40 Years Ago In TIME

By Harriet Barovick, Ann Marie Bonardi, Beau Briese, Rhett Butler, Christina Lewis, Ellin Martens, Benjamin Nugent, Ryan Schick, Heather Won Tesoriero, Kadesha Thomas

Long before hiking clothes became cool mall duds, TIME hailed the joys of the great outdoors. Even in 1961, CAMPING was becoming chic and high tech:

Once the last refuge of the male--the one leisure activity in which he could be stubble-bearded and dirty--camping has been taken over by women. Actually most women couldn't care less for the mess and comparative hardship of camping; as far as they are concerned, the whole thing is strictly for the magpies. But like golf widows and fishing widows, they know they are licked unless they join the menfolk, so they have revolted, picked up their sunglasses and mosquito spray, and marched off together... In most of the national parks, campers can find hot and cold water, city-style plumbing, cocktail lounges, automatic laundries, hairdressers, TV and enough electric power to light the city of Boise. Michigan authorities have already approved installation of additional electrical facilities to handle the increased load of electric frying pans and blankets, but Wisconsin has called a halt. Says Forest and Parks Superintendent Roman Koenings: "We have had requests to provide sewer hookup facilities for some campers, but we're not going to comply. We've gone as far as we're going."

--TIME, July 14, 1961