New to camping? Here’s a practical rundown of what to know before you go — what to pack, how to pick and set up a site, and the unwritten etiquette that keeps campgrounds pleasant for everyone.
Before You Go
- Book ahead for popular spots. Many national park and state/provincial campgrounds fill up weeks or months in advance, especially in summer. First-come, first-served sites exist too — arrive early in the day if you’re counting on one.
- Check the site page for what’s actually there. Not every campground has drinking water, flush toilets, or a dump station. Confirm hookups, generator rules, and site length limits before you commit, especially with an RV or trailer.
- Check the weather and any fire restrictions. Conditions can close roads, trigger burn bans, or make certain sites unsafe. Always confirm current conditions on the official page linked from each campground listing.
- Tell someone your plan. Especially for backcountry or remote sites with no cell signal, leave your route and return date with someone who isn’t coming.
What to Pack
- Shelter & sleep: tent (and a footprint/tarp), sleeping bag rated for the actual overnight low (not the daytime high), sleeping pad for insulation from the ground.
- Water: more than you think you need, plus a way to treat more (filter, tablets, or a backup stove to boil it) if you’re not near a potable source.
- Food & cooking: a stove if fires are restricted or wood is scarce, and a hard-sided cooler or bear-resistant container where required.
- Light & power: a headlamp (hands-free beats a phone flashlight) plus spare batteries or a power bank.
- First aid & repair: a basic first aid kit, any personal medication, duct tape, and a multitool.
- Weather layers: rain shell, insulating layer, and closed-toe shoes even in summer — nights get colder than people expect.
- Navigation: a paper map or downloaded offline map as backup — don’t rely on a phone signal you might not have.
Choosing and Setting Up a Site
- Pitch your tent on already-cleared, level ground rather than trampling new vegetation.
- Camp at least 200 feet (about 70 steps) from lakes and streams where possible, to protect the shoreline and keep water sources clean.
- Check overhead for dead branches (“widowmakers”) before setting up under a tree.
- Keep your site compact — gear, guy-lines, and cooking areas spread across a wide area make it harder for others to pass and easier for wildlife to find food.
Campfire Basics
- Only build fires where they’re allowed and in an existing fire ring or grate — don’t create a new one.
- Keep fires small; a roaring fire isn’t necessary for warmth or cooking and burns through wood fast.
- Never leave a fire unattended, even for a few minutes.
- Fully extinguish before bed or before leaving: drown it, stir the ashes, drown again. If it’s too hot to touch, it’s not out.
- Buy firewood near where you’ll burn it rather than bringing it from home — transporting wood can spread invasive insects and tree diseases.
Food and Wildlife Safety
- Store food, trash, and anything scented (toothpaste, sunscreen, etc.) in a vehicle, bear box, or hung bear bag — never in your tent.
- Clean up food scraps and grease immediately; wildlife that learns to associate campsites with food becomes a danger to itself and to future campers.
- If you encounter wildlife, keep your distance and never feed it, no matter how used to people it seems.
Leave No Trace
- Pack it in, pack it out. That includes food scraps, fruit peels, and cigarette butts — nothing biodegrades fast enough to leave behind.
- Human waste: use the provided toilet facilities. Where there are none, bury waste 6–8 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water, trails, and camp.
- Stay on durable surfaces — established trails and campsites — instead of cutting new paths through vegetation.
- Leave what you find — rocks, plants, and historical or cultural artifacts stay where they are.
Campground Etiquette
- Respect quiet hours (commonly 10pm–6am or similar) — keep voices, music, and generators down, and be mindful that sound carries much farther outdoors at night than it seems.
- Keep some distance and a visual buffer between your site and your neighbors’ where the layout allows it, and avoid walking through occupied sites to cut a corner.
- Leash and clean up after pets, and check the campground’s specific pet policy — some sites or trails don’t allow them at all.
- Dim your lights at night. A bright lantern or vehicle headlights can ruin the dark for an entire loop of tent campers.
- Follow generator hours if the campground posts them, and use a spark-arrestor muffler if required.
- Leave the site better than you found it — a few extra minutes of cleanup makes the next visitor’s (and the site’s) day.
Ready to find a place to put all this into practice? Use the search on our homepage to filter by camping method and amenities, or try the Route Planner to find campgrounds along an actual driving route.