National Parks Traveler Episode 61: 21st Century National Park Campgrounds

By Kurt Repanshek - April 12th, 2020

What will the 21st century national park campground look like? What amenities are you interested in finding when you pull into a campground? Derrick Crandall, counseler for the National Park Hospitality Association, joins us to discuss two studies that examine the campgrounds, the issues they face, and the demands today’s campers want.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
3:03 North Cascades Institute promotion
3:22 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
3:56 What Should 21st century National Park Campgrounds Look Like?
21:12 National Parks Traveler Coronavirus edition promotion
21:24 Yankee Freedom promotion
22:00 Friends of Acadia promotion
22:31 21st Century Campground Discussion With Derrick Crandall Continues
37:34 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
37:58 RVShare.com promotion
38:32 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
39:17 Florida Impressions: A preview of upcoming stories from Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve
48:24 Episode Closing
48:43 Orange Tree Productions promotion

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National Parks Traveler Podcast

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Submitted by Bill Cook on April 14, 2020 - 1:52pm.

Thanks for this podcast with Mr. Crandall of the camping industry. I do need to respond to his statement about putting wifi into national park campgrounds: "If you don't want wifi, just turn it off." With all respect, that misses the point. Wifi in campgrounds will allow my neighboring campers to stream movies from their picnic table, within easy earshot of my tent. If people are going to camp in a national park campground, they should be focused on nature. Leave the tech at home.

This reflects a fundamental disagreement over the essential nature of the national park experience.

Submitted by Joshua Israel on April 16, 2020 - 5:42am.

Great Podcast. Thank you.

Submitted by Tyler Thompson on May 29, 2020 - 8:25am.

In this episode you refernce two recent studies, where can we access those?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 29, 2020 - 12:05pm.

Tyler, here's a link to our written story on this topic, and in it you'll find a link to the reports.

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2020/04/national-park-service-working-envision-21st-century-campground

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