From a Sacramento Bee editorial:

Overnight camping stays in the national parks have dropped more than 20 percent over the past decade. The outdoor industry finds long-distance backpacking is off by 25 percent since 1998.


It might be tempting to write this off to an increasingly sedentary culture, but that doesn’t mesh with increased interest in snowshoeing, canoeing and kayaking, telemark skiing and trail running.


So why don’t people want to do overnight camping in parks and on remote trails? Some people write it off to Americans wanting cushy vacations. But that’s just a restatement of the question: Why do they want cushy vacations and not an outdoor experience?

Just leaves more room for the rest of us, I figure.