How do we get younger people interested in camping / hammocks?

[W8lkinUSA]

Simple...take them camping.
Bring lots of cocoa.
Teach them camp stuff. Let them learn. How to gather dry wood and build a fire. Let them start the fire. Be near water.
The basics. Take them somewhere were there is no cell coverage.
They will either take to it or not.
Shug

So true. Burgers, hot dogs, and marshmallows around a bonfire did it for me. Building a fire was the next step. A nearby swimming hole cannot be underestimated.

[GreatBigDave]

...Finally, I think that there is a bit of a stigma when it comes to younger people outside spending time together. I hate to say it, but my generation can be kind of looked-down-upon when we're out camping, especially if we're in groups. Not to say that there isn't bad apples in every group, but younger campers are often watched more closely, or kept to higher standards than their adult counterparts. I have been fortunate in that I've only experienced it a handful of times, but I've been on the receiving end of some strong language/enforcement/etc. when it was totally undeserved. My buddy and I were recently camping at a local state park, just the two of us on a paid-for campsite around the fire. We weren't talking much, just kind of hanging out, and two park rangers came over and warned us that we were being too loud, and that quiet time was at 10:00 (it was 7:30 PM at the time). The group beside us was a group of 8-9 middle aged adults, yelling to each other and passing around joints. The rangers checked our campsite for drugs/drinks/etc., and didn't find anything (which seemed to tick them off even more), and then they left. Later that evening, the same rangers snuck up on our camp, and flashed flashlights in our eyes, saying they had been watching us and they knew we had drugs with us. They said they smelled it all around our campsite (because of the group next to us, WHO THEY HAD ALREADY BUSTED FOR WEED), and we told them they were welcome to check our vehicles, and our camp, and once again, there wasn't anything. It was just my friend and I enjoying an evening by the lake, that was it. The rangers left us with a warning that they "had our campsite under surveillance" (their words), and we shouldn't try anything stupid. All of this was totally without provocation. ...

Please know that it's not only younger folks that get harassed https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=1#post1476118. FWIW since I have had more interactions with authority than I did when I was younger, I handle the interactions better.

[SilvrSurfr]

Please know that it's not only younger folks that get harassed https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=1#post1476118. FWIW since I have had more interactions with authority than I did when I was younger, I handle the interactions better.

Don't remind me of that. Worst night of my life. I will never go to Round Valley Reservoir again, as long as I live.

[Young]

I resent the suggestions that I am old ! But I do bring a few young persons hammock camping with me. I even lend some of my old hammocks for use to tempt them. Unfortunately more often than not, I have to resort to solo camping