New York Campgrounds Support National Great Outdoors Month Initiative With Discounts

May 13, 2011 - PRLog -- Many parents with adolescent or teenage children worry that their kids have become couch potatoes who spend far too much of their free time playing video games or sitting in front of a computer screen.

“As far as physical fitness goes, today’s kids are the sorriest generation in the history of the United States,” said one parent quoted by author Richard Louv in his best-selling book, The Last Child in the Woods.

Louv found several alarming statistics, which document the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of America’s youth and the extent to which they are losing the physical and psychological benefits that come from spending time in nature.

In an effort to encourage parents to spend more time with their children outdoors, President Obama has proclaimed June as national Great Outdoors Month.

Building on Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative, which encourages children to eat healthier foods and increase their physical activity, Great Outdoors Month is intended to encourage parents and their children “to move, run, play and thrive” in our state, national and local parks and other scenic places.

Campgrounds affiliated with Campground Owners of New York (CONY) are doing their part to support Great Outdoors Month by offering fun family activities as well as significant camping discounts during the month of June.

“Camping is not only the most affordable vacation option, but it supports a healthy lifestyle, particularly when you consider the great variety of outdoor activities that are available at campgrounds across our state,” said Don Bennett, president and CEO of Campground Owners of New York.

New York campgrounds will be participating in GoCampingAmerica.com’s Great Outdoors Month promotion, which involves 20 percent discounts on camping between June 1st and 25th at participating parks.

GoCampingAmerica.com will also provide e-coupons that consumers can use to obtain discounts at Camping World stores and RV rentals booked through El Monte RV, which has agreed to provide 500 free miles plus 50 free miles a day to GoCampingAmerica visitors who rent an RV for at least one week during the June 1st to 25th period. The e-coupons will be posted on GoCampingAmerica.com on May 15th.

Twenty-five New York campgrounds are also offering a “buy two, get one night free” promotion through October 10th. Visit www.ilovenycamping.com for more information.

Additionally, 16 New York campgrounds are offering a geocaching competition on June 11th, in which campers will have the opportunity to search for a hidden coin, which they can redeem for a special prize. More information on geocaching is available at www.gogeocachingny.com.

For more information on New York campgrounds, please contact Suzanne Bixby or Don Bennett at (585) 586-4360 and visit www.nycampgrounds.com.

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Campground Owners of New York, founded in 1963, is an association dedicated to the promotion, growth, improvement and development of privately owned campgrounds in New York State. More information about the association and its campgrounds – including a free camping directory - is available at www.nycampgrounds.com