How to Choose a Wilderness Campsite

Taking a few minutes to assess the terrain can increase your potential for comfort while minimizing your impact on the environment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Waterproof Matches
• Fire Logs
• First Aid Kits
• Swiss Army Knives
• Backpacks
• Camping Stoves
• Camping Trowels
• Tarps
• Tents
• Flashlights

1. Choose an established campsite in high-use areas rather than tramping down a new spot.
2. Find an area that drains well to avoid flooding if it rains.
3. Camp at least 200 feet from lakes or streams to protect them.
4. Set up away from other people since most people go to the wilderness to experience solitude.
5. Avoid camping beneath large dead trees and branches that can come crashing down in the night.
6. Be careful traipsing around to avoid injuring fragile objects such as seedlings and wildflowers.
7. Camp above the high-water mark in desert canyons to stay beyond the reach of flash floods.
8. Consider the benefits of receiving the morning sun and being shaded from the hot afternoon sun when picking your location. Also think about potential windbreaks.
9. Leave the site in better condition than you found it.

Tips & Warnings

• Rather than camping next to a lake, often the most "buggy" and environmentally sensitive sites, consider camping on a bare ridge where light breezes will keep the bugs away and provide a better view.
• Be quiet in camp.