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People Head to Campgrounds for Holiday Weekend
07/03/09 - 12:46 PM

Associated Press

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A lot of people will be traveling this Fourth of July weekend. Many of them will be traveling to a state park or a private campground to spend the long weekend outdoors.
   
The slumping economy and high gas prices have many families looking for cheaper getaways this summer travel season.

The Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds says its members are seeing an increase in the number of people using their facilities.

The trend to save money and enjoy nature also is being felt at Florida’s state parks.

Last year was a record for state parks in terms of attendance. Nearly 20.7 million (20,738,701) people visited one of the parks. More than 2.1 million (2,192,748) of those people spent the night.

This year’s number will set another record.

Through the first 11 months of this fiscal year, which ended June 30, the number of visitors is running ahead of last year’s total. Nearly 21 million (20,954,681) people had visited a state park with more than 2.2 million (2,207,765).
   
“We have seen an increase in camping in general and generally over the last 10 years we’ve seen about a 70 percent increase in camping capacity. People are looking for affordable recreation and state parks are affordable, beautiful and families are loving to go,” said Jessica Kemper, Florida Division of State Parks spokeswoman.
   
“Florida is typically known as the best camping state in the nation. It has a wide variety of campgrounds, it offers all kinds of different aspects as far as things to do, places to see, attractions to visit and the campgrounds in Florida can pretty much provide anything anybody’s looking for,” said Bobby Cornwell,  Florida Association of RV and Campgrounds.
   
“We’ve met people on the road who have been on the road for 20 years. They originally rented an RV for a month and that was 20 years ago, they liked it so much they bought one and stayed with it,” said Gene Ellington, an RV’er.
   
“It’s a lot more convenient than going to motels, a lot cleaner. That’s not P.C. I know but it’s the truth.”
   
Bobby Cornwell with the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds says more people choosing to camp is a trend that has been seen over the past several years. He says the numbers appear to be picking up in the past couple of years as the result of the bad economy.