09 May 4 ways to host back garden camping
Calling all homeowners – camping isn’t just green forests and snow-capped mountains. If you have a garden or private patch of green attached to your house, why not give traveling campers a place to stay? Here are 4 ways to start hosting back garden camping.
Why back garden camping?
The outdoors is the true home of campers, but a lot of campers pop by in cities or urban areas when traveling to a new destination. Other campers look to escape the walled confines of their home and spend a night outdoors. The answer? Camping in your garden! (Or someone else’s.)
Hosting campers in your garden is providing the opportunity for campers to spend a night outdoors away from the great outdoors. That is not to say it is necessarily urban camping, although it could be.
Back garden camping is exactly what it sounds like – pitching a tent or setting up camping accommodation in a garden. This allows you to camp away from the outdoors and instead in an urban environment. The problem with urban environments like cities is that they are largely public spaces frequently used by people. Most cities have little space for nature and camping is often prohibited. Green spaces are relatively rare in and other urban settlements.
It seems then that campers have little to no place in cities or other urban environments. Best they find a hotel or hostel while visiting. Or is there an alternative? Of course there is! Gardens are the urban environments that tick all boxes to make a happy camper – they’re green, private, and safe. All you need to do is share them. The added bonus? You earn a buck, too (check here how much you can earn with your space).
Outside of dense urban environments like cities, garden camping is much less regulated in many countries. But you might be asking yourself, “can someone camp in my garden?”.
Can someone camp in my garden?
Again, let’s be clear about the definition of garden camping here. One thing is pitching a tent for the kids to spend the night in the backyard. Second is monetizing your garden by renting it out to campers for (extended) stays. While the first will be allowed pretty much anywhere, the legality of the latter really depends on your country and city of residence. For instance, some states in the US have made it illegal for someone to camp in your city garden ever since rental platforms like Airbnb and Campanyon made it possible for people to monetize their real estate.
On the other side of the big pond, the UK mostly allows for garden camping while, in the Netherlands, these matters are regulated per municipality. So with regards to the question, “can someone camp in my garden?”, it’s best you check with your local law enforcement what the details are on garden camping before you become a host.
How to start your own campsite in your garden
Hosting people camping on your land is as simple as creating a listing on Campanyon – but there’s a few things to keep in mind. So how to start your own campsite? Most importantly, have basic bathroom facilities available to campers. If you don’t want to share your home toilet with others, you could build a composting toilet instead. Make sure campers have access to drinking water too.
What else should you think of when starting your own campsite in your back garden? You can choose to provide many other services as a host, like hot showers, breakfast, or home-cooked meals. It really depends on what kind of host you want to be and what kind of experience you’d like to provide. Sometimes all someone needs is empty garden space to pitch a tent on. On the other hand, who says you can’t create a premium experience when camping in the back garden?
Upgrading back garden camping to glamping
If you like the idea of hosting camping in the back garden, chances are you are a host by nature. And when that’s the case you’ll love going the extra mile to create a nice experience for camper guests. Glamping is providing that extra comfort, luxury, and service to campers. You need bigger tents, softer mattresses, a bathtub instead of showers. Breakfast baskets, toiletries, and a welcome champagne. How you take urban camping to an urban glamping experience is up to you.
With all that extra investment and effort also comes extra reward. A fully equipped bell tent or glamping tent can cost as much per night as a good hotel room, especially when your city has limited offerings on the kind of luxury outdoor experience you’re creating away from the outdoors.
4 ways to host urban campers in your backyard
1. Pitch a tent or hammock
A patch of grass is literally all you need to host campers in your garden. Trees eliminate the need for empty, level ground in your garden to host someone – simply hang a hammock when the weather is balmy enough to sleep outside (though we still recommend using a sleeping bag). And when the climate is less favorable, a flying tent that can be pitched between the trees will keep visitors high and dry and ready for back garden camping.
If you happen to have an estate for a garden, you could even pitch a safari tent and provide full-on glamping in the garden. Finish a bell tent, safari tent, dome, or other luxury tent with some nice interior and add an outdoor shower to your garden. With such an elaborate setup, consider garden glamping only if you’re willing to have a semi-permanent glamping in your back garden.
2. Offer RV parking space
If having campers pitch a tent in the garden is a simple solution, offering RV parking space on the lawn is an even easier form of camping. Campervan travelers are self-sufficient folk – their RV carries pretty much everything they need. All you need to provide is a private lawn or clearing with road access. A huge bonus is providing access to the power grid.
3. Repurpose the garden shed (or greenhouse)
A garden shed is more than a storage space for lawn mowers and other underused tools. Clear out the shed and transform it into a backyard accommodation that both campers and glampers will love. This simple garden shed in the Netherlands has a tiny kitchen and bathroom, whereas this Dutch shed has bunk beds for four.
You can even repurpose the greenhouse for camping (or garden glamping if you add some interior flair). Just make sure it doesn’t get too hot in summer – cover your greenhouse with a shade like this lovely greenhouse in Denmark.
4. Build a treehouse
The best thing about urban camping in a treehouse? They don’t take up more space than their host tree! You could build a treehouse hut as tiny as 6m2, or construct a bird’s nest treehouse as big as the supporting tree allows for. And if you build a treehouse on stilts, the supporting tree doesn’t even need to be that big to support urban camping accommodation.
Camping in back garden made easy
If you have a backyard and local law enforcement doesn’t ban camping in your area, you can start hosting garden camping today. Campanyon enables hosts and campers to connect in an easy and safe way. Simply create a listing and get hosting.