Overnight Stays in the Ag Reserve
Moving Forward in Ways that Continue to Protect and Promote Farming
As the Agricultural Reserve ’ s recreational activities , diversity of farms and number of event venues continue to expand , farmers now have a new option — to create private commercial campgrounds to host visitors in tents , RVs or temporary structures .
The Montgomery County Council in July passed a zoning ordinance that authorizes the campgrounds . Impetus for the measure came from growing sentiment on the Council in recent years to expand agritourism in the Ag Reserve , albeit in a way that preserves and promotes agriculture .
The new ordinance , for example , allows private campgrounds only on properties engaged in active farming . This restriction prevents entrepreneurs from buying land in the Ag Reserve just to launch a campground . by steven findlay
Impetus for the measure also came from a 2022 state law that expanded the definition of agritourism to include camping and “ incidental stays .” Other mid- Atlantic states , such as Virginia and Pennsylvania , have made similar moves . Agritourism is an increasingly important economic driver for the state , according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture , and encouraging longer visits to farms would presumably enhance that . In a 2019 report , Montgomery County ’ s Planning Department came to much the same conclusion , but the planners cautioned that tourism and farmbased agricultural education must be balanced with policies that protect and promote actual farming .
The level of interest among Ag Reserve landowners and farmers in launching private campgrounds is unknown . The County didn ’ t survey farmers in any formal way before enacting the campground measure . Selected Councilmembers claimed to have had many farmers express interest . But at several public forums on the issue since December 2023 only a handful of local farmers expressed interest in creating a campground . Rather , the tenor of most of those sessions was concern about the integrity of the Ag Reserve , noise and traffic , and the undermining of agriculture . Some attendees also observed that there were already enough places to stay overnight in the Ag Reserve .
Camping and glamping
Indeed , visitors to the Ag Reserve seeking farm stays , tent , or RV camping sites have a variety of existing options . Two website platforms provide a valuable assist — Hipcamp and Harvest Hosts .
Founded in 2013 , Hipcamp has been dubbed the Airbnb of overnight stays at farms , vineyards , ranches , and nature preserves . As the company ’ s name suggests , hipcampers sleep only in tents or under tarps . Sites vary from the very rustic to the well-outfitted , but hosts have no obligation to provide water , bathrooms , or electricity . The Hipcamp website doesn ’ t present full data on visitors , but it does say that “ tens of thousands of landowners have opened their gates to Hipcampers , who have spent more than 10 million nights under the stars on 5 million acres of beautiful private land .” Noteworthy : the Maryland Farm Bureau recently partnered with Hipcamp to draw attention to the company ’ s hundreds of Maryland offerings .
18 plenty I autumn harvest 2024