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best Tips for Camping in the Rain

July 7, 2020

A rain shower, however brief or prolonged, can cast both a literal and emotional cloud over your camping fun. Being prepared can make all the difference in whether or not you’re enjoying yourself… or you’re packing up to return home. With this in mind, here are our best tips for camping in the rain.

1. Bring towels.

   I know this sounds like a bit of a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how easy they are to forget. We’ve made this mistake, and it’s not fun. Towels are not only essential for keeping yourself dry, but they are extremely useful for drying off water sensitive gear like phones, batteries and electronics. Bring a few extra if you have the space. You might need to dry out the bottom of your tent. If you’re backpacking, micro towels are a great way to go.

2. Look for high ground.

   Water flows downward, so pitch your tent on the highest spot you can find and not at the bottom of a valley or hill where runoff can puddle or seep into your tent.

   
   

3. Bring a rain fly and know how to tie it down properly.

   Many tents come with a rain fly, a protective cover that fits overtop of your main tent body. But a rain fly is essentially useless if its not staked out properly. Stake the corners out taunt so that the water wicks away from the floor of the tent body. Also, make sure you have enough tent stakes. Even high-quality tents often come with flimsy stakes that bend and warp if you hammer them. And some tents don’t come with enough to stake out the rainfly and the tent. We found this out the hard way. It’s never a bad idea to have a few extra.

   
   

4. Consider purchasing a separate canopy with meshed sides or a tarp shelter.

   If you’re car camping, setting up an outdoor room using a separate canopy tent can be the perfect retreat in the rain versus everyone crammed inside your sleeping tent. Get one with meshed sides and reduce the amount of rain and bugs entering your area. It’s also perfect for storing everything else you don’t want to get wet such as your food and camp cookware. A tarp shelter can also be configured in several different ways to provide relief from the rain and is a great shelter option for backpacking.

   
   

5. Think layers when packing. bring extra socks + one water-resistant shell or raincoat.

   Sleeping in damp clothing, especially wet socks, is not only uncomfortable but also exposes you to a greater risk for hypothermia if temperatures are cold enough. If you don’t have rainwear, a simple barebones emergency poncho can work in a pinch.

   
   

6. Bring food that doesn’t require cooking.

   This is especially true if you’re relying on a traditional campfire as your fuel source as you might not be successful in getting a fire started with wet kindling and wood. If you’re bringing a portable stove and can cook under a shelter, you should be fine. Still, it’s a smart idea to have a few readymade items like bars and sandwiches that don’t require any prep or cooking to consume.

   
   

7. Keep your gear dry.

   If you’re car camping, keeping your essentials dry will probably be relatively easy. But if you’re backpacking or hiking and get caught in a downpour, this becomes more of a challenge and requires more planning. Most backpacks are not 100% water-resistant, yet it’s critical to keep the contents within them dry. Backpack covers, water-resistant bags or stuff sacks, and dry bags are all useful items to consider to keep your gear dry. Lining your backpack with a thick-grade trash bag is also another trick to help prevent water from seeping in.

   
   

8. Bring things to do.

   This is pretty much true for car camping in general, especially if you have kids. If you have a table and a shelter, board games are a great option for rainy downtime. Camping is a great time to unplug and relax with a book. But with that said, we’ve seen families set up mini-theatre experiences too, which admittedly looked like a lot of fun for the smaller kiddos.

Going camping? Use our Ultimate Car Camping Checklist to prepare for your next trip!