The Campground of the Future
Illustration BY KATHLEEN FU
With tens of millions hitting the road with new expectations of hospitality, we’ve reimagined what camping will look like in the year 2050. Hint: You’re going to love it.
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Gone are the days of RVs stacked side by side. Gone is the hum of the generator. The campground of 2050 includes more nature, more electricity, less noise and much more life among the treetops. Everything is powered by the sun, as solar panels blanket every building and vehicle.
Maybe you sleep in a futuristic RV, but you don’t plug in; you park atop a charging pad. Maybe you crash in a 3D-printed cabin or a solar-powered tent sheltered by flora on each side. Or you climb into a next-generation tree house, unlike any treehouse a 20th-century child imagined. A network of suspended pathways connects you to a community of your fellow remote workers, foot-loose retirees and digital explorers in a luxurious co-working space.
Hospitality lives. Hosts are on site if you need them—local knowledge runs deep here—but your check-in is touchless, as is your entry to the amphitheater, where a local band strums in the evening. Maybe you stay for a night. Or for a week, while EV techs (they’re on-site, too!) get your wheels back on the road. However long you stay, it’s not long enough.
The Next Level
“One popular campground feature we expect will expand is a sky deck concept, which provides an elevated patio above the RV pad. In a similar vein, treehouses will be more common. We have also conceived elevated paths and walkways around the campground. The guest perspective changes above the ground.”
TOBY O’ ROURKE, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF KOA
Three Campgrounds Where the Future Is Now
Bay Point Landing
(Coos Bay, OR)
RV park meets mod design: airy, angular common spaces and industrial-chic cabins, alongside scores of full-hook-up sites.
CampV
(Naturita, CO)
Futuristic camping pods (the “Jupe”) harness Tesla and SpaceX designers’ skills, sharing a remote spread with luxe cabins and conventional RV spots.
Tops’l Farms
(Waldeboro, ME)
Call it “back to the future”: big, woodsy acreage hosts unplugged retreats for teens; stay in sharp wooden A-frame cabins.
The Future of the Road
From electric RVs to next-gen campgrounds, the American road trip is changing fast. We asked 25 experts what's next. To see where the journey is headed, explore our Future of the Road coverage.
