Glamping: Glamorous Camping Ideal for Baby Boomers

In a previous post I wrote about “gramping” — grandparents camping with grandkids (but cheating a bit by bedding down in a lodge) — a name coined by an inn  in Ohio.

A king-sized bed lures baby boomers in one of the “glamping” tents at the River Dance Lodge. Photo from River Dance Lodge.

Now comes “glamping” — a term that’s catching on as a clever contraction for “glamorous camping,” a combo that doesn’t always spring immediately to mind.

Glamping seems tailor-made for baby boomers, who may love the great outdoors but also tend to favor somewhat softer accommodations than, well, hard ground dotted with annoying pebbles.

Glamping, however, involves (at a minimum) tents with real beds inside — what’s not to like?

“Glamping” has been around for a while, though perhaps not by that name. The English used to go on African safaris in tents that resembled rajah’s palaces, and Libya’s dictator Muammar Khadafy was said to have preferred living in his lavishly outfitted desert tent to hanging out in Tripoli.

Our kind of glamping, though, isn’t always that luxurious. You may not find indoor plumbing or electrical outlets for plugging in your smartphones at night. (The horror!) But after all, this is supposed to be the great outdoors.

So, where can you “glamp”?

Idaho’s River Dance Lodge, for one, which actively trumpets “glamping” on its website, and, to the best of my knowledge, is responsible for re(?)-introducing the term to Americans. (I have a question mark in there because the website notes that “glamping” may have previous origins.)

The lodge features three creekside luxury-level tents (“luxury” being a comparative term here), complete with king-sized (!) beds , chairs, a small table, a wood stove and a back deck area complete with heated outdoor clawfoot bathtub. Barbecue grills, picnic tables and a fire ring are nearby. The only downside is that the toilets are a short walk away, but, as we noted earlier, this is camping.

The lodge partners with ROW Adventures, an excellent tour operator that I’ve written about previously in this blog, allowing you to combine glamping with river kayaking there, which sounds like a pretty perfect day and night to me.

Kudos to River Dance Lodge for promoting glamping — a catchy term indeed — but you may want to add more tents soon. Baby boomers will be knocking down your door — er, flap.

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