MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 1, 2021
Campground managers across Maine have stories of longtime campers unable to get their favorite campsites this year because of the boom brought on by the pandemic. That, coupled with a spike in recreational vehicle sales, meant that choice campsites went fast as soon as reservations opened earlier this year. Maine state parks are on pace to break last year’s attendance record, with total nights reserved at the 12 campgrounds around the state up 29 percent compared to the same time as last year. Active camping households in the U.S. grew to 86.1 million in 2020. But the number of new camper households mushroomed from 2.7 million in 2019 to 10.1 million in 2020. If you didn’t have seriously fast typing skills when online reservations opened earlier in the year, you likely were out of luck.