Why landowners should open their property to campers

Megan Michelson

May 12, 2022

Public campsites in the US are facing peak use—and the pressure is on to keep recreational land open to all while still protecting natural resources from overuse. Journalist Megan Michelson makes the case that when private landowners open their grounds up to campers, it’s a win for all of us.

Jeff and Rachel Popp wanted a piece of land to call their own. It was the fall of 2019, and the Denver-based couple dreamed of building a cabin in the mountains of Colorado.

After a few months of searching, they found the perfect site. Forty acres covered in Aspen trees with a view you could linger over, near Victor, Colorado—an old mining town, population 250. This isn’t a popular tourist area by any means, but it’s not hard to get to either—only about an hour’s drive west of the hub of Colorado Springs.

“We got this flat, usable land, which is hard to find in Colorado,” says Jeff, who grew up in the town of Golden, near Denver. The only problem? They got more land than they needed for one small cabin. “Since we ended up with all that land, we saw the opportunity to share it with others, monetize it, and still enjoy our own space,” he says.

Besides, Jeff and Rachel (both avid campers) were seeing first-hand how hard it was to find available campsites in Colorado, especially within a couple of hours from Denver. They figured they could offer would-be campers a quiet, easy-to-reach place to get away. “Our favorite places, which once felt off the radar, were now packed,” Rachel says. “For us, it was like we have this cool spot where we can go camp, but we could also share this experience and this special place with others.”

So, they did.

A man and a woman stand on a snowy mountain, backed by trees, with their two dogs. — “Until recently, private land has been exactly that: private,” writes Megan Michelson. “But we’re entering a new era, one in which forward-thinking landowners are opening their gates so that we can all benefit from the hospitality of a few.” Photos: Rachel and Jeff Popp

Looking out over a view of trees and a lake. — “Until recently, private land has been exactly that: private,” writes Megan Michelson. “But we’re entering a new era, one in which forward-thinking landowners are opening their gates so that we can all benefit from the hospitality of a few.” Photos: Rachel and Jeff Popp

Until recently, private land has been exactly that: private. But we’re entering a new era, one in which forward-thinking landowners are opening their gates so that we can all benefit from the hospitality of a few.

They started by installing a canvas tent and renting it out to guests via the website Tentrr, which launched in 2016. The platform allows campers to book spots on private land around the US for affordable prices. After Jeff and Rachel opened their tent to campers in late May 2020, it was booked solid nearly every day that whole summer.

The COVID-19 pandemic, of course, sent masses of people outdoors, with many going camping for the first time. According to a camping report from The Dyrt, a camping resource site, over 66 million people went camping in the US in 2021, with over 8.3 million trying camping for the first time.

The Popp’s campsite at 105 West Ranch is a rustic experience in an off-the-grid, solar-powered shelter, one that requires a certain tolerance for roughing it. Cell service is spotty and Wi-Fi doesn’t exist out here. “We don’t take your trash, we don’t have running water. You pack it in and pack it out,” Rachel says. “A lot of people we attract have never been camping before, so there’s a learning curve.”

In that way, opening their land up to campers gives them a chance to educate those who are new to the outdoors on how to recreate responsibly and leave no trace on the land. “Teaching people what’s acceptable when they go into the wilderness feels like a skill they’ll be able to use elsewhere, too,” Rachel says.

Looking down over a tent, set amongst green trees and mountains. — Landowners Rachel and Jeff Popp rent out campsites on their property via the website Tentrr, which allows campers to book spots on private land around the US for affordable prices. Photos: Rachel and Jeff Popp

The open flaps of a tent reveal a double bed inside. — Landowners Rachel and Jeff Popp rent out campsites on their property via the website Tentrr, which allows campers to book spots on private land around the US for affordable prices. Photos: Rachel and Jeff Popp

In the US, the federal government oversees some 640 million acres of public land, which covers roughly 28 percent of the country’s 2.27 billion total acres. Four major federal land management agencies administer a majority of this land, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and the US Forest Service.

Much of that public land that’s available for campers is getting used now—and heavily so.

“I think private camping is the future, and there’s so much private land in the US.”

- Jeff Popp

A 2021 report, released by the Center for Western Priorities, found that in 2020, an estimated 54 percent of all reservable public land campsites in the Lower 48 were booked up during the summer months, up from just 39 percent in 2014. In other words, campgrounds at popular state and national parks—as well as dispersed camping on well-known BLM or Forest Service land—is at peak occupancy these days.

But private land? Roughly 60 percent of land in the US is privately owned, held by ranchers, farmers, corporations, and individuals. That’s a resource that only in the last few years has become a major growth area for camping. Sites like Hipcamp, which launched in 2013, have since unlocked more than 4 million acres of private land in the US to campers.

Two charirs look out at a forested view through the window of a geometric construction. — According to a camping report from The Dyrt, a camping resource site, over 66 million people went camping in the US in 2021, with over 8.3 million trying camping for the first time. Private, for-rent campsites provide a place for those new to camping to learn how to recreate responsibly and leave no trace on the land. “Teaching people what’s acceptable when they go into the wilderness feels like a skill they’ll be able to use elsewhere, too,” Rachel says. Photos: Rachel and Jeff Popp

a tiny house lit up by soft lights stands in amongst trees. — According to a camping report from The Dyrt, a camping resource site, over 66 million people went camping in the US in 2021, with over 8.3 million trying camping for the first time. Private, for-rent campsites provide a place for those new to camping to learn how to recreate responsibly and leave no trace on the land. “Teaching people what’s acceptable when they go into the wilderness feels like a skill they’ll be able to use elsewhere, too,” Rachel says. Photos: Rachel and Jeff Popp

Opening that land to campers is important for several reasons. It offers more access to nature to a wider array of people. Science research has confirmed the positive impacts of nature on our wellbeing and physical and mental health, and access to nature shouldn’t be limited by campground availability at the nearest state park.

Spreading campers out to private lands also means a less heavy impact on the popular public parks, which are already strained (see: the line of traffic heading into Yosemite National Park on a summer day) and on the federal agencies that barely have staffing and capacity to maintain and oversee those lands.

Back at the Popp’s land in Colorado, Jeff and Rachel say they’ve fielded a lot of calls from other landowners looking to do the same thing they have: boost their own finances while helping out their local economy, too. “I think private camping is the future, and there’s so much private land in the US,” Jeff says. “As landowners, it’s a real opportunity. You don’t have to put much into it to get a lot out of it.”

And for campers? It’s a win for us, too. Now, instead of cramming into a crowded government-run campsite and putting too much pressure on specific (often delicate) ecosystems, we get to stretch out and enjoy a new piece of quiet wilderness to ourselves.

Megan Michelson

Megan Michelson is a freelance journalist based in Tahoe City, California. She writes regularly for publications including Outside, Ski, Backcountry, and the San Francisco Chronicle.