Camping Tips for People Who Hate Going Camping

In 2021, 48 million American households camped at least once, and 10.1 million camped for the first time. While many people enjoyed camping before, the pandemic striking in 2020 certainly sparked a lot of new interest in this activity.

Maybe your friends are now huge camping fanatics. And while you’ve been able to avoid their outings, you’ve now hit a situation where you have no choice but to go along with them.

If you’re being dragged against your will on a camping trip, not all hope is lost. Read on for some great camping tips that’ll make your time more enjoyable!

Do a Thorough Job When Packing

The less prepared you are, the more miserable you’ll be. So as soon as you know you’re going camping, start putting a packing list together! You can add things to it as time goes by, just in case you’ve forgotten something.

Exactly what you bring will depend on where you’re going, what you’re doing, the time of year, and what your friends are bringing too. However, here are some basics that are helpful for your list:

• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• Camping pillow
• Lanterns
• Batteries
• Camping chairs and tables
• Comfortable camping clothes (more on this later)
• Camping stove
• Cooking pots, pans, and utensils
• Knives
• Water
• Snacks
• Toiletries

When the time comes, you’ll have a handy list you can check off as you pack your bags. It’ll be a lot less stressful and it’ll leave room for a little excitement about your trip.

Pack the Right Things

You should be thorough when packing, but you should also bring the right things. Otherwise, not only will you be unhappy, but you might wreck your nice things too!

Your sneakers are probably very comfy for everyday walking, but you might want to leave them at home. They could get muddy and stained, plus, they don’t have the best traction.

Instead, bring sturdy hiking boots. And needless to say, keep your cute flats and high heels at home.

To keep your feet happy while at the campsite, bring flip-flops. That way, you can just slide in and out of them when you go around the campsite and into or out of your tent.

Check the forecast and bring weather-appropriate clothes. Go for moisture-wicking pieces if possible, as you might get sweaty while out exploring and doing fun activities. Clothes you can layer are good too, as you can put them on or take them off accordingly.

A waterproof layer (such as a poncho) won’t hurt either. Rain can always happen, even if it says 0% chance on the forecast!

Of course, pack plenty of underwear and socks. You never know when accidents will happen, and you want to stay comfortable and dry.

For toiletries, pack all your favorite brands so it feels a little like home. You’ll feel and look glamorous!

Pick a Campsite With Good Bathroom Facilities

If pit toilets are an absolute “no” for you, then do some research beforehand. Pick a campsite that has running water, and therefore, a flushable toilet. As an added bonus, you might even get showers.

Read reviews first though; just because a campsite has running water doesn’t necessarily mean the bathroom facilities are good. Learn from other people’s experiences so you don’t make the same mistake.

Research the Area

It can be hard to get excited about a place you’ve never been. Your brain draws up blanks, after all.

When you know where you’re going, go online and learn more about it. Look at pictures of the scenery so you can get hyped up about staying there. Read about the area’s history and other fun facts so you have some attachment to the place.

When the campsite isn’t just a name to you, it’ll be tougher to hate it. 

Plan Fun Activities

Once you find out more about the area you’ll be staying in, you can then plan activities around that. For example, if the park’s known for its watersports, rent a kayak and spend a day out on the lake. Or you can bring a towel to the lakeside to tan and relax if that’s what you’re into.

You don’t necessarily have to be sporty either. In fact, you can bring things to keep yourself entertained at the campsite if that’s what you’d rather do. Whether you bring board games, handheld video games, a journal, cards, a notebook, or anything else, you can stay preoccupied while the others go do their thing.

Turn Your Tent Into a Second Home

Your home is where your heart is, right? So if you can turn your tent into something cozy and personalized, you’ll have an easier time drifting off at night. And in turn, you’ll feel better about camping.

Invest in a good sleeping pad, as it’ll cushion you against the hard and uneven ground. While you can bring a camping pillow, you can either replace or supplement that with a pillow or two from home.

It might seem silly, but you can make things cozier by bringing small decorations to put up inside your tent. Even if they’re only small streamers, it’ll make things more cheerful!

Bring Good Food

If you’re a foodie who will lament the lack of good food while out in the wilderness, it’s not all doom and gloom. While gourmet dining will probably be off the list, you won’t have to resort to spooning salty beans out of tin cans either.

Come prepared with a good camping stove and all the cooking gear you need. Look up portable and campfire-friendly recipes and then go shopping for prime ingredients.

While your friends are away hiking and whatnot, you can then get to work on a hearty meal for when they get back. Not only will it pass the time, but your buddies will appreciate the good meal waiting for them. And you won’t have to resort to basic food either!

Get in the Right Mindset

We know that you hate camping and would do anything but that. But if you keep thinking negatively about the trip, then it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll have a bad time.

Remember that you can look at a glass as half-full or half-empty. If you’re going on the camping trip anyway, why not try to look at the glass as half-full? Shifting your mindset can turn an outing from hell into something enjoyable!

For example, let’s say you hate camping because there’s no internet and there are bugs and wild animals. To think positively, focus on taking in the beauty of nature without the distractions of social media.

Think of this as practice or a test of positive thinking. If you can master this during your camping trip, then it’ll have a profound effect on your life. And who knows, you might end up actually liking camping!

Go Glamping

Does the thought of having no access to running water and other amenities bum you out? Can’t live without electricity and the internet? Then a great compromise is glamping.

What is glamping? Well, the word is a portmanteau of the words “glamorous” and “camping”. That sounds a lot better already than pitching a tent in the wild!

Not all glamping’s created equal, as there are several degrees of comfort available. But generally, you can enjoy electricity (courtesy of a generator) that can power things like your phone, TVs, radios, speakers, lights, etc. And it’s likely you’ll have a bathroom with a modern toilet and shower.

Also, accommodations will vary. Glamping tents are popular (like at this place), but you can also stay in yurts, tipis, and domes. For the ultimate comfort, there are also structures more reminiscent of home, such as pods, cabins, and bungalows. For these, you’ll have other comforts such as mini-fridges and microwaves.

Glamping offers the perfect combination of home and wilderness camping. So see if your friends are willing to compromise with this option! You’ll have a lot more fun if they agree to it.

Use These Camping Tips for a Better Time

If you’ve got a horrible camping trip coming up, then you need to keep these camping tips in mind. When you go prepared with the right things and mindset, you might be pleasantly surprised. It’d also help to go glamping for your first time, as it’s a nice middle ground that’ll ease you into camping.

So keep an open mind and make yourself as comfortable as possible. You never know; the experience might be fun enough to motivate you to tag along on future trips!

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