Glamping Takes Outdoor Life to a Whole New Level — Here's How

I've heard the term glamping thrown around so much but felt like it sounded too much like camping to take notice of it. Though I grew up in the Midwest in a fairly rural area, I come from a family whose idea of being outdoorsy consists of gardening and going to the beach. Pitching a tent and unrolling a sleeping bag was never something I had any interest in because I don't like bugs and I like my modern conveniences, especially my toilet and my bed. But the recent trend of glamping takes care of all of that.

Glamping is the term someone came up with after smashing together "glamour" and "camping," which is exactly what it is. Say goodbye to peeing in the bushes and hello to running water and high-tech conveniences. You can glamp in tents if you please, but don't plan on sleeping on the ground. Your tent (or yurt or Airstream or what have you) will most likely be equipped with an actual bed and will provide you access to working plumbing and conveniences you need.

You have some options with glamping. You can go to a campground that already has glamping areas set up (glampgrounds?), or you can rent a yurt or Airstream and take it to the campground of your choice. Preexisting glamping areas tend to have more modern features about them because the entire area has been set up to function solely as a glampground. So if modern amenities are what you seek, try a current glampground!

Glamping is ideal for someone who wants to experience the outdoors without leaving behind the modern amenities of a hotel. Glamping provides a mixture of both. You'll still be very close to nature in your small yurt or Airstream, but you'll have your plumbing and you'll have a real bed to sleep on.

You would be correct in thinking that. Glamping is just the new-age version of RV camping in a slightly more hip place. Also, while you can rent a yurt (Airstream, etc.) to take where you want, a prominent feature of glamping is finding a stationary place, like a hotel, and glamping to your heart's content there, rather than driving your RV to where you want to go. However, the concept is much the same.