Experience the LGBTQ+ Campgrounds with Rolando and Bella

Experience the LGBTQ+ Campgrounds with Rolando and Bella

One of the unexpected joys of traveling full-time has been the conversations I have along the way. Last night, I spent time talking with someone who was completely new to the LGBTQ+ camping world. As we talked, I realized just how difficult it is to explain this community to someone who has never experienced it.

There isn't just one kind of LGBTQ+ camper.

There are people who came out as young adults in their 20s and others who waited until retirement. There are gay men, lesbians, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, queer, and intersex travelers; singles, couples, throuples, chosen families, lifelong friends, and members of our community who are differently abled. Every person arrives with a unique story, different life experiences, and different reasons for seeking friendship, acceptance, adventure, or simply a place where they can truly be themselves.

And everyone camps for different reasons.

Some are looking for peace and solitude after years of hiding. Others want to build genuine friendships and lasting community. Some are weekend warriors escaping the pressures of work. Others enjoy nightlife, leather, kink, or clothing-optional environments where they feel free to express themselves without judgment. Some are still closeted and simply want a place where they can quietly exhale for a weekend.

Some are looking for what one friend jokingly called "a bathhouse in the woods for the weekend." Others are searching for something entirely different—a place to become permanent residents in a welcoming retirement community surrounded by nature, where they can grow older among friends who understand them.

The camping itself is just as diverse.

Some arrive with backpacks and tents. Others travel in teardrop trailers, vans, fifth wheels, or million-dollar motorhomes. Some prefer boondocking in remote wilderness, while others love glamping with every modern comfort imaginable. There are hikers, photographers, birders, digital nomads, retirees, artists, and adventure seekers. There are people who come for campfires, others for dance floors, and some who are happiest reading a book beneath the trees.

The campgrounds reflect that same diversity.

There are family-friendly, co-ed campgrounds centered on nature and fellowship. There are men-only and women-centered retreats. Some focus on hiking, kayaking, wildlife, and outdoor adventure. Others resemble outdoor resorts with pools, spas, massage services, restaurants, and organized activities. Some become lively party destinations after dark, while others are so peaceful that the loudest sound you'll hear is the wind through the trees.

Some have permanent addresses and generations of history. Others are pop-up gatherings that appear for a weekend and disappear without a trace. Some advertise openly. Others exist almost entirely through word of mouth and personal invitations.

None of these experiences is more authentic than another.

They simply meet different needs at different stages of people's lives.

Perhaps that's what struck me most after our conversation. The LGBTQ+ camping community isn't one thing—it is a reflection of our community itself: beautifully diverse, wonderfully complicated, and constantly evolving.

Whether someone is searching for lifelong friends, quiet reflection, romance, adventure, chosen family, a dance floor under the stars, a secluded campsite beside a river, or simply a place where they don't have to explain who they are, there is likely a campground that feels like home.

After visiting dozens of LGBTQ+ campgrounds and resorts across the United States during my travels, I've learned that they aren't just places to park an RV or pitch a tent. They're places where people heal, celebrate, laugh, rediscover themselves, and sometimes begin entirely new chapters of their lives.

That may be the greatest lesson this journey has taught me.

The LGBTQ+ camping world isn't one destination. It's an entire landscape of possibilities.

And somewhere within it, there's a place where almost everyone can feel they belong.

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