How to Camp and Make it a Trip you will never FORGET!

Finding campsites

Finding campsites is not difficult at all. Here are some tactics:

• Use Hipcamp. You can find many campgrounds in National Parks or Historic Parks like Washington Crossing.  It also shows you what activities are available, like wildlife watching, paddling, hiking, camping, biking, fishing and more.

• Google ‘best campsites in’ + ‘the country or region‘. Keep in mind that these campsites could be overcrowded.

• Just type ‘your destination’ + ‘campsites’ on Google.

• The Campermate app (Australia & New Zealand only).

• The Dyrt app (US only).

• Coolcamping has a database containing countries like Spain, Switzerland, Greece, England, Italy and many more.

• If you want to camp in a national park in Canada and the USA, just type in Google: ‘National Park’s name‘ + ‘campsite’. You should land on a website where you can make a reservation. This is required due to COVID-19.

Mini campsites

A mini campsite is nothing more than a large campsite, in most cases a farm, with only a few places to camp. It’s very difficult to see your neighbors, and it’s even harder to hear them.

From experience, I can tell that people are much nicer, and once in a while, you can talk to the owners because they live there.

Actually, I just got back from a 2-week family camping holiday at a mini campsite in France. Because of the peaceful environment, I was able to write a lot of articles. This is the mini campsite if you’re interested.

The only disadvantage of a mini campsite is that the toilets and showers tend to be far away. Sometimes I had to run to reach the toilet in time.

Finding mini campsites

Mini campsites may be more difficult to find. They’re quite unpopular in America, but they are popular in Europe and especially in the Netherlands. I did some research and found a website that has a specific mini campsite database. I was also able to find some mini campgrounds on Recreation.

When to go camping

There is no real answer to this question because it comes down to personal preference. However, you should consider a number of things.

Weather

Do you want to camp in cold or warm conditions? Your answer to this question will affect your choice of gear. When camping in cold conditions, you need a 4-season tent, a warm sleeping bag and much more. I explain all that in detail on this page.

Camping in winter is more difficult and dangerous compared to camping in summer. You need to be well prepared, and forgetting an item can lead to an unpleasant or even dangerous experience. That’s why you might want to reconsider going on a cold-weather camping trip if it’s your first time camping.

Other people

You may want to avoid high season and holidays if you don’t want to see other people. It will be much easier to find quiet locations if you camp in the wild. Campsites are often flooded during these periods, so it’s often not as relaxing as you’d hoped.

Breeding seasons

During certain months of the year, wild animals can take over the forest. Bears and deer are making babies, and as you might want to know, bears with cubs around them are extremely dangerous. They want to protect their babies and can attack without warning. If you are planning to camp in bear country, I suggest you take a look at my entire guide on bear safety.

What to bring

If you’re a beginner, there’s no need to get the most expensive stuff. However, there are some things that should be of good quality. Otherwise, they can easily fail you and ruin your experience. For example, a quality tent is definitely a must-have. A bad tent can suddenly break or let water through.

That’s why it’s important to do some research before you buy something. I write many reviews that may help you find quality gear that is suitable for your personal situation. This best 8-person tents article, for example. Make sure you check it out if you need a tent to go camping with your family.

Choosing a tent

Of all the things you take with you, a tent is the most important part. It will be your home for a while, so it’s important that you choose one that suits you.

Below are some things to take into account when choosing a tent.

• Size – How many people do you plan on camping with? Please note that tents advertised as e.g. 8-person tents only have room for 4 people (+ gear) to sleep comfortably. There is only room for 8 people if you sleep very close to each other.

• Space and weight – When backpacking, space and weight are important factors to take into consideration. This is less important when camping or traveling by car.

• Weather – You need a tent that can withstand bad weather if you plan to camp in stormy circumstances.

• Ventilation – Some tents have many ventilation holes, which is a blessing on hot days, but a curse in cold conditions.

• Tent porch – Do you consider a tent porch as a must-have? You can use it as a cooking area, which can be very useful in case you’re camping in rainy conditions.

• Price – Are you looking for a budget tent or an expensive tent? It’s true that expensive tents are generally better in quality compared to budget tents. However, there are still good tents available at a reasonable price.

What about a bivvy bag?

A bivvy bag is a bag made of a lightweight, waterproof and breathable fabric. It goes around both your sleeping mat and sleeping bag.

It’s often a good choice for the backpackers among us. It’s light, packable and easy to set up, which makes it a great tent alternative. However, it also has its downsides such as loss of privacy, condensation and lack of space.

Clothing

It’s not like you need special clothing for camping. In most cases you can wear whatever you wear at home; something comfortable. You may not want to set up your tent, hang a hammock and collect firewood in tight jeans.

Also, keep in mind that your clothes are most likely going to get dirty. Either by ashes from the fire pit or by setting up your tent.

In some cases, you will need ‘special’ clothing due to bad weather or low temperatures. Then you will also need to know how to layer clothing and what to wear in rainy conditions. Here are some tips:

• Avoid cotton when camping in humid, cold or hot conditions. It dries slowly, doesn’t wick moisture away, encourages bacterial growth, and is heavier than synthetics or merino wool. That’s right, merino wool and synthetics like fleece are the go-to materials.

• If it’s extremely cold, then you should layer your clothing. You can find more information on this page.

• I also like to bring a waterproof jacket, pants and a rain cover for my backpack. The pants and cover are very handy and have saved me in many situations. You can just put the waterproof pants over your trousers, and the backpack’s rain cover prevents water from seeping in.

• Another great tip I would like to give you is to bring clothes for cold weather, even when it’s hot during the day. I made the mistake of thinking like this: ‘What? 90 degrees! I don’t need these fleece pants’, and end up shivering during the night because I only packed shorts. Also bear in mind that the weather may change during your camping trip.

Camping checklist

When packing for a camping trip you might be worried about forgetting something important. To help you, I did some research and found the best checklists. Both for camping and backpacking.

Both checklists contain a lot of items, and you don’t have to take them all with you. You have to decide which items are worth taking. Your list depends on where you are going, the time of the year, the duration of your trip and the activities you want to do.

Campsite Checklist – It’s printable, and it’s the best checklist that I could find.

Backpacking Checklist – When backpacking you want to keep in mind that you’ll have to carry every item you bring with you. So choose your items carefully and only bring the items that you think are worth carrying.

Both these checklists don’t mention something that I find very handy: a hand crank charger. This may not be necessary when camping on a campsite, but it can save your life if you camp in the wild. You can charge your phone with it and all you need is muscle power.

However, charging a smartphone can be a pain in the butt. That’s why I advise bringing a classic Nokia 3310, for example. These types of cellphones also use much less battery power and thus will die less quickly.

A solar power bank is also very useful in my opinion. The solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, which charges the power bank. You can keep charging your electronics as long as there’s sunlight available.

Your backpack

This section is meant to answer some questions you might have about your backpack. What kind of backpack do you need? How heavy can your backpack be? How big should it be? How do you organize all your stuff? All these things play a big role in having a comfortable trip.

The three types of backpacks

There are three kinds: the internal frame backpack, the external frame backpack and the frameless backpack.

With the internal backpacks, the frame is on the inside and with the external ones on the outside. The frameless backpack simply doesn’t have a frame.

All three have their pros and cons. The best one for you mainly depends on what you value and your personal situation.

Internal backpacks: pros and cons

• Better balance – Your backpack sits tight against your back, allowing you to move your weight and posture with more precision. This makes it superior in situations where you have to clamber and shift your weight.

• Gear protection – You’re able to put most of your gear inside your backpack, which is not possible with an external backpack. This eliminates the risk of your equipment being damaged by branches or sharp surfaces and protects it from rain.

• Packability – An internal backpack is smaller and more compact, making it easier to travel with.

• Adjustable straps – The adjustable shoulder straps make it easy to modify the backpack to your height, or lend it to a friend of a different height.

• More comfort – Most internal frames consist of two diagonally placed aluminum bars. They bend according to the shape of your back, which makes wearing your backpack more comfortable.

Here are some downsides of an internal frame backpack:

• Often cause a sweaty back.

• Generally more expensive.

• More weight on the shoulders, and less weight on the hips. This makes it more difficult to carry a heavy load.

• You need to lean more forward in order to transfer your weight to your lower body. That’s because internal backpacks carry the weight lower than external ones.

• Not made to strap things your like sleeping pad and sleeping bag on the outside.

External backpacks: pros and cons

For this, just switch the pros and cons of the internal backpack. So that makes:

• There’s more space between your back and the backpack, resulting in more ventilation.

• More budget-friendly.

• Less weight on the shoulders, and more weight on the hips, which makes it easier to carry a heavy load.

• You don’t have to lean forward so much in order to transfer your weight to your lower body.

• Easier to strap gear on.

The downsides are:

• Decreased balance due to the space between your back and the backpack.

• Some items, such as your sleeping mat or bag, are exposed to sharp surfaces and branches, making them vulnerable. These items are also not protected from the rain.

• External backpacks are bigger and bulkier.

• The adjustable straps usually have a limited reach.

• Less comfort.

Frameless backpacks: pros and cons

• Weight & capacity – They weigh less because there is no frame and unnecessary parts. They’re also lighter due to the reduced capacity. Whether this is a pro or con depends on your personal situation. Because there’s no frame, the weight is not distributed evenly, resulting in less comfort. This makes the frameless backpack not suitable for long walks.

• Price – Frameless backpacks are generally cheaper because they’re smaller and don’t have a frame. That’s why they may be of interest to you if you’re looking for a budget-friendly backpack.

• Simplicity – Framed backpacks have many zippers, compartments and straps. These are more things that can break and complicate. But you can also see it as an advantage. All compartments make it easier to organize your stuff and the straps give you more comfort.

• Comfort – Because there’s no frame, you have to organize your gear in a way that it’s comfortable for you. You are able to position your stuff in such a way that you create a supportive back construction.

Backpack weight

The weight of your backpack is determined by a few things:

• Trip duration – You need more food, fuel and water on longer trips.

• Weather – In winter you need thicker and heavier clothing than in summer.

• The amount of non-essential items – This comes down to personal preference. You may want to bring a hammock, a thick sleeping pad, or wear a new shirt every day.

So how heavy is too heavy? Well, people like to stick to the ‘20% of your body weight’ rule, which I don’t think makes sense.

Just think about it.

A strong 150-pound young man shouldn’t carry more than 30 pounds. While an unhealthy 220-pound person would be able to carry 44 pounds.

So as you can see, there are more things besides your body weight that determine your maximum backpack weight.

Things like your health, muscle ratio and age play a much more important role. My backpack usually weighs around 35 pounds (16 kg), and my body weight is around 145 pounds (65 kg). That’s 24 percent of my body weight. However, I have no problem carrying all that weight because I’m young, strong and have a low body fat percentage.

If you want to get fitter and stronger, I suggest you do some backpacking exercises. They are a great way to strengthen the necessary muscles and joints.

Here are some tricks that may help you make your backpack lighter:

• Renew your gear – Older gear is much heavier than new gear. That’s because the manufacturers are able to make it lighter every year. My dad’s backpack weighed around 45 pounds (20 kg) because he went backpacking in the ‘80s. So you may want to consider buying new gear, and not using your grandfather’s.

• Only bring the essentials – Maybe don’t bring the hammock or other luxury items. They can make your trip more comfortable, but not if they make your backpack too heavy. Also, make sure that you don’t bring too much clothing and food.

• Repackage – By repackaging all your food you not only save weight but also a lot of space. Zipper bags are in my opinion the best repackaging bags. They’re lightweight, reusable and resealable. You can repackage a part of your toothpaste or sunscreen in reusable plastic bottles.

Repacking spices is also a great idea because the original package is often made of glass, which is heavy compared to plastic. So you can repackage the necessary amount with plastic bags.

You could leave the stuff sacks at home to reduce weight.

However, I believe that they’re worth the weight because they make it much easier to organize your backpack.

You can also put your sleeping bag, tent, tent poles and stakes directly into your backpack and leave their sacks at home.

Backpack capacity

It’s important that your backpack is big enough so that you can bring all your necessary gear. The size of your backpack is determined by the length of your trip and the weather. Longer hikes require more space, and colder conditions ask for more clothes and thicker sleeping bags.

Food

How many calories do you need per day?

As a beginner, you probably don’t know how much food to take with you. That’s why many newcomers bring way too much food and have a lot of food remaining when they have the opportunity to refuel at a grocery store.

You might think: better to eat too much than too little.

And you’re right but you don’t want to take way too much food with you. So in order to be able to estimate the amount of food, you first want to estimate the calories needed.

Don’t worry, I found some websites that do the work for you.

But first, let me explain to you what factors decide the required amount of calories. Anything that makes it more intense for you will make you burn more calories.

• Trail intensity – The intensity of a hike depends mainly on 3 things: its distance, duration, inclinations and the angle of the inclinations.

• Bodyweight – If you weigh more, you naturally burn more calories.

• Backpack weight – The heavier your backpack is, the intenser your hike will be, and the more calories you’ll burn. That’s why it’s important to bring enough lightweight food. Foods that are (freeze) dried are interesting because they’re light due to their low water concentration, and remain edible for quite a long time.

I found a calculator that takes all these factors into consideration and gives you an estimate. That estimate is good enough, but you can’t forget to include your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the number of calories you burn if you don’t do anything at all, like sleeping or waiting for your water to finally boil.

However, you doing nothing is just an illusion, your body actually works non-stop. You constantly breathe, circulate your blood, make new cells and much more. All this work to keep you alive requires energy, also known as calories.

So what is your BMR? Well, this depends on a few things.

• Height – The bigger you are, the more energy your body needs to function.

• Weight – Your weight also plays a role. The more you weigh, the more calories you need.

• Age – As you get older, your total muscle mass decreases and you get fat mass instead. Fat tissue requires less maintenance than muscles. That’s why your BMR will also decrease as you age.

In order to estimate your BMR, I advise you to use this page.

Then to finally come down to your final number, sum up your BMR and your required amount of calories per day. You may be surprised by the number of calories, however, hiking can be intense.

It’s definitely a great sport to lose some weight.

In general, 4500 calories weigh 2 pounds (0.9 kg). That’s why it might be smart to plan a route where you’ll come across several grocery stores or gas stations.

However, you probably won’t find freeze-dried food there. So it may be smart to pack a lot of unusual food and less of the food you’ll find in any grocery store.

Food for camping in a campsite

At home, you have a refrigerator, an oven, a microwave, and more than enough space. While camping, you most likely only have a cooler and not so much space. So you may want to bring fewer ingredients.

But that doesn’t mean that you should eat boring meals every day.

Here are some foods that are easy to make but are still delicious. Decide for yourself which ones are interesting and write the ingredients down to make our own food-checklist.

• Tacos– You can choose the ingredients in this case, but you can make it easy and just use eggs, corn, cheese and some bacon.

• Burritos– Also very easy to make, and you can prepare them in your campfire.

• Cheese fondue – For this recipe, you only need cheese, some herbs and bread or vegetables.

It’s very easy to make and you can prepare it above your campfire.

• Pasta – You can make a lot of easy meals with pasta. Spaghetti is the most popular one.

However, if you’re looking for something without meat, I suggest you take a look at this page.

• Shrimps– If you like to eat shrimps, I’m sure you’re going to love this recipe. It’s very simple. All you need is some butter, shrimps, herbs and lemon.

Just follow the recipe. Wrap it in tin foil, let it cook, and that’s basically it.

• Campfire veggies – A great meal for the vegetarians among us. It’s healthy and easy to make.

It’s literally just chopping up some veggies, adding olive oil, and sprinkling it with some herbs.

• Grilled potatoes – A delicious recipe for anyone who loves the combination of potatoes, bacon, melted cheese, and ranch dressing.

You wrap it in tin foil and bury it between some hot coals. You can also prepare it with a grill.

Backpacking food

It’s not going to be that easy for backpacking food. You can’t just bring eggs, meat and veggies along the trail. You have to go easy on weight, and more importantly, they’ll rot after a short period of time.

When choosing backpacking food, there are four things that you should take into consideration:

1. Is it nutritious? It’s important that you bring food that contains a lot of fat, carbs and protein. Fat is important because you’re going to burn a lot of it.

Protein is also important. You need it to make enzymes & hormones, and it provides you with energy. Carbs are also a source of energy. In case you’re on a keto diet, I suggest you take a look at this page.

1. Does it weigh much?

1. Does it take a lot of space?

1. How fast does it become uneatable? You’ll need food that doesn’t rot quickly because you don’t have a cooler.

Also, don’t forget to bring some salt. You’re most likely going to lose a lot of salt through sweating. However, most foods have enough salt in them, but you can never be too safe.

Meals are often going to be simple and repetitive. Just make sure that you bring food that you like to eat.

Here are some foods that are a great choice for a backpacking trip.

Snacks

Snacks will make a huge part of your daily eating schedule. They’re easy to eat, don’t require preparation and are nutritious. Here are some snacks that meet the requirements.

• Energy bars

• Protein bars

• Banana chips

• Dried fruit

• Cookies

• Gummy bears

• Seeds with a high protein content

• Chocolate

• String cheese

• Beef jerky

• Nuts