Camping for Beginners: Gear, Campsites and Your First Night Outdoors

For your first camping trip, book a drive-in campsite with bathrooms and water at a state or national park campground, no more than two or three hours from home, for one or two nights in mild weather. Bring a tent you have set up once at home, a sleeping pad and bag rated for 10 degrees colder than the forecast low, a headlamp, a cooler, a simple stove and layers. Store food in your car or a bear box. Arrive before dark. Keep it easy the first time.

Camping is the cheapest way to sleep inside America’s most beautiful places. A campsite in a national park often costs $25 to $40 a night, while a lodge room a mile away can cost ten times as much. More than that, it puts you outside at the best hours: sunrise over a lake, stars overhead, birds at dawn. But a bad first trip, cold, wet and sleepless, puts many people off for good. The goal of your first trip is not adventure. It’s comfort. Adventure comes later, once you know you love sleeping outside.

• $25–$40Typical national park campsite per night
• 1–2 nightsIdeal length for a first trip
• Car campingThe best way to start
• 10°FBuffer below the forecast low for your bag

Types of camping, explained

Car camping means you drive right to your campsite and pitch a tent next to your car. You can bring a big cooler, comfortable chairs and extra blankets. Most campgrounds have restrooms and drinking water nearby. This is where to start.

Walk-in or tent-only sites require a short walk from a parking area, often more private.

Backpacking means carrying everything on your back into the wilderness, often with a permit. It needs more gear, skill and fitness. Try it after a few car camping trips.

Glamping means sleeping in a set-up tent, yurt or cabin with beds. It’s camping with training wheels, and lots of fun. Our glamping guide covers the best options.

Dispersed camping means camping for free on public land, outside campgrounds, with no facilities. Save it for later.

Choosing your first campground

Look for a developed campground at a state park, national park, national forest or private campground with these features: flush toilets or at least vault toilets, drinking water, picnic tables, fire rings and, ideally, showers. Many national and state park campgrounds have all of these. Private campgrounds often add showers, laundry and a camp store.

Book ahead. Popular campgrounds fill fast, especially on summer weekends. National park and many national forest campgrounds are booked on recreation.gov, and many open six months ahead. State parks use their own reservation systems. Our Recreation.gov booking guide explains how to get a site at popular parks.

When picking a specific site, look for flat ground, some shade, and distance from the restrooms. Close enough to walk at night, not so close you hear the door slam all evening.

The gear you need

You don’t need to buy everything new. Borrow from friends, rent from an outdoor store or buy used. Here is what matters:

The sleeping pad is the item most beginners underrate. The ground pulls heat from your body all night. A thin foam pad or an air mattress without insulation will leave you cold even in a warm bag. Air mattresses are comfortable but cold on chilly nights. An insulated pad is better.

A beginner’s packing list

• Tent, footprint or tarp, stakes and a mallet
• Sleeping bag, sleeping pad and a pillow from home
• Headlamps and a lantern, with spare batteries
• Stove, fuel, lighter and matches
• Pot, pan, spatula, plates, cups, utensils and a sharp knife
• Cooler with ice, plus a water jug
• Biodegradable soap, a sponge and a small wash basin
• Trash bags. Pack out what you pack in.
• Layers: warm jacket, hat and wool socks, even in summer
• Rain jacket
• Camp chairs
• First aid kit, sunscreen and bug spray
• Toilet paper and hand sanitizer
• A deck of cards. Seriously.

Our ten hiking essentials list covers what to carry on hikes from camp.

Practice at home

Set up your tent in your backyard, a park or your living room before your trip. Figure out which poles go where and how the rainfly attaches. You don’t want to learn this for the first time in the dark, in the wind, with an audience. Test your stove too. And lie on your sleeping pad for a few minutes to make sure it doesn’t leak.

Setting up camp

Arrive with at least two hours of daylight left. Find the flattest spot on your site, ideally the designated tent pad, and clear away sticks and rocks. Lay your footprint or tarp, but fold it so it doesn’t stick out beyond the tent; otherwise it collects rain and funnels it underneath you. Pitch the tent with the door facing away from the wind. Stake it down fully and attach the rainfly even if the sky is clear. Dew alone can soak a tent overnight.

Set up your kitchen area away from the tent, ideally downwind, and keep it tidy. Put your headlamp somewhere you can find it in the dark: in your pocket.

How to sleep warm

Cold nights are the number one reason beginners hate camping. Here’s how to avoid it:

• Use an insulated sleeping pad. It matters more than the bag.
• Wear a dry base layer, a warm hat and dry wool socks to bed. Never sleep in the clothes you sweated in.
• Eat a snack with fat and protein before bed. Your body burns it for heat.
• Pee before you go to sleep. A full bladder makes you colder, and nobody wants to leave the tent at 3 a.m.
• Fill a water bottle with hot water, close it tightly, and put it in your sleeping bag.
• Expect nights in the mountains and deserts to be much colder than days. A 75°F afternoon can turn into a 40°F night.

Food: keep it simple

Plan easy meals for your first trip. Pre-chop vegetables at home. Bring foil-packet dinners you can heat over a fire or stove. Hot dogs, quesadillas and pasta are easy wins. For breakfast, oatmeal, bagels or eggs and bacon. Bring coffee in whatever form you love. And s’mores, obviously, the campfire dessert every American kid knows: graham crackers, chocolate and toasted marshmallows.

Keep your cooler in the shade and open it as little as possible. Freeze water bottles to use as ice packs and drinking water later.

Food storage and wildlife

Every campground has wildlife that wants your food: raccoons, squirrels, jays, and in many parks, bears. A bear that gets human food often becomes aggressive and may have to be killed. Follow campground rules exactly:

• Never keep food, trash or scented items, including toothpaste and sunscreen, in your tent.
• Store food in the provided bear box or locker, or in your car with windows closed where allowed.
• In some parks, like Yosemite, food must be in bear lockers, not cars, because bears break into vehicles.
• Clean up immediately after meals. Dispose of trash in bear-proof bins.
• Never feed any wildlife, including cute squirrels and birds.

Campfires: the rules

Campfires are a highlight of camping, and the leading cause of wildfires. Use only the provided fire ring. Check for fire bans before you go; they are common in summer and fall in the West. Buy firewood near the campground instead of bringing it from home, because firewood can carry invasive insects that kill forests. Keep fires small, never leave them unattended and drown them with water before bed, stirring the ashes until they are cold to the touch.

Weather: plan for rain

Rain doesn’t have to ruin a camping trip, but it will if you aren’t ready. Check the forecast the day before you leave, and if heavy rain or thunderstorms are coming, consider rescheduling your first trip. If you go anyway, pitch your tent on slightly higher ground, never in a dip where water collects. Make sure the rainfly is taut and not touching the tent body. Bring a large tarp to string up over your picnic table so you can cook and sit outside dry. Keep a dry set of clothes in a plastic bag in the car. In a lightning storm, get into a hard-roofed vehicle or building, not your tent.

Heat matters too. In summer, pick a shaded site, avoid camping in the desert at low elevations, and set up your tent in the evening when the sun is lower. Open the vents and windows to let air flow.

Hygiene without a shower

Many campgrounds have showers; many don’t. Bring biodegradable wet wipes, a small towel and dry shampoo for short trips. Wash dishes at least 200 feet from lakes and streams, or at the campground’s designated dishwashing area, and strain food scraps into the trash. Use the restrooms provided. If you must go outdoors, dig a small hole at least six inches deep and 200 feet from water.

Campground etiquette

Respect quiet hours, usually from about 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Don’t walk through other people’s sites. Keep lights low and music off or very quiet. Leash your dog. Leave your site cleaner than you found it. Follow Leave No Trace principles, the outdoor code of ethics for protecting natural places.

Common beginner mistakes

Arriving after dark. Setting up a new tent with a headlamp is miserable.

Underestimating cold. Pack warm layers even in summer.

Forgetting a sleeping pad. You will regret it by midnight.

Leaving food out. Raccoons will find it. Bears might.

Choosing a hard first trip. Start easy and build up.

Camping with kids

Kids often love camping more than adults. Bring their favorite stuffed animal, a headlamp of their own and simple games. Let them help set up. Pick a campground with a short nature trail, a lake or a creek. Junior Ranger programs at national parks are a great bonus. Keep the first trip to one night, and stay flexible. Sometimes the best plan is s’mores and an early bedtime.

Best places for a first camping trip

Some parks are especially good for beginners, with well-run campgrounds, easy trails and short drives to services. Our favorites include the Great Smoky Mountains, where Elkmont and Cades Cove campgrounds sit in forested valleys; Acadia, with Blackwoods and Seawall near the coast; Joshua Tree in spring or fall, for star-filled skies; Grand Teton’s Colter Bay; and state parks near most major cities, which are often easier to book than national parks. See our Joshua Tree guide and best national parks list for ideas.

Frequently asked questions

Plan your first trip

1. Choose a campground within three hours of home with restrooms and water.
2. Reserve a site for one or two nights in mild weather.
3. Borrow or rent gear, and set up your tent at home first.
4. Plan simple meals and check fire restrictions before you leave.