10 Tent Camping Tips

These 10 tent camping tips can make a trip run much more smoothly.  Tent camping is one of the greatest ways to enjoy nature and the great outdoors.  But there are lots of things that can go wrong. 

1. Get to the camp site early in the day. Erecting a tent can be hard enough, but have you ever had to do it in the dark?  It’s important to arrive early in the day to allow plenty of daylight hours to set up the campsite and avoid as much frustration as possible.
   
2. Be prepared for any type of weather. When tent camping, you should prepare for snow, sleet, hail, rain, sunshine.  It can be a truly miserable night if you forget the space heater in freezing temperatures, or you forget to put the rain flap on your tent before it rains. 
3. Know how to erect a tent properly before going tent camping. The first time setting up a tent can be particularly aggravating.  It’s a good idea to set up your tent in your backyard at least once for practice before you get to the campgrounds.  Imagine trying to erect a tent for the first time at the campground, in the rain, in the dark.  Talk about a worst case scenario.
4. Plan meals ahead of time. It’s important to plan each meal before going tent camping and making sure you have all the ingredients, and cooking utensils you need.  Don’t forget about snacks either.  Make sure your site will have what you need to cook, such as a grill, unless you plan to bring your own.  It can be a major problem when you realize you forgot the ground beef and the nearest grocery store is 2 hours down the twisting mountain roads.
5. Protect your food. If you plan on keeping coolers outside your tent, make sure all lids are secure.  It might also be a good idea to duct tape or bungee cord or lock the lids down, as raccoons or opossums like to break in and steal everything. Also, make sure there aren’t any edible items lying around the campsite before you go to sleep.  It’s also a good idea to remove the garbage from your site nightly. Otherwise, you might have some unwanted furry visitors.  There have also been stories of bears tearing through camp sites, eating their food; it all depends on where you’re camping.
   
6. Bring light sources. Make sure you have electric lanterns and flashlights when tent camping.  And don’t forget the batteries!  You’ll need light to get to the bathrooms at night, cook in the dark, put stakes back in the ground that come out, etc.
7. Don’t forget the bug spray. Bug’s aren’t nearly as much of a problem at high altitudes in the winter, but in hot humid areas they are a major problem.  Make sure to get some good mosquito repellant to keep away the bug bites.  You might also want to get a wide range bug repellant for your whole campsite area.
8. Bring what you need to be comfortable. While a sleeping bag on the floor of your tent might seem ruggedly awesome, you might regret it the next morning.  It’s best to bring along an air mattress that will fit in your tent.  And don’t forget an inflator.
   
9.  Bring things to entertain, whether outdoors or in the tent. The outdoors are great, and what’s really great is having fun outdoors.  Bring a football, a book, board games, anything that will make a good time for you and your family.  It’s also a good idea to bring cards or some other activity that can be performed in the cramped quarters of a tent in the case of nasty weather while tent camping.
10. Have fun! The most important part of tent camping is to have fun.  Even if you had to set up your tent in the rain with no light, while a bear ate all your food from your cooler and mosquitoes attacked you while you tried blowing up a whole air mattress… try to shake off the bad experiences, relax, and have a good time.