So you live in an urban area, but you yearn for wide open spaces. This might be hard to believe, but you don’t have to go far camping. A new wave of campgrounds has popped up and we’re ready to lay down our (or actual) sleeping bags and reserve them. From Louisville to Edinburgh, read on to learn about our favorite urban campgrounds just a stone’s throw from where you call home.
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1. Progress Park Airstream Resort & Event Venue in Louisville, KY
It is located about 25 minutes from downtown Louisville, Progress Park A must for quirky camping in Bluegrass State. Here you’ll find a large number of Airstream trailers and lake house accommodations on sprawling 12 acres just outside of Derbyville city limits. Currently, guests can choose from overnight rentals in one of seven vintage Airstreams, a bunkhouse, and two homes that sleep from 2 to 10 guests. On the premises, you can enjoy swimming in a two-acre pool, access to kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, a groomed nature trail, corn pit, horseshoes, peg ball, and playground.
Have we mentioned why we haven’t hit the high seas – or the Lake Lorraine basin – for a night in a “boat” before? In this one-of-a-kind hideaway in a wide channel barge, safely moored in the heart of Edinburgh, you can hit the ships hay with two cozy cabin bedrooms that sleep up to eight guests (including bunk beds and double beds). There is also a full kitchen and bathroom. You’ll be a stone’s throw from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, and your home away from home also offers Wi-Fi and a beautiful patio to take in the views.
This vintage-trailer hotel and campground under the starry canvas of a New Mexico sky (choice) is within reach. Taos Mesa Brewing (check plus). It’s only eight miles from downtown Taos and you have your choice of 20 vintage trailers and 60 campgrounds. There are also rudimentary RV spaces without hookups. There’s free Wi-Fi, a pet-friendly policy, and there’s no shortage of mountain views that rejuvenate the soul.
If you want to book your flight to New Mexico with a short trip to Sante Fe, it’s a two-hour drive from Luna Mystica to the upscale Kitvaux Center, a 25-minute drive from downtown Santa Fe. Rejoice in the silence of the desert, and if you can time your visit, swing by when they host special events like Orionid meteor showers or supermoons, jogging/writing havens, “Dinner in the Wild” feasts, and more.
To Idaho we go. Less than an hour outside of Boise, Idaho, head to this posh little cottage village before the stunning peaks of the Sawtooth Mountains when you need a break from it all. The residences are fully furnished and offer Smart Glass technology (the glass changes transparency based on the outside temperature or by remote control). There are also full bathrooms, a kitchen, cooking surfaces for outdoor dining, fire pits, and Wi-Fi. When you want to go outside, The Smoke Jumper is within walking distance of the hot spring resort springsready for that rejuvenating soak you didn’t know you needed.
Well, that might be a couple of hours from a major city (in this case Denver), but it’s too cool not to mention the aspiring van Lives. Once you have the keys, you can go to any urban or rural area that the soul moves you to. These stylish vehicles make getting around town a breeze with kitchenettes, comfy beds, and water systems as you tour our free RV parks and Office of Land Management sites. Bonus for winter travelers: Some ski resorts allow overnight camping.
7. LCRA Parks Lake Bastrop North Shore Park in Bastrop, Texas
Just a 45-minute drive from Austin, you can get to downtown lavish at LCRA Parks Lake Bassrup North Shore Park. Choose from a selection of lakefront tents, cabins and Airstreams, with access to a boat dock and watercraft rentals as extras. Between adventures of mountain biking, fishing, and hiking, you can relax in the fire pit, on the outdoor deck, or cook up a storm during the boys’ weekend. FYI: The tents have a shared bathroom within walking distance and a cabin. Airstreams have a private toilet with shower. Our vote if you’ll attend Mrs.: montana tent For a romantic lakeside getaway.
8. Mass Retreats Governors Island in New York, New York
Hop on an eight-minute ferry ride from downtown Manhattan and you’ll feel away from the hustle and bustle of city life clustered around fire pits, relaxing in Adirondack chairs, walking or biking around the park’s gardens, all with the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline illuminating the backdrop. The cozy tent will be your home away from home, fare from the outdoor Argentine grill Dinner And the group drinksTheir craft beer program, right after our heart strings.
Do you want to sleep in a shipping container? NYC Glamping is ready to make your recycled sleep fantasies come true in these converted shipping containers. They come complete with air conditioning, Wi-Fi, shower and bathroom, all with views of the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn’s waterfront. For something a little more elegant, NYC Glamping also offers an overnight boat rental. There are also luxury tents if you prefer to be more in tune with the elements.
About 90 minutes outside of Chicago, located near Starved Rock State ParkYou’ll arrive at Camp Aramoni, which is set in a former 19th-century stone yard and restored by husband and wife team Jennifer and Tim Bias with their daughter Stephanie and son Jacob. Now, the 96-acre grounds are a perfect escape to forested terrain, tranquil ponds, and fields of native wildflowers along the Vermilion River. Guests stay in any of the 11 raised safari-style tents equipped with air conditioning and heating. There are hardwood floors, king-size beds, an en suite bathroom, a personal campfire with gourmet nightlife s’mores, and other amenities.
When hunger strikes, head to The Barn, the camp’s main inn. Here there is breakfast and dinner service, and a general store with travel essentials, snacks and fast food. Admittedly, you can find us just steps away from our hanging tents at The Burlington, a restored 1971 Airstream Overlander RV converted into a coffee, espresso, and cocktail bar. There’s access to walking, turning strangers into friends, and hanging out for a caffeine-fueled morning newspaper reading marathon.
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