Preparing for your first camping trip

Preparing is the key to making your first camping trip a good one. Do not wait until the last minute. This is a recipe for disaster. A little planning can insure that your first camping trip is not your last.

Make a check list before you go camping. Include everything you might need . It is better to over pack at this time than underpack. You don’t have to use everything you take, but if you don’t take it, you will certainly miss it.

Make a menu that includes every meal you plan on having. Go to the grocery and get all the ingredients you might need a few days in advance. This will allow you to go back if you later realize you left something out.

You got all this new stuff. Try it out before you hit the woods. Take your tent out of the box and familiarize yourself with how to put it together. Make sure you bought the appropriate tent. 2 Man Tents are very different than 4 man tents. Why not take this opportunity to spend the night outside and test out the mattress and sleeping bag too.

Foul weather camping is no fun. It’s a necessary evil when you go on an extended camping trip, but there is no reason to go camping on a weekend where it is going to rain everyday. Make sure it is going to be sunny and beautiful on your first camping trip.

Make sure to take the right clothes for the climate. Pack rain gear even if it says it is going to be sunny all day.

Arrive early and give yourself time to set up your camp site and familiarize yourself with the camp ground. Make friends with neighbours and feel them out.

Make sure to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings and the rules for camping there. Follow those rules and respect neighbours.

Always clean up after yourself. leave your camp site in the condition you found it.