–
Camping is no longer just about “getting out there.” Campsites in Colorado fill up during summer weekends for months in advance — something that hinders any of us who enjoy spontaneity or simply don’t plan that far ahead. Instead of wandering into the forests and mountains on one of those weekends just with the hopes of finding the perfect campsite, one company wants to make campground hunting easier — and also playfully competitive. The Dyrt’s app and corresponding website provide camping enthusiasts from any level of experience a database of user reviews, photos and other tips on campgrounds in Colorado and most other states, with a twist.
READ: How to Pull Off a Successful Solo Adventure in Colorado
The twist? It’s a game. When a user writes or submits photos that other users find helpful, those reviewers earn points. This is what sets The Dyrt apart from other camping or hiking databases — like AllTrails — leveraging their reviewers to give the most useful description of any given campsite. Each month, the reviewer with the most points wins a donated prize — last month’s first place received a $750 Escape Campervan rental — and then the next month everyone starts from zero. This gamification of a somewhat tedious task (reserving or looking endlessly for the perfect campsite for your much-needed forest outing) may scream “millennial” to those who remember the days of handheld topographical maps and roughing it without technology, but who doesn’t like winning prizes?
So far, The Dyrt has attracted thousands of users, with more signing on in April 2018 than all of 2017 combined. With over 70,000 user-submitted photos, videos and reviews, it’s gaining traction in an industry that especially dominates Colorado. And though the number of users is definitely attributable to the gaming aspect, it should not go unnoticed that the platform itself is more user-friendly than any government-operated database. Searching for something that fits your specifications is simple, with filter features that are often hard to find in one place.
READ: 101 of the Most Beautiful hikes in Colorado
There are 1,171 campsites currently logged into The Dyrt’s database for Colorado alone, spanning across most counties. Not every campsite has a review yet, which means there is a lot of room to provide helpful tips for other campers, leading to a chance to win outdoor-themed prizes.
–
Visit The Dyrt online, here.
–