Camping Adventure: 4 Essential Planning Tips [with Supplies Checklist!]

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A camping adventure is a favoriteโ€”often economicalโ€”way to vacation in the great outdoors for many travelers. It provides an opportunity to get a little primal and enjoy the beauty of waking up in nature. Here are a few essential tips that will help you plan the perfect camping adventure.

Camper watching sunrise over mountains

CONTENTS: In this article, you will discover:

1. Choose The Right Destination

One of the best things about camping is that the whole experience can be different depending on your destination. You can spend time in the woods, mountains, desert landscape, or even on the coast by the ocean (my favorite). Each offers a unique experience.

To have a fantastic trip, youโ€™ll want to consider which is the right destination for you.  

How do you decide where to camp?

Think about what activities you enjoy.

For example, do you prefer to sit back and read, away from people? Or do you like to explore by hiking? Love to take a walk through the woods? Or gaze upon the ocean?

Let your answers guide you to the right type of camp. 

But if youโ€™re looking for a recommendation, we suggest having a look at Colorado, which has many different types of camping-friendly landscapes.

2. Consider the Best Time of Year for Camping

As important as where youโ€™re going is when youโ€™re going. The landscape and experience will be much different depending on the time of year you will be camping. 

While most people plan their camping trips in the middle of summer, this is the period when many places are at their peak mosquito season. If thereโ€™s anything that can kill a camping trip, itโ€™s mosquitos!

For our money, springtime is the best time of year to camp, since everything is so full of life and also economical.

But we also love camping during the Fall in New England. This time of year offers crisp, foliage-filled days and you might catch a small-town fall festival.

And if youโ€™re looking for something truly different, try winter camping. It can be deeply enjoyable if you prepare and plan the trip well.

3. Be Prepared

Part of the excitement about camping is the adventure it brings.

While you never know exactly whatโ€™s going to happen in the great outdoors, itโ€™s important that youโ€™re as well prepared as possible for your trip. 

One way to do this is to check out the Prepared Bee website. It’s full of survival and other skills that will come in handy when youโ€™re camping. 

Besides researching the right skills, youโ€™ll want to check the weather before you go. That way, you can bring the right outerwear and other gear for the occasion. With that being said. You should also be ready with survival gear.

And to find the right equipment, look to overlanding product reviews. That way, you’ll know you’re choosing quality items.

Itโ€™s such a simple thing to do but can make all the difference to your familyโ€™s camping pleasure.

4. Bring the Right Supplies

You donโ€™t need to have every item under the sun with you when youโ€™re camping. Roughing it is part of the fun, after all. But, itโ€™s important that you at the very least have the essentials

Perhaps the most important thing will be to have a weather-appropriate tent and bedding. Thereโ€™s nothing worse than getting caught out in inclement weather when youโ€™re camping!

A few other essential items to bring camping include:

  • Camp chairs
  • Camp Table
  • Tarp
  • Lanterns, Flashlights, and Headlamps (bring extra batteries)
  • Grill and Charcoal/Fuel
  • Firewood, Lighter
  • Cooking Utensils, such as a frying pan and a pot with lid
  • Sharp Knife
  • First Aid Kit
  • Bowls, Cups, Dishes, Utensils
  • Portable Coffee Pot, Coffee, Mugs
  • Fresh Water
  • Cooler with Ice
  • Food and Drinks
  • Soap, Wipes, Personal Care Items
  • Clothes Line
  • Dish Soap and Sponge/Pot Scrubber
  • Dish Cloth
  • Paper Towels
  • Trash & Recycling Bags
  • Bug Spray, Sunscreen, Netting
  • Duct tape, Ziplock bagsโ€”because you never know when they will come in handy!

Final Thoughts on Planning a Camping Adventure

Wherever your camping adventure brings you, these four essential camping tips are the foundation to plan a fun experience in the great outdoors.

What happens from there is up to you!

If you want to learn more and have the most enjoyable camping experience, read this article next: Beginner Camping Tips.


This article is a sponsored, collaborative post and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. For more information, please see the following Disclosure.

Photos: Pexels

4 thoughts on “Camping Adventure: 4 Essential Planning Tips [with Supplies Checklist!]”

  1. I am getting ready to take my two boys ( 12 and 15) on their first camping trip, so this was very helpful. Thank you for this helpful blog.

  2. This is so helpful! I just went camping for the first time and this would have been a great read beforehand!

    • Hopefully, it will be helpful for the next time you’re camping, Alanna. Glad you enjoyed the info!

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