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Glamping not sleeping in a tent,’ it’s definitely the way to go,” she says.
Jean Taylor, of Camp Taylor in Columbia, Warren County, says
By Owen Gallagher the deluxe cabins and luxury RVs they rent on their 400 acres
adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area,
rent fast because they have kitchens and bathrooms. Rental tents
Crawl out of your king-size bed, linger a few extra minutes in your are also popular because they save you from having to buy and
private bathroom, then enjoy a quick breakfast in your kitchen bring all your own equipment, which is a great advantage if
while the ceiling fan calmly keeps the air-conditioning circulating you’re just trying camping for the first time. “It’s already set up,
against the mid-summer heat. Now all you need to do is pull it’s up on a platform, it has a regular bed, you’re not sleeping on
back the tent flaps and take in the sights, sounds and smells of the ground,” she says. “It has a heater in it. There’s a tarp over the
nature up close. entire thing so the tent won’t leak even if it does rain, so it’s all the
conveniences without having to pack everything. All they have
That’s right, tent flaps. No, you’re not dreaming; you’re glamping. to do is bring their food and clothes.”
The term is a mash-up of glamour and camping, an experience
that lets you connect with the great outdoors and nature without Taylor says her family’s campground is not really a resort. “We’re
giving up modern luxuries. Glamping --technically defined as attracting the people who want to reconnect with nature and
staying in a unique, non-RV accommodation that includes an have the outdoor experience,” she says. But in addition to their
enhanced level of services and amenities -- is a growing trend primitive tent sites, some spots do have water and electric so
throughout the country and New Jersey. campers can plug in a cell phone or use an electric coffee pot.
Camp Taylor also offers high-end, deluxe cabins and luxury RVs
with a bathroom, TV, pots, pans and dishes. “You’re basically
just bringing your food and your love for a unique outdoor
experience,” Taylor says.

The 2019 North American Camping Report, detailing five-year
trends for the Kampgrounds of America, says 45 percent of all
campers are interested in a glamping experience. Their options
in New Jersey range from glamping tents and small cabins to
park models with all the comforts of home … and maybe more. Luxury tent rentals that satisfy the glamping trend were new this
Shop around and you could find a one-of-a-kind experience in past year at Kymer’s Camping Resort in the Kittatinny Mountains
a teepee that comfortably sleeps six or a replica of a traditional in Branchville, Sussex County. Karen Kymer, who is also
covered wagon that could actually be driven on the road if the president of the New Jersey Campground Owners Association,
need arose. If those options are appealing, act fast, campground says campers in the tents just have to bring their own blankets,
owners say, because there are a lot of people looking to book sheets and towels, food and other such things. Campers without
those sites. their own RVs also have options of rustic cabins, which have a
half bath, refrigerator, microwave and TV. Premium cabins have
Christine Salerno, general manager with her husband Bill, of a full bathroom and mini kitchen, while the park model is like a
Holly Shores Camping Resort in Lower Township, Cape May little apartment with a full kitchen, a full bathroom and bedroom.
County, says they already feature four glamping safari tents The variety of choices are good for the many family reunions
among their 300 campsites and are adding two more because the camp sees, Kymer says. “You have people that, maybe the
they are so popular. husband is a real true camper, but the wife isn’t and they want to
have that outdoor experience, so the they kind of compromise
Their glamping tents are 60-foot-by-20-foot canvas units with a and maybe they’ll take a cabin, so you’re still in an enclosed
small kitchen, air conditioning and heat. “I like to kind of refer to structure.”
them as a MASH tent or a Hemingway-type tent,” Salerno says.
“It’s fully furnished. It has a king-size bed and two twin beds. … Whatever the choice, Kymer says the experience is still about the
It has a ceiling fan and bath in it. It’s pretty glampy. People love outdoor experience and getting connected to nature.
it. It’s not just coming to a camp site and camping in a tent. It’s
an experience.” That is in an integral part of glamping. It’s about a new way to live
out a passion for nature, recognizing the appeal of activities such
Salerno says manufacturers are catching on and making units as an old-fashioned hike through the woods, but not necessarily
that offer the charm of roughing it without sacrificing the creature a late-night hike to the bathroom.
comforts of home. “For Mom and Grandmom who are like, ‘I’m

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