Camping is always a fun and an enthralling experience with your family or friends in the lap of natural beauty and glory.
Camping not only involves trekking with the sack pack up, but it mainly involves your “me” time with nature. It allows you to sit and relax under the natural beauty. Well, it will simply work as a detoxification therapy, which energies as well as refreshes your mind or soul. And great camping will start or ends up with the best camping site.
It is because a great camping site can provide the best camping experience unless it may end up in your worst nightmare.
Here, we will talk about some considerations or tips which may help you in landing on the perfect campsite. There is no magic behind the recipe of identifying the great site because great sites are known to be found not to be made.
Do prepare well before camping
Let’s start with some basic things to check or consider before starting off to the camping.
1. Start by determining the type of camping you are going to
With the different types of camping, you need to equip yourself in accordance with the same. Like for the beginners, it may be the tent camping with family, car camping, van camping or so. And for the experienced or tough campers, it can be the hiking, canoe camping or so. Pack the essentials required for camping like tents, basic first aid kits, etc. Other than the type of camping, your camping season also plays an important role before planning the camping. It is because the needs or weather conditions are different in summers with its comparison to winters. Thus, you also have to equip yourself with the necessities in accordance with your camping season.
2. Do some research
Do some online research about the location or the area where you are planning to go camping. It may help in providing you some valuable information about the conditions like weather, location, ranger stations, or more. Try to get maximum information about the place from the sources like your friends who have been to the place before, websites, google maps, guidebooks or so.
3. Pack the essential camping gears
Well, having the essential camping gears plays an effective camping role. You must assure that you are well equipped with the gears before you start finding your camping site. Here we give a glimpse of some essential camping gears one must have before heading to camping:- Tent
- Sleeping bags
- Headlamps or extra batteries
- Safety and survival gears
- Camp kitchen tools
- Hiking backpacks and the list goes on as per your camping needs or types
Now, you are all set to go on camping and to the next step of choosing the camping area.
Choose the ultimate campsite area
Now, after equipping with essential things for camping and preparing with all the necessary information. It’s the time to find the area best for setting up your camp.
Here, we will discuss some of the important tips which will help in selecting the perfect campsite which adds value to your camping experience.
1. Ensure the site should be away from animal trails or prime habitats
While reaching your camping destination, the next step is to identify the area where you can set up your camp to experience the night under the stars. Ensure the area to choose which is safe for you and is away from the animal trails or their prime habitats. It is important to research the place properly and to take a closer look over the area so that it is away from the wild dangers. Any kind of left-out food around your camp area may invite the wild animals towards your camp. Thus make sure that the area is quite far from any kind of such invasions. Further, in case, by any chance, if you still encounter the same situation then you should be prepared with the safety gears with you. It is important if you have researched the wildlife around the campsite area during your research.
2. Ensure to pick the site which is away from the danger zone, as rock falls, flash floods, high tide, and avalanches
Another essential thing to check before proceeding with finding the perfect spot is to ensure the dangerous zone. The campsite should be away or the one which is safe from any kind of natural hazards. Research well in advance to know about the changing weather conditions of the place so that to be well prepared to deal with any kind of natural calamity. Thus, the weather forecast study will play an essential role in this.
3. Ensure the place is away from bugs, insect breeding grounds
Other than the two measures discussed above. Ensure that your camping site is also away or bugs free too. Well, the fact is you are in nature while camping and you cannot completely avoid the insects or bugs. But the thing is to minimize and avoid as much as possible with you. Thus, check the area completely to ensure that there should not be any ant colony or insect breeding grounds. You can simply avoid the low-lying areas such as hollows, valleys, etc. or if in any case, you still caught in such conditions, then it is better to equip yourself with the thermal lantern or insect creams, mosquito creams, etc. to safeguard yourself.
4. Pick an Off-trail, so you don't disrupt another camper's wilderness experience
Camping is an experience where people used to come to spend some quality time with their near ones. It also offers a lifetime exciting or adventurous experience to survive in such hard conditions. So you should also ensure that your privacy should not be disturbed in any case. Other than this, you are also responsible for not disrupting the other camper’s wilderness experience. Take a close look over the area to find the best and suitable area which maintains your privacy so that all the campers can have the best of the experience. Take the best from Mother Nature while experiencing asleep on its lap.
5. Not to pick the compacted campsite area
Try not to pick a spot since your campsite is already being camped many times. It is because when individual camps on a similar site, again and again, the ground underneath gets compacted. This can make issues if it rains heavily during your stay. You can discover your campground all of a sudden overwhelmed when the compacted zone tops off with water.
Select the perfect position in the selected campsite area
Now, after ensuring that your campsite is safe from natural or wildlife issues. It’s time to set your tent position.
Here are a few of the tips for setting up the perfect campsite for setting up your camp or tent.
1. Check the surface first to put your tent or camp
It is very important to choose the perfect space for your tent as it should be flat and dry. It will help in providing a comfortable sleep to you. But it is quite difficult to find such a desirable spot. In case, you got a slope, then put a tent in such a direction where you can sleep with your head on the top of a slope. Even ground, which is slightly incline also helps in avoiding the puddles in the case of rain at the camp area. Thus, the campsite is not readily available as we have to make some efforts to make it a bit convenient as per our need. Also check for the surface to avoid small rocks, any roots, dry branches or leaves, and stones, etc. It may cause trouble in your night sleep so you need to clean the surface first to avoid such ingredients. If still the place does not seem to be the fit then try to find the best surface in your night’s sleep so you need to clean the surface first to avoid such ingredients.
2. Seeking the shade
While finding the position for the camp, also seek the place which may help in providing you the shade from the direct sun rays. Such a place can be comfortable to enjoy the sunny day under the natural breeze tree shades. Thus, find the campsite position with the sturdy trees so that to enjoy the relaxing experience under the shade on a hot day.
3. Do look for the loose or overhanging branches
Like we just discussed the shading area under the trees. Then at the same time, you have to look for any overhanging tree branches as they can be quite risky. So ensure that the tree is sturdy and not having any loose branches which may fall any time. Talking about strong trees, abstain from setting up camp underneath a dismal branch. So it is advised that never camp under the dead or some dying trees. It is because the dry branches can fall anytime especially during the strong winds. And it may cause some serious troubles during your camp stays a one may get hurt too.
4. Find the position which offers shelter or windbreaks also
Finding a position which naturally offers you shelter and also safeguards your tent from strong wind is simply adding value to your camping fun. Thus, look for the position or site with the large trees, or rocks or some hedges or natural barriers. It all may protect your camping site from such heavy winds.
5. The campsite should be near to firewood
Campfire is an essential part of camping. The campfire offers a time to sit back while enjoying a superb meal around the fire under the call or breezy night. One may also enjoy some games and fun activities around the campfire. Try to find the position with the easy availability of firewood.
6. Ensure the accessibility of water resource near the campsite
After a long day hiking, it is simply the best to jump into the lake or river. Other than this, the campsite position should be also easily accessible near the water resource, as water is one of the essential survival components for all living beings. It’s just that, one has to maintain a strategic distance between the water source and campsite. As it should not be very close to the water as that may arise the risk of wild animals near your camp. Thus, it is best that if you find your camping site near the water resource than main a distance of around 100-200 feet to safeguard your interest and full fill your water requirements near the site.
In the end
Go on camping with the essential camp gears and tips which we just have discussed above for the best camping experience. As we already said above, before you find the best camping site, it is essential to have the best camping gear.
The process of selecting or finding the perfect campsite is simply a method of hit and trial. Keep on going for camping to find the campsite which meets your expectation or needs. Thus, live up to the saying of “practice makes a man perfect.”
