Bill writes:

Subject: Why camp?

Has there ever been a live survey taken during an average day or week, in a sampling of national and state parks around the country, of the people camping in tents, RVs, etc. in the park? I'm thinking the questionnaire would contain items like the regular demographics (age, residence, family data, etc.), how often do they camp overnight somewhere in an average year, what are the major activities they engage in while camping, the kinds of camp ground amenities they prefer when choosing where to camp (or if they don't care if there are amenities), and an open-end item asking them to essentially write down why they are there, why they like to camp in general. Perhaps some more specific items could be included to sort of force the respondents into identifying the crux as to why they choose this form of leisure as opposed to other popular tourist venues.