akin to those found in Europe and Canada – rustic but comfortable.
“The whole point is getting away from electronics and getting back to nature,” Jensen said. “I feel that to put those things back in would take away from the experience.”
Camp Orenda, a glampsite in the Adirondacks, is celebrating a banner grand opening season.
“It has been totally off the charts,” said owner David Webb. “The trend is really starting to pop off.”
Patterned after traditional hunting camps, Orenda is big on comfort and beauty but not opulence.
The furnishings, while attractive, are unrefined. There are homey quilts on beds with handmade, wooden headboards and shelves made from 100-year-old barn board. Rough-hewn tables sport mason jars with wildflowers.
The $270-per-night rate includes a host of activities on its 40-acre retreat: fishing, spelunking, kayaking.
Most of Webb’s customers come from New York City.
“It’s great for parents who want to get kids away from the electronic devices and back to nature, but who don’t want to buy the tent and lug the camping equipment and everything else,” Webb said. “You’re still roughing it, but you’re doing it in style. Everything is taken care of.”
Darien Lake began offering luxury accommodations for cabin campers a few years back.
The 10 new glampsites with tents are its first foray into higher-end offerings for tent campers. They’ve seen a more than 90 percent occupancy rate since it launched at the end of June. Rates range from $125 to $210 and include park admission for each guest. Traditional tent camping rates at the park range from $40 to $200 and also include park admission.
Each site is cleaned between visitors by the theme park’s crew. The mattresses are enclosed in a protective casing.
“They’ve been very well received,” said Dennis Kohl, Darien Lake accommodations director. “We’re looking to expand this area into something bigger.”
A total of 50 glampsites, probably with electric fans and lamps, are expected by next year.
