Car Camping Essentials
What is car camping?
I love car camping. It’s honestly a close second to backpacking. Car camping is for anyone and everyone who wants to spend more time outside. You can make it as bougie as possible, or you can go with the bare minimum. Thats one reason I really enjoy it, I can always make it comfortable enough for friends who need a little bit more luxuries in their life. Car camping doesn’t always mean sleeping in your car either a tent 20 feet away is essentially the same thing. There’s a term people use for this type of camping, and it’s called front country camping. Otherwise you would be going backpacking in the back country or on the opposite side you would be considered to be Vanlife or RV camping. All of it is great in my books! But it is helpful to know a little of the differences. For purpose of this post I will be discussing sleeping inside your car or not far from your car, in a tent. Camping is really the best way to fully emerge into nature and spend the most mount of time possible enjoying being outside. You have the option to go to a campground and have a site with showers and bathrooms or you could go on BLM land and find dispersed campsites which usually are just a fire pit and maybe a picnic table.
Safety tips for solo camping
Sleeping INSIDE your car in parking lots or pull offs; covering your windows, park where there are cameras, don’t do your before bedtime routine at the store you are parked at. Go to a different gas station or grocery store before your sleeping location, and do that there. This way when you get to where you are sleeping you don’t need to get out of the car AT ALL. These are important for roadtripping and you need to pull over and sleep in your car but not find a campground.
Front country tent camping; Arrive at your campsite during the daylight so you can understand your surroundings. I like to bring an extra chair to set up near my campfire, and some mens shoes or clothes to set out near my camp so people assume im not alone. For self defense I sleep next to bear spray or a knife. I always share my location to a family member or friend. Trust your gut, if you feel like your camp neighbor is giving you weird vibes leave or go ask the ranger to move you to a different spot.
Getting ready for your trip
Picking your campground. The best part is researching where you want to go, and what you want to see. I love hiking and swimming so if I can find campsites near some mountains or by a lake I will do that. If you love little small towns or fishing look for places that support that. For your first camping trip I would suggest going to a campground where you might have to pay $30 but you’ll have a bathroom and shower and the campground workers to help you find things to do in the local areas. Camp hosts are always super helpful. They often have campfire wood and ice available for purchase as well. Recreation.gov is the main hub for all campground bookings. Some places have their own website but if you're not sure where you want to go exactly then I would recommend looking up different areas on Recreation.gov to pick a campground. HipCamp and The Dyrt are also good places to look for campsites, they are more like airbnb for camping.
Finding Dispersed campsites. I am going to be honest, this isn’t as easy as finding a fully operating campground. There are definitely a lot of options, especially out west but you never know if they will be available when you arrive because you can’t reserve them. Dispersed campsites are first come first serve and usually free. They are land that have designated campsites that don’t usually have amenities. A lot of them are off dirt roads and you should read as many reviews as possible to know if your car is going to make it down the dirt road or if you need a 4WD vehicle. Getting stuck on one of these roads is not fun, especially if there’s no cell reception. The pros to disperse camping over campgrounds is that you usually have more privacy, you don’t have to book a reservation so you can change your plans around and move to a new location. I often feel like dispersed camping feels more wild and free and that’s the feeling I love when I go camping. I often go back and forth between dispersed and paid camping on long trips so that every few days I can shower and do laundry haha. Now that you know what dispersed camping is, here are a few websites to find them on. https://www.campendium.com https://thedyrt.com and https://freecampsites.net .
Now that you know where you’re going, here’s my check list!
Grill I use a Eureka and love it!
Cooler this is super important to invest in, especially if you are always cooking at your campsite. you want your ice to last.
Camp Chair I love my double person chair from Kelty! I also have a small compact chair that I always have as backup.
- trash bag
- wipes/paper towels- natural soap
- mugs/bowls/utensils/pans
- food(don’t forget seasonings/oil)
Hiking/fishing/SUP or activity equipment
Your clothes(winter.. think, hats, gloves, onesies, wool)
Bedding/sleeping bag I love our Kelty double person bag!
Water Container We use so much water while camping between cooking and drinking. It’s important to bring a lot.
Speaker or sound machine I use the speaker during the day and sound machine at night to drown out the noises.
Hand warmers for the early morning is always a treat!
Toiletries, Bug spray, Sunscreen
Leave No Trace Principles
After you're all set with your campsite and set up it’s important to know how to treat the land you’re on. Leave No Trace principles is extremely important to implement into your new love for camping. Dispersed campsites are only staying available if people care and treat the land and its surroundings well. So before you get into your camping weekend here are some important LNT principles to check and uphold while you’re camping.
Know your location, does the land your on need permits? is there a fireman? are you in a designated spot?
Make sure you camp and drive on durable surfaces only, not on fresh vegetation.
Make sure you don’t leave any trash behind(this means TP as well).
Respect your neighbors(be mindful of how loud your music is).
Respect and know what wildlife are in the area, ie use bear canisters if needed and don’t go up to any wildlife.
Leave the land the way you found it. Don’t collect the rocks for home, or cut down the trees for firewood.
Minimize fire impacts, keep it small and know how you’re going to put it out. Fully submerge your fire with water every night.
Most Importantly have fun and be safe. Camp in legal spots. Respect the land and leave no trace. Bring hand warmers and coffee for the cold mornings. Don’t feel like you need to have the nicest things to go car camping! Use the gear and things you own now, and start your travels! As you camp you’ll learn what you personally need and what you want to spend more money on.
