Nationwide start of camping season on Saturday, April 6

Over 400 campsites will festively open their doors during Open Camping Day on Saturday, April 6, to celebrate the start of the camping season. ´With 3.5 million campers in the Netherlands, this nationwide event is a great way to celebrate our national hobby,´ said organizer Open Camping Day Foundation.

Start of the camping season

During the Open Camping Day, nearly 450 campsites and a large number of camping companies throughout the Netherlands open their doors to interested campers. This way, they can look around the campground without any obligations and already make preparations for their camping vacation. The Open Camping Day marks the start of the camping season.

Free look at the campsite

The purpose of the Open Camping Day is to show all of the Netherlands how much fun camping is. Even people who have never camped before can still see if a camping vacation is something for them. Everyone in the Netherlands is cordially invited to usher in the start of the camping season and let the camping fun begin.

Third edition with a mission

This is the third edition of this National Open Camping Day. Camping platform I Love Kamperen organized the event in 2022 and 2023 and decided to establish the Open Camping Day Foundation this year. Karin Horstman of I Love Kamperen: 'We have the ambition to let the Open Camping Day grow into the day when all campers celebrate that camping is so much fun. To emphasize the independent character of our initiative, we have decided to establish the Open Camping Day Foundation.'

'We see camping as an important part of our cultural heritage that millions of Dutch people enjoy every year. In recent years we have unfortunately seen many camping spots disappear to make way for recreational homes. Petrification should not be at the expense of camping spots, because the danger is that you will have nowhere to go with your caravan or tent. Camping - as a national hobby - deserves to be preserved and celebrated, for current and new campers alike.

Open Camping Day Foundation is supported by industry partners such as Camping & Caravan Industry (Camp to Go), Free Recreation Foundation, ANWB, Aveco, BOVAG, HISWA-RECRON and Jaarbeurs.

Camping Prize Lottery

Leading up to Open Camping Day, registered campers will have a chance to win great camping prizes in Camping Prize Lottery. During Open Camping Day, campsites and camping companies will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All information about participating campsites and camping companies is at opencampingdag.nl.