Vintage Photos of Camping 100 Years Ago

In 1940, the Regional Review called camping “an American tradition,” according to a copy of the article shared by the National Park Service.

Starting in the mid-to-late 1800s, people camped for fun in North America, according to Britannica. As people increasingly sought to escape cities, organizations such as the Appalachian Mountain Club began to crop up. At the turn of the 20th century, books such as “The Camper’s Handbook” continued to ignite interest, and throughout the century, organized camping grew in popularity.

In 1930, before the Great Depression really took hold, there were more than 3 million campers across the US, The Dyrt reported, citing Terence Young, the author of “Heading Out: A History of American Camping.”

Camping originally just involved the campers, the outdoors, and some simple cooking ware. The shelter was simple, too: People would often sleep beneath a sheet held up by sticks and string.

If you went camping like this group in France in 1930, you were unreservedly experiencing nature. 

There was usually no electricity for miles, and campers had to make do with whatever heat sources they had — whether that be fires, blankets, or huddling together for warmth. 

By the Great Depression, with nearly one in four Americans unemployed in 1932, camping was considered a cost-efficient, resourceful vacation compared to train fares and costly accommodations.

There was a lot more manual labor involved with getting set up and making food than in campsites of the future, which might have access to full kitchens or electricity. 

Basic grooming was still expected.

Campers had to gather everything from the outdoors if they didn’t bring water or other supplies with them.

Tent pegs were often wooden, not plastic, and had to be hammered into the ground.

Part of the allure of going camping was the authenticity of living outdoors, even if just for the night.

Campers would bring furniture, books, and other items from home to make their time in the great outdoors more comfortable.

While this may seem impractical today, it certainly made for a more sophisticated camping excursion.

The appeal of having no distractions while enjoying quality time with friends endures.

Campgrounds, as we know them today, weren’t really established until the 1930s when the National Park Service developed “Recreation Demonstration Areas,” according to the National Park Service.

Apparently, the first official mention of s’mores appeared in a Girl Scouts manual in 1927, according to Reserve America.

People started bringing more with them on camping trips.

RVs have also evolved. Starting as small cabins built onto the back of regular cars in the 1910s, they eventually evolved into homes, and even mansions, on wheels.

While the VW bus, as it is better known, came out in the ’50s, it reached peak popularity in the ’70s. It is one of the most iconic road trip vehicles in history, and synonymous with wanderlust.

Camping, as a result, became easier.

Who says camping needs to mean roughing it?

Instead of sleeping outside, you could have some protection by staying inside your car, or even kick back on a seat that converted into a bed.

Everyone wants to be close to nature … but not too close.

Camping became more comfortable, meaning campers could now spend days or even weeks at a time in the wilderness.

People sometimes spent days camping outside ahead of an event.

Camping is still used as accommodation at modern festivals like Bonnaroo.

However, many campsites were still segregated, meaning only white visitors had access to certain parks and campgrounds. 

The Beat Generation was a literary movement made up of a group of writers who wrote about American culture using a stream-of-consciousness writing method.

Jack Kerouac, a popular writer of the time, wrote about the times he slept outside on the beach in Big Sur, which he later published in his 1962 novel “Big Sur.”

To this day, their raw stories about traveling constantly and taking odd jobs to survive encourage readers to live more in tune with nature.

However, Black people and families still made use of desegregated parks and campsites or used parks and campgrounds that were designated only for Black citizens. These parks, like Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, became places of community for Black families and received thousands of visitors each year, Atlas Obscura reported.

After state and national parks were mandated to be desegregated, many of the Black-only parks closed or were absorbed by surrounding parks, according to the National Park Service.

In fact, the more dependent we become on technology, the more people might like to retreat into nature for a few days.

There’s been a statistical rise in camping over the past decade. According to Kampgrounds of America’s 2024 Camping and Outdoor Hospitality report, active campers have increased by 67% in the last 10 years, and one in four leisure trips are for camping.

As families try to find affordable summer activities, we may see even more campers seeking the great outdoors this summer.