By Ashley Nielson.
Remember your first-time camping experience? Going camping for the first time is exciting but can also be scary, especially if you have no idea what you’re doing. Being alone (even with friends and family) in the wilderness with nothing to protect you but a tent means you must prepare beforehand.
Camping is good for you, and being out in nature is relaxing and can help you forget about all the stress back home. However, even experienced campers experience mishaps from time to time. New campers must learn things the hard way. We bet if you forget your flashlight once, you’ll never forget it again. So, to help you remember everything you need to do and have prepared before camping, check out these tips and tricks for first-time campers.
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Know How to Set Up a Tent
If you’re camping with someone who knows how to set up a tent, you don’t have to learn beforehand. However, practicing how to set up a tent in your backyard can be helpful if your more experienced camping buddy runs into any issues.
Setting up tents looks easy when someone else does it, but it can be quite hard, depending on your tent type. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to test your tent a few days before your camping trip to ensure you know how to set up your tent properly.
Buy the Right Tent
Knowing how to set up a tent is half the battle, but if you buy the wrong size tent, you may not fit in it. Tents can get crowded when sharing with others, so if you need to pack the entire family inside, consider getting a larger tent than you think you might need. Space and comfort should always be a priority.
While you may use your tent only for sleep, your kids and spouse may have to sleep in different positions throughout the night to stay comfortable, and no one enjoys sleeping with someone else’s knee in their back.
Arrive Early
Always try to get to the campground as early as possible to give yourself time to get to know the amenities and rules while becoming familiar with different trails. Now is also the perfect time to find the bathroom or outhouse so you don’t get lost in the dark at night. Setting up your camping space early also prevents you from pitching a tent in the dark, which can be quite annoying for your neighbors.
Arriving early also allows you to get the family prepared. Since pitching multiple tents takes time, you’ll want to ensure everyone has everything set up before bedtime.
Plan Meals
While you might think you have enough food for your camping trip, you should always plan meals to ensure you’re eating enough and getting the nutrients you need to stay active. Consider how many meals you need to make for how many people and plan each meal accordingly. You can do your grocery shopping a day before you leave to ensure the food is still fresh.
Pack the Right Clothing
If you’re camping in the summer, you might think you only need a few pairs of shorts and shoes. However, the weather could change at any minute, and you don’t want to be left without something warm if the rain hits.
Unfortunately, far too many new campers fail to bring enough clothing and don’t consider the types of weather that can happen. Weather conditions require different types of clothing, so always bring pants, shorts, raincoats, and swimsuits to ensure you’re prepared for the day, hiking shoes, and rain boots, no matter the weather.
If you go during the summer, it’s best to pack for the summer heat, get laser hair removal if you prefer, and bring plenty of sunscreen. For the colder days you want to ensure you have layers, blankets, and a suitable pillow.
Avoid Bad Weather
While some tents can be durable and strong, you don’t want them to be the only thing between you and a falling tree branch. High winds and rainfall can be detrimental to your camping experience and health. You can’t put up a tent in the rain, and if you put up your tent wrong, rain could seep in from the bottom or come in through a hole in the top of your tarp.
The whole point of camping is to get out in nature; you can’t enjoy nature if it rains the entire time. Therefore, you should always try to avoid severe weather when possible. While you might be excited to experience camping for the first time, you don’t want to catch a cold or sit in soggy clothing the entire time.
Camp Near Home
Your first camping trip doesn’t have to be far away for you to enjoy it. In fact, you should camp closer to home the first time since you’re bound to forget something. Additionally, you don’t yet know whether or not you like camping. If you decide camping isn’t right, you can always pack up and go home easily.
Protect the Family
Always protect yourself from bugs while you’re camping. While you might not have that many mosquitoes where you live, you’ll find tons of them in the woods. Additionally, you may run into ticks and fleas that can cause severe itching and skin irritation and carry disease. You can deter these pests with regular bug spray or bug-repellent lanterns. If you’re bringing your dog along, make sure it’s protected, too. You can get flea and tick prevention products from the vet to keep the creepy crawlies away from them.
Final Thoughts
Spending time in nature is good for you and your family, but camping can be stressful, especially for first-timers. The best thing you can do is prepare well in advance for your trip. Plan your meals and ensure there’s something for everyone to snack on while camping. You should also bring a cooler to store your food and bug repellent to keep pests away. In addition, you should consider comfort and space.
Your family will already be spending the entire trip together, so you don’t need to squeeze into a tent. Instead, you can get a tent that’s big enough for the entire family or let older kids share a different tent to give you enough space to get the sleep you need for the hike in the morning.
Your thoughts on first-time camping?
What challenges did you face and what stories could you tell? Let us know any first-time camping stories in the comments below.
Ashley Nielsen earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration Marketing at Point Loma Nazarene University.
She is a contributing writer at 365businesstips.com where she shares knowledge about general business, marketing, lifestyle, or financial tips. During her free time she enjoys being outside, staying active, reading a book, or diving deep into her favorite music.
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Ashley Nielsenhttps://www.campingforwomen.com/author/ashley-nielsen/
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Ashley Nielsenhttps://www.campingforwomen.com/author/ashley-nielsen/
As someone who camps frequently, I think this information is fantastic & will be very helpful for those new to camping.
I couldn’t agree more! Have you ever considered Rooftop Tents? They make camping far more convenient and comfortable, and you see experience your surroundings from above and have spectacular views of the outdoors.
I’ve always wanted to go camping or glamping, these are some great tips. I feel mentally ready with these tips.
Camping near home is something that I’ve started caring about lately. It’s so necessary for safety reasons.
Great tips for beginners! This needs to go out to many young people I know that wanted to camp out for this first time! Bookmarking this!
This is such a nice write up with so much helpful information. I have been camping multiple times in my life and when I take people who have never been….I might have to start sharing this post with my newbie friends before camping.
I love camping! My first trip I was very young with my family. We used to go to Patagonia every year for 4th of July. Those are the best memories I have growing up.
Great tips for those who have never been camping before. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Love this and I absolutely love camping and always have. there is something so beautiful about being out in the wilderness and being one with nature.
Glad I came over to this post. It’s been a while since I went on camping and I am planning to take my sister with me. Indeed such helpful tips especially for first-timers and us who haven’t been into camping for a long time.
totally agree with these tips for beginners.. While we are not seasoned campers by any means, I recall our first camping trip and arriving a little too late to set up a tent for the first time ever – it was dark, the ground was uneven, and we had no idea how to setup the tent as we had not practiced at home earlier.. Thankfully, we had others camping nearby who could help..
I’ve never been camping. I’ve thought about it several times, but I guess it’s a fear of mine and I didn’t realize it until now. These are great tips just in case I do decide to go.
There is definitely a learning curve for camping. It is good to be prepared, and camping does get easier once you are used to how all the gear works.
These are super helpful first-time camping tips and tricks. We always went camping when I was a kid and teenager, and I remember loving it. I remember a lot to pack and a lot to think about. I would love to take my daughter when she gets a little older!
These are some useful camping tips and tricks for the first timers. Setting up a tent is ofcouse extremely important and hopefully it being a large one. Also reaching early to the camping site for more space and carrying additional food items and storage is important.Bug repellent is a must.
Oookkkaaaayyyy…I love the sound of these ideas. I particularly love the idea of arriving early to the camping site.
Those are some amazing tips and very helpful for first-time campers. You should also include not camping under a big tree because some branches might fall down on you. It is an important safety tip that a lot of us forget or do not know.
I recognise quite a few mistakes I’ve done during my first camping trip. The first – knowing how to put my tent up. That was a challenge. Next, I could have bought a bigger tent. Whilst the one I had was for two people, once I put the mattress in I noticed that I don’t really fit from one side to the other. Bringing proper clothes was another good one – I definitely missed on bringing warm clothes for the evening.
My thoughts on first-time camping? I haven’t gone camping before and I know that it’s a better way to get out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Thanks for these tips and tricks. I can’t wait to pursue my first experience.
I grew up camping and so it’s second nature to me, even though I no longer camp. But for first time campers, this is a great guide. Knowing what to expect with weather, food and getting the right equipment is key to enjoying the experience .
The right tent is really important and making sure you have a good place to sit while camping. Great things to help people going camping. Thank you for sharing!
I remember many of my early camping trips. Each was a bit of trial and error. This checklist for first time camping trips would have been a helpful resource. I remember arriving late and when it was pouring rain. It seemed we never got settled on that trip. A good tip to start your camping closer to home. Easy to bail if you need to!
Really very smart tips for first-time campers here. I never did any camping in my life but now I am planning to at least try it. I think trying to set up the tent once in your garden is quite important. Great article.
So many of these tips would have saved me from grief on past camping trips! We always struggled with setting up the tent, and packed up for a hotel in bad weather. Nowadays, I think tents are so much easier to pop up, but you still need to pick the right one. And much of the gear and clothing is more efficient – I wish they were available back in the day. I’ll always remember sitting around the campfire, cooking up some kind of stew and making s’mores. – these are fond memories with my loved ones.
I haven’t been camping since I was a kid when my parents would take us. This article has inspired me to take the kids next year – thanks for all the tips!
Some very smart tips for first time campers here. I think trying to set up the tent once in your garden is quite important. Although it is always fun to watch people struggling with the set-up instructions….Arriving early is another good tip – it can be quite stressful if you have to look for a space on a crowded campsite.
These are great tips for anyone who’s never been camping before. There’s a lot you have to keep in mind.