Bears in the Woods: Finding Sex and Community at Gay Campgrounds

In a recent episode of the TV sitcom Will & Grace, Jack, when asked by Karen if he wants to go shopping, responds facetiously, “Does a gay bear have anonymous sex in the woods?” Stereotypes aside, there seems a real attraction for bears to go camping and frolicking in the woods, close to nature.

The past few years have brought a surge in the number of gay/lesbian campgrounds, as well as increased development of and participation in such camps, across North America. Jim Thideman, co-owner with his partner Chaz of Cactus Canyon Campground in Missouri, says his numbers have been doubling every year. Sawmill Camping Resort in Florida boasts, according to promotions director Shawn Charleton, a whopping membership base of 22,000 pulling heavily not only from the Southeast but also as far as New Orleans and Washington, DC.

Bear-themed weekends, sometimes sponsored by local bearclubs, have become a mainstay at several of them. Some “Bears in the Woods” camp weekends attract hundreds of bears and bearlovers. LazyBear weekend, an unstructured charity-driven bear run held in Guerneville, CA (north of San Francisco) in July, attracts an estimated 5,000-7,000 men, who cram themselves into every available camp-able square foot of woodland in the Russian River resort vicinity.

Opinions vary widely as to the reason for this camping boom among bears and gay men in general. Gary Snyder, co-manager of Roseland Campground in West Virginia, feels that gay men want to “get back to something that’s not so technical or logical. It’s not as simple as going to a B&B.” Jim Thideman agrees: “Guys aren’t interested in the bar scene any more. In the Sixties, everyone moved out of the country and into the gay ghettoes; now folks are wanting to get away from urban gay environments, away from bar games, and back to their roots.”

John Mangiapane, a regular camper at Hillside Campground in NE Pennsylvania, feels other reasons motivate bears to go camping: “They don’t necessarily enjoy camping, but they like being around other available men. So they go one weekend to a bear run, and another weekend to the campground.” He also believes that travel expense and risk are important factors: “Guys who can’t afford to fly out to a bear run can afford to drive a few hours to a regional campground – also, because of travel concerns, folks are flying less and staying closer to home.”

That bears are somehow more inclined to be outdoorsy and butch, that their masculinity is tied to somehow being more “natural,” is perhaps an urban myth. “If all the tents were replaced by cabins with coffeemakers and room service,” comments one camper from New Orleans who goes by the moniker “Sgt. Boudreaux” and who travels frequently to urban bear runs as well as gay camps, “bears would flock to gay campgrounds in even greater numbers than they do today.” During Lazybear weekend last year,” Boudreaux” saw “a string of tents with electrical cords running between them, all hooked up to CPAP machines with sleep-apnea bears snoring away.”

Rich Hanson of Manchester, N.H., comments, “I don’t think it is really about the outdoors experience. I think it’s about camaraderie and connecting with other guys in a nonjudgmental environment.” Although he always enjoyed camping, ever since his youth, Rich, cites his own initial gay camping experience as being fairly momentous:

“I had never been to a place where you could run around naked. Also I had a real phobia about my own body, being 6’3″ and 340 pounds. So my first time I showed up a day earlier than most folks to get acquainted with the naked me. And I loved it! I ended up going to the opposite extreme – I stayed naked the whole weekend. Eventually the novelty of being naked wore off, but that initial experience changed me. I always said I didn’t care what people thought about my looks, although I guess that initially that wasn’t the case, but after that breakthrough I knew that I felt good about my own body. It was very self-esteem building. It’s not every day that you get to be naked in front of 500 people.”

Nowadays Rich spends his entire vacation time every year at a gay campground with his partner, whom he met two summers ago at Hillside. John Bales, a self-identified bear and owner of Black Bear Camp in Alabama, says, “Gay men, especially folks looking for a long-term relationship, should consider the gay camp environment. It’s a great way to get to know somebody in non-bar setting.”

At clothing-optional camps that admit lesbians as well as gay men, the atmosphere is perhaps less sexually charged but just as friendly. Keith, owner of Camp Davis in Pennsylvania, says, “Women say they’re not threatened; men say they aren’t threatened.” John Cabbel, owner of newly opened Lumberjacks Camping Resort in Alabama, concurs: “Women make a good contribution to the park as well – we see no reason to exclude them.”

Safety and security are important for people to feel comfortable dropping their threads. John Mangiapane said that one of the things he enjoys is walking around “day or night without being worried about who or what you’ll encounter. That comfort factor does a lot for your mindset – being in a safe space really enhances the experience.”

Campground staff must be vigilant in maintaining security – not only camp rules regarding guests – but also from outside intruders. In a 2002 incident, a gay man put much of his life savings into building the Blue Fox Retreat outside of Chattanooga, Tenn., only to find it demolished by local homophobic vandals. He never opened the facility.

To prevent such homophobic hostility from locals, camp owners work hard to cultivate amiable community relations. John Bales of Black Bear, for instance, was president of their local civic club and so had already established a working relationship with outside community. Derrick Sutherland, manager of Oneida Camp in Penn., recalls that their first 10 years were “kind of rocky – there was a hint of animosity from local folks – but we made it a primary goal to reach out to them, because he knew it would make campers feel comfortable. Now we enjoy very good relations with locals.”

Despite some initial misgivings, local campground communities, often located in economically depressed rural areas, usually eventually appreciate the “tremendous amount of income the camp generates for local businesses.” Some campgrounds go further, performing extensive charitable works for local organizations and even producing concerts and entertainment for the neighbors.

Rules regarding nudity and conduct on camp grounds vary greatly, so campers should check with the facility before making reservations to ensure they will get the experience they want. Some camps, such as Roseland, strictly prohibit open sexual conduct “for the comfort of other guests”; at other facilities, all bets are off.

“When you have that much security on a 45-acre site in a natural setting,” observes Rich Hanson, “you can pursue all the taboos that having sex outdoors – in parks or at rest areas, say – used to involve.” Your faithful camp correspondent, who is no prude by any means, was rather taken aback at some of the open displays of sex during a visit last year to a camp well known for its abundance of sexual encounters. Yet there was no or little evidence of precautions being taken to prevent unsafe sex.

“Any atmosphere where sex with another unknown person is expected,” says Gary Snyder of Roseland, “brings a greater incidence of unsafe sex – backrooms, baths are similar.” The degree of effort to which camps make available condoms, lube, and other STD-prevention materials and information seems to vary widely. Some seem to be rather passive about the matter while others are very proactive, even going so far as to place condom stashes at regular intervals throughout the facility.

For some campers, though, condoms are irrelevant: the camp environment is perhaps just another space (like certain bear runs) that allows them to have sex any way they desire, safe or unsafe. Rich Hanson observes: “In 2003, we know what the issues are. People make decisions for themselves. They have unsafe sex not because they don’t have condoms; they have unsafe sex because they make that decision for themselves. You can hardly hold the campgrounds responsible.”

Yet, even with the abundantly easy sexual encounters, what most intrigued your trusty correspondent about his personal experience at camp was a unique, tangible sense of community. Bears from all over the region mingled with nonbears without any apparent attitude. Most camps sponsor a spectrum of theme weekends to appeal to a wide variety of guests; some, such as Sawmill, offer themes every weekend all year long.

Some of the older campgrounds have permanent campsites, called “perms,” and campers (usually RV-dwellers) return annually to spend the entire camping season (usually Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends) among friends. These “perm” denizens, developing their campsites to sometimes include considerably tricked-out amenities, such as elaborate decorations and screened-in patios, moving from “homey” to actual homes, form a nucleus of gay/bi men that can be described only as community.

Will gay campgrounds become the new gay ghettoes? Hard to say but, from every indication, the prospects for gay campgrounds – and the bears who love to frolic in them – look as promising as Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo’s chances of nabbing a lovely picnic basket filled with scrumptious goodies at sunny Jellystone Park.

(See also our Bear Campgroung Listings.)

Originally published in American Bear magazine, August/September 2003; copyright © 2003 by Ron Suresha.