How to Choose a Campsite

You’ve decided you want to go camping this weekend and head out to do so. Once you’re out in the wilderness or at the campground, the most important thing about your campsite is where you’re going to sleep.

Ground Surface

Nice flat ground

Having a flat ground to pitch your tent is crucial to a good night sleep. If your spot for your tent isn’t flat, you could find yourself completely off you sleeping pad and against the wall of your tent. Believe me, this is no fun, I’ve been there. You will also want to make sure your flat ground is free of debris. The smallest rock or pine cone in the wrong spot can completely wreck a night’s sleep (again, I have experience with this). Debris can also poke holes in the bottom of your tent. It is important to not only clear the debris from under your tent, but look for rocks that may be mostly buried and could also wreck your night; sometimes moving your tent a few inches or feet will fix this.

Campsite Shade

Having shade over your tent all day isn’t necessarily a must. In our minds, having shade in the morning is important. Look for a site for your tent that will be shaded in the morning, this will keep you from being woken up earlier than intended. Finding a flat spot with shade can be a bit of challenge in the desert (the shade, not the flat). If you’re camping in the desert, consider bringing your own shade. If you are bringing your own shade and you’re in the desert, you now have the option to move that shade from blocking the sun in the morning to blocking the sun in the afternoon and keeping your tent a little cooler.

What’s above you?

Not only is important to observe what’s underneath your tent, you should also look above you. Setting up your tent under a dead tree branch is just a bad idea. The thought may be “it’s up there, so it must be safe”, eventually, dead branches fall. Branches falling out of trees onto your tent is dangerous. The same thing goes for rocks. Pitching your tent at the base of a hill, or beneath a loose rock rock ledge could also be bad news.

What’s around you?

It is important to check your surroundings when setting up camp. You may not want to camp right next to the lake because of bugs. I actually camped next to a lake once and the croaking frogs sang a sweet lullaby! Downed or dead trees nearby, this could potentially be dangerous. Dead trees fall over; especially if it’s windy. Be sure to check your weather forecast. Not only can bad weather make a trip less pleasant, but if your tent is pitched in area of water run off, you may get flooded.

Lastly, please consider the impact your campsite has on the environment. Picking a spot that has clearly been camped in before has less of an environmental impact than forging ahead to find that pristine spot. Leave No Trace is a principle any responsible outdoors person should follow. Always try to leave your campsite cleaner than when you found it. For more information on Leave No Trace, click here.

Campsite Privacy

Too crowded?

Neighbors are a good thing. In fact ,there can be safety in numbers. Having a large group that is right next to or near your campsite can certainly make your experience less enjoyable. On one of our first outings with the kids, we were across from a group site. It was empty when we checked in and got all set up. At around 10:00 that night is when everyone arrived. The kids slept right through it, but my wife & I didn’t get much sleep that night. Luckily the camp hosts were able to move us to a different site. Don’t settle for the very first spot you find, but you also don’t have to hike miles and miles into the woods to find a good spot.

Room

The number of people in your group and the amount of gear you have will dictate how much room or space you need in camp. Kitchen area and tents take up the majority of the space, but if you plan to throw the football or frisbee,  you will need to account for that as well.

Get out there, go camping and enjoy the outdoors.