camping
Enable an AI agent to recognise a camping episode, assess whether its temporary living arrangements are usable and permitted, and identify what must happen before occupation, continued use or departure.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise a camping episode, assess whether its temporary living arrangements are usable and permitted, and identify what must happen before occupation, continued use or departure.
Camping is overnight outdoor living in a temporary, typically movable shelter (tent, tarp, hammock, caravan, motorhome, or none), undertaken as recreation, travel, or outdoor education rather than as residence in a permanent building.
It can be Classify an intended or observed stay as camping, recording unresolved boundary cases.; Compare candidate camp locations against overnight needs, access and recorded permission conditions.; Identify missing sleeping capacity, supplies or camp services before occupation.; Reassess whether to continue, adapt, relocate or end the stay when conditions change.; Coordinate camp establishment and shared living responsibilities.; Check departure obligations and record any remaining equipment, waste or impact..
Distinguishing features
An overnight living intention distinguishes a camping episode from a picnic or rest stop, even when the episode is cancelled before anyone sleeps there.
The activity includes establishing or using camp arrangements; an overnight journey alone does not establish that camping occurred.
The episode concerns particular occupants and a period of use, whereas a campsite can exist and operate without a camping episode taking place.
A tent or recreational vehicle is evidence of a possible accommodation arrangement, but its presence alone does not establish camping.
The location is used as a temporary base for living; whether bivouacking, fixed cabins or emergency shelter qualify remains a classification boundary to resolve.
Scope
+ The intended overnight stay, participants, duration and sequence of camp locations
+ Selection, permission and occupation of a temporary camping location
+ Sleeping, shelter, food, water, sanitation and waste arrangements at camp
+ Camp-specific exposure, resource sufficiency and access to assistance
+ Establishing, using, relocating and dismantling the camp
- The campsite property, its infrastructure and its operation as a hospitality service
- The design, manufacture and maintenance history of tents, vehicles and other equipment
- Hiking, climbing, paddling or other activities undertaken from the camp
- Land ownership, protected-area designation and the authoritative rules governing the location
- Clinical assessment and treatment of individual health conditions
- Permanent residential settlement or emergency accommodation as broader activities
Characteristics
- Episode phase
- proposed | preparing | establishing | occupied | relocating | packing | departed | cancelled Determines which readiness checks, observations and actions are relevant now.
- Overnight intention and occupancy
- overnight intended | overnight completed | ended before overnight | intention unknown Supports recognition without treating cancellation or early departure as proof that no camping activity was attempted.
- Stay duration
- planned and actual nights, with arrival and departure times Sets the period over which permissions, supplies and living arrangements must remain adequate.
- Camp location sequence
- ordered links to camp locations with intended and actual occupation intervals Separates a travelling camping episode from any one pitch and supports relocation decisions.
- Overnight party
- participants linked to each occupied night, with relevant support needs and responsibilities Makes capacity and readiness judgments specific to the people actually staying.
- Sleeping arrangement
- tent | hammock | bivouac | vehicle | open-air | other specified | unresolved Identifies which shelter, ground, space and environmental dependencies require assessment.
- Occupation permission
- unverified | permitted with recorded conditions | prohibited | disputed Prevents access to a location from being mistaken for permission to camp there.
- Overnight readiness
- not assessed | ready for stated conditions | ready with unresolved dependencies | not ready Expresses a time-bound judgment against the party, equipment and expected conditions.
- Usable water reserve
- litres available, with assessed usability and expected replenishment Helps compare the camp's usable supply with its planned consumption and departure options.
- Departure condition
- not assessed | obligations outstanding | checked complete | unresolved impact Distinguishes people leaving from completing camp removal and location-specific obligations.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.camping
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 19 findings · 38 questions.
Camping episode The overnight intention, occupants and temporal boundaries that make this a particular camping activity.
An agent must distinguish the activity from its location or equipment and know whose stay it is assessing.
Overnight intent
The intended use of a temporary place for overnight living.
Camping basis
Record the evidence supporting classification as camping, including ambiguous accommodation arrangements.
- What temporary overnight living arrangement is intended or was actually used? definition
- What distinguishes this episode from a day visit, accommodation booking or overnight journey? boundary
Party and stay
Who occupies the camp, for how long and across which locations.
Occupation plan
Record planned and actual occupants, nights and camp moves without conflating the episode with a single pitch.
- Who will stay on each night, and what support needs affect the camp arrangements? definition
- What are the planned and actual occupation intervals at each camp location? measurement
- Does a move to another location continue this episode or begin a separately managed stay? boundary
Camp location and permission The suitability of the occupied footprint and the basis for using it overnight.
A place may be reachable yet unsuitable or unavailable for the proposed camping arrangement.
Overnight footprint
The actual area used for sleeping and shared camp functions.
Pitch fit
Record whether the proposed footprint accommodates the sleeping arrangement, circulation and relevant site conditions.
- Where will sleeping places and shared camp functions sit, and what usable space is available? measurement
- What observations support the assessment of ground, drainage, overhead exposure and access? provenance
- What must be repositioned or changed before this footprint can be occupied? action
Overnight authorisation
Permission and restrictions applicable to this party, location and stay.
Permission conditions
Record the evidence for occupation permission and the conditions that constrain camp use.
- Which authority, booking, permit or landholder communication establishes whether this party may camp here on these dates? provenance
- What location-specific limits apply to the occupied area, length of stay, vehicles, fires or other proposed camp activities? boundary
- Which unmet conditions require verification, a change of plan or departure? action
Overnight living arrangements The working arrangements that support sleeping and everyday needs during occupation.
Possessing camping equipment does not establish that the party has a usable overnight living arrangement.
Sleep and shelter
Assigned sleeping places and their suitability for the party and expected conditions.
Sleeping readiness
Record assembled shelter, sleeping capacity and unresolved dependencies for each occupant.
- Does every overnight occupant have an assigned usable sleeping place and the equipment their arrangement requires? measurement
- What evidence supports the suitability of these arrangements for the expected overnight conditions? provenance
- What must be assembled, repaired, replaced or reassigned before sleeping? action
Water, food and sanitation
How the camp supplies daily needs and contains the resulting waste.
Camp provisioning
Record usable water, food, preparation arrangements and dependencies on external supplies.
- How much usable water and food is available relative to the party's stated needs until replenishment or departure? measurement
- Which supply, treatment, storage or cooking arrangements are confirmed, and which remain assumptions? provenance
Sanitation and waste
Record the arrangements for toileting, washing, wastewater and solid waste during the stay.
- What facilities or carried arrangements will the party use for toileting, washing and waste containment? definition
- What handling and removal actions are required by the applicable site guidance and the facilities actually available? action
Camp conditions and contingencies Changing conditions that affect overnight occupation and the means to respond.
A camp that was usable when established may require adaptation or evacuation before the stay ends.
Overnight exposure
Observed and expected conditions relevant to this camp's particular location and arrangements.
Continued occupation assessment
Record relevant weather, terrain, water, wildlife or camp-generated hazards and the basis for reassessment.
- Which observed or forecast conditions could make this particular camp unusable during the occupied period? definition
- When were those conditions checked, and which observations, forecasts or notices support the assessment? provenance
- What condition changes trigger adaptation, relocation or an end to the stay, and who established those triggers? action
Assistance and exit
The party's practical ability to seek help and leave the occupied camp.
Camp exit readiness
Record usable exit options, communication arrangements and dependencies that could prevent departure.
- Which exit routes and transport options can this party use under the conditions being assessed? definition
- What evidence supports the availability of communication or assistance from this camp? provenance
- What must happen if the primary exit route, transport or communication method becomes unavailable? action
Camp operation and departure The actions and responsibilities that establish the camp, keep it functioning and close the stay.
An agent needs to identify outstanding camp work and distinguish physical departure from completed closure.
Establishment and routine
Readiness tasks and shared responsibilities during occupation.
Camp work status
Record who is responsible for essential camp tasks and whether those tasks are complete.
- Which setup tasks must be completed before this party can occupy the camp overnight? action
- Who is responsible for recurring tasks such as checking shelter, replenishing water and managing food or waste? definition
- Which incomplete tasks currently limit the camp's usability? measurement
Departure and site condition
Camp removal, checkout obligations and the condition left behind.
Camp closure
Record equipment removal, waste handling and any unresolved effects of the occupation.
- What equipment, waste, temporary alterations or checkout obligations remain before closure? action
- What observations document the occupied area's condition before setup and after departure? provenance
- Which remaining impacts or obligations need follow-up, and who will handle them? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Car / front-country camping on a designated drive-in pitch
- Backpacking / backcountry camping reached on foot
- Wild or dispersed camping off designated sites
- Caravan, motorhome, and van camping
- Glamping (serviced luxury outdoor stays)
- Canoe, cycle, or other self-propelled touring camping
- Organised youth or Scout group camping
- Winter camping
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Wikidata - Q832778 - Item for campsite (the place); camping as activity is modelled as its use, not as this Q-id.
- OpenStreetMap - tourism=camp_site - Tag for a designated camping place, not for the activity itself.
- GND - 4128452-5 - German National Library subject heading linked from Wikidata Q832778.
- ISO 18513:2021 - 3.2.16 campsite / caravan park / holiday park / touring park - Controlled term in the tourism-accommodation vocabulary; glamping is 3.2.17.
- US Federal Camping Data Standard - CAMPGROUND ID: agency-assigned alphanumeric, max 36 characters - Facility identifier used by NPS, BLM, USFS, FWS, BOR and USACE in Recreation Information Database records.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- ISO 18513:2021 - International Organization for Standardization (tourism accommodation vocabulary, including campsite and glamping).
- ISO/DIS 18980 - International Organization for Standardization (draft requirements for campsite facilities and services).
- Federal Camping Data Standard 2.1 - US Recreation Information Database / interagency (NPS, BLM, USFS, FWS, BOR, USACE).
- Code du tourisme (notably D331-1-1, L332-1, D332-1) and arrêté of 10 April 2019 (Atout France star table) - France; urbanisme rules R443-8 and R462-1 et seq. for larger sites.
- Campingreglementet (bekendtgørelse on camping sites) - Denmark (municipal permit; seasonal use; short-stay capacity rules).
- 6 CCR 1010-9 - Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (campground sanitation; primitive through developed classes).
- Leave No Trace Seven Principles - Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (voluntary outdoor-ethics standard adopted by many land managers).
- Allemansrätten - Sweden (constitutional right of public access, including small-party wild camping with leave-no-trace).
- Scottish Outdoor Access Code under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 - Scotland (wild camping on most unenclosed land, leave-no-trace).
- Regional tourism laws in Spain (e.g. País Vasco tourism law 2016; Andalucía and Aragón outdoor-accommodation rules) - autonomous communities, not a single national camping code.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Overnight pitches on public campgrounds in national, state and forest parks, often booked through agency reservation systems.
- Commercial holiday parks and terrains de camping in Europe, especially France, used as family holiday accommodation in tents, caravans and mobile homes.
- Backcountry overnight stops on long-distance trails, canoe routes and cycle-camping tours.
- Vehicle touring: motorhomes and caravans on serviced pitches, plus dry camping or boondocking without hook-ups.
- Youth-movement practice (Scouting and school outdoor-education trips) used to teach self-reliance and group living.
- Glamping and safari-style stays that sell a campsite setting with hotel-like amenities.
- Combined with hunting, fishing, climbing and festival attendance, where the overnight outdoor stay is secondary to another activity.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Overnight stay length - 1-14 on many US public lands (14-day caps are common); commercial holiday trips often 1-7 (UK mean reported around 3.7 nights) - night
- Setback from lakes and streams (Leave No Trace) - at least 61 - m
- Campground star class (France and similar EU schemes) - 1-5, plus a separate aire-naturelle class - star
- Aire naturelle capacity (France) - up to 25 - pitch
- French urban-planning trigger - more than 6 units of accommodation or more than 20 campers - count
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Escaped campfires and stove use causing wildfire, especially in dry seasons and where fires are restricted.
- Hypothermia, heat illness and weather exposure when shelter, clothing or forecast planning fail.
- Food- and waste-attracted wildlife (bears and others) leading to property damage and dangerous encounters.
- Waterborne illness (wilderness-acquired diarrhoea) from untreated surface water and poor sanitation.
- Carbon monoxide poisoning from heaters, generators or stoves used inside tents or recreational vehicles.
- Site degradation: vegetation loss, soil compaction, informal trail and fire-ring proliferation where use is concentrated or unmanaged.
- Legal failure: wild camping, fires or vehicle overnighting outside the local access regime (trespass, fines, confiscation).
- Confusion with non-recreational encampments, which can trigger enforcement against recreational campers or leave genuine homelessness unaddressed.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Sweden and Finland: everyman's right generally allows small-party, leave-no-trace wild camping on private wild land; large groups need landowner permission.
- Scotland: wild camping is lawful on most unenclosed land under the Outdoor Access Code; some parks add byelaws.
- Most of continental Europe (Germany, much of France, Spain, Italy): overnighting is expected on designated campings; wild camping is prohibited or tightly localised.
- France: camping is a classified tourist-accommodation trade (hôtellerie de plein air) with 1-5 stars, tourisme versus loisirs pitches, and aire naturelle as a low-capacity class.
- United States: developed campgrounds in parks versus dispersed camping on much National Forest and BLM land, often with a 14-day stay limit.
- United Kingdom and Australia: 'camping and caravanning' is treated as one holiday sector; 'camp' in North America also names bunkhouse summer camps, which are not this activity.
- Germany: Kampieren outside designated sites is generally unlawful; a single overnight rest in a motorhome on a motorway rest area is widely tolerated under road-traffic rules, not camping law.
- Spain: definition and star or 'lujo/primera/segunda/tercera' classes are set by autonomous communities, not a single national statute.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Day hiking, picnicking, or other day-use outdoor recreation - Camping requires sleeping out for at least one night; day use does not.
- Summer camp / holiday camp / holiday village - Those are typically bunkhouse or chalet stays with dining halls; ISO 18513 treats holiday camp separately from campsite. The name 'camp' is not sufficient.
- Homeless encampment or migrant labour camp - Same outdoor-sleeping techniques can appear, but camping in this sense is elective recreation or education, not unsheltered residence or workplace housing.
- Hotel, motel, or cabin lodging - Those are stays in permanent buildings; camping's shelter is temporary or the guest supplies it on a pitch.
- Bivouac (French regulated sense) - A homologated, short, trek-stage halt away from settlements, not an establishment offering pitches to a tourist clientele.
- Backpacking as budget travel - Travel-backpacking is cheap lodging of any kind while moving; wilderness backpacking is walking with overnight camping gear. Only the latter is camping.
- Overlanding - Defined by the vehicle journey across remote country; camping is the overnight method, not the trip type.
- Campsite / campground / RV park - Those are places (ISO campsite, Wikidata Q832778); camping is the overnight activity that may use them.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of camping this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Camping - Activity definition (overnight stay as the distinguishing test), types by transport and lifestyle, history, public-access regimes in Sweden and Scotland, and the boundary with summer camp and homelessness.
- Federal Camping Data Standard, Version 2.1 - US interagency definition of camping as staying and sleeping outdoors for one or more nights; campground versus campsite; agency-assigned CAMPGROUND ID.
- ISO 18513:2021 Tourism services - Hotels and other types of tourism accommodation - Vocabulary - Standard vocabulary distinguishing campsite/caravan park from glamping, holiday camp/village, mountain refuge, and vehicle types (motor home, touring caravan, mobile home).
- ISO/DIS 18980 Tourism and related services - Camping tourism - Requirements and recommendations for campsite facilities and services - Draft ISO definition of a campsite as a designated outdoor area with two or more pitches for tents or recreational vehicles.
- campsite (Q832778) - Identifier for the place used for overnight stay in a tent, caravan or mobile home; OpenStreetMap tag tourism=camp_site; GND 4128452-5.
- Camping | réglementation de l'activité - French Code du tourisme definition of a camping establishment, star classification 1-5 plus aire naturelle, and tourisme versus loisirs pitch destination.
- Wild camping - Dispersed camping versus designated sites; USFS/BLM practice and typical 14-day limit; Nordic everyman's-right contrast.
- Leave No Trace - Seven-principle outdoor-ethics standard, including the 61 m / 200 ft water setback and camp-on-durable-surfaces rule.
What the second pass must settle
- Does an existing Vercy world model already own camping or a sufficiently equivalent activity, requiring this registry entry to link to it?
- Where should the registry draw camping's boundaries with bivouacking, vehicle dwelling, fixed cabin stays, glamping and emergency sheltering?
- Should successive overnight locations form one camping episode, separate episodes or nested stays, and what task determines that choice?
- Which authoritative sources and participant-specific criteria should support judgments about shelter suitability, supply sufficiency and departure triggers?
- How should camping-specific permission conditions and departure impacts be represented without duplicating land-management, equipment or environmental models?