Wicked Easy Camping
The Need for More Outdoor Industry On-Ramps
Over the Fourth of July weekend, we packed the boys into the Subaru and shunpiked our way up to Wolfe’s Neck Campground. Here we spent three nights camping on the Maine coast, just a 15-minute drive from L.L.Bean’s headquarters.
On this camping trip, we assigned the boys jobs. They pitched the tent (kind of), built the fires (sort of), set up the camp chairs (pretty much), and did the dishes (incredibly poorly). By the second night, our 5-year-old and 2-year-old had earned their keep. My oldest leaned back in his camp chair, put his hands behind his head, and released a satisfying sigh before clearing his throat. With comical sincerity, he said, “I needed this. A nice relaxing camp trip. Mom and Dad, I’m a camping guy.” His younger brother then mimicked him, which was even funnier: “I’m a camping guy too.” Damn right, my dudes, you sure are. Me too.
The campground was a cross-sectional representation of the recent OIA data on outdoor and camping participation. Families dug in behind walls of gear, older couples in RVs and towables, and a handful of solo travelers with small, lightweight gear footprints, indicating this was clearly not their first rodeo.
When we returned home, some family friends asked about the trip. We waxed poetic about the experience, retelling the camping guys story to illustrate how much fun the boys had. After listening to us recount our long weekend adventure, our friends sheepishly admitted that they’d been wanting to try camping with their young kids but were intimidated by their lack of experience or knowledge. They want in but have no idea what to buy, where to go, or what to expect.
The how do we get started question is the key to sustained growth in the outdoor industry. But two recent reports on outdoor and camping participation seem to suggest the industry as a whole is struggling to answer it.
Casting a Wide Net
Two interesting participation reports were recently published by the Outdoor Industry Association, both based on the same Physical Activity Council data, and both point to an interesting dilemma around growth.
The 2026 Outdoor Participation Trends Report presents a nervous picture. A record number of Americans got outside in 2025, but growth in participation slowed to a crawl at 1.1%. In fact, the average participant took five fewer trips than in 2019 (a pre-pandemic baseline). The report seems to conclude that the outdoor industry is “wider and shallower than it has ever been.” Suggesting that too many people are dipping their toes and never coming back.
On the other hand, the 2026 Camping Report paints a more optimistic picture. Camping within a quarter mile of the car grew more than 5% last year, adding 2 million people from the year before. Casual participants were identified as the engine of that growth, and the report’s headline recommendation for the year is “nurturing casual campers.” Or put another way, casting a wider net.
The data suggest that the casual camper, hiker, paddler, etc., is a coin toss. And the way to ensure the odds of becoming a keeper rather than a churner? More on-ramps.
Becoming Camping Guys
My friends, right now, are that coin flipping through the air. Whether they turn into camping guys (as my kids would say) or go once and decide it’s not for them largely depends on whether the industry can build them an on-ramp from the first trip to the fifth.
According to the Outdoor Participation Trend report, the math suggests this isn’t happening. At least, not at scale. If casual naturally grew into frequent, the data would show the participation base widening while frequency held steady. Instead, the base widened, and the frequency dropped.
My friends want in. But left to do all of the research and preparation alone, they’re staring at a million daunting micro-decisions, and most people in their spot quietly give up. This is where the outdoor industry loses that coin flip.
In steps Wicked Easy Camping.
Wicked Easy Camping
Wolfe’s Neck runs a program with L.L.Bean called Wicked Easy Camping. L.L.Bean outfits a set of sites with everything. The tent’s already standing, the sleeping bags laid out, the camp cooking setup stocked, and the chairs placed around the fire pit. You make the reservation, bring the food, and enjoy all that camping has to offer.
That’s an on-ramp. It’s not another campaign about how camping is affordable and good for the soul. It’s physical infrastructure that gives the first-time camper confidence to become a repeat camper.
Enjoying the First Trip
With every family camping trip, our gear list inches closer to completion as we toe the line between too much stuff and just right. My wife’s the gearhead in the family…ironic given our respective professions. But she’s damn good at researching and picking out the right gear for our motley crew of four. She curates our set-up, and I figure out how to get it in the car.
Our friends, on the other hand, have booked a Wicked Easy campsite, meaning they don’t have to think about the right gear to stuff in their car. Hopefully, they’ll spend the weekend on the Maine coast sitting by evening campfires and enjoying the fresh air. Camping is a much easier sell on the first go-around, when you don’t need to worry about what to pack.
And while they won’t become core participants overnight, they just need the second trip to feel possible.