What Should You Know About Fall Camping?

While spring is for searching for the best blooms and summer is all for adventures in the beach, mountain, or river, then fall is for camping. No matter how much adventure you’ve had in the other seasons, you can never miss out the benefits of camping during the fall.

Just like how you bring comfortable and cool clothes for your summer activities or let go of woolen scarves and thick winter coats in the spring, you need a different kind of preparation for fall camping. Among the things that you shouldn’t forget are the tarps that can protect you from the rain and other elements. There are some more things that you need to include in your fall camping preparation.

Fall Camping Gear

• Prepare a sleeping bag for protection against the cold. Invest in sleeping bags that are designed to keep out the chilly fall temperature, particularly those rated between 0°F and 20°. Bring two to layer them for extra warmth and make sure to bring them closer to the body to prevent the warmth from escaping.
• Buy a three-season tent that you can use in the fall, summer and spring. It is lighter and has lots of vents and open mesh walls for better ventilation. Find one with a rainfly to protect you from the rain. Reinforce it with tarps, which you can also use as your tent footprint for protection against the moist ground.
• Stay warm in your tent by laying on double layers of closed-cell sleeping pads.
• Consider what to do if you get rained on. This means investing in backpacks with waterproof cover or you can make it waterproof on your own by lining it with plastic garbage bags. Bring lots of plastic garbage bags to protect your things. It doesn’t hurt to pack more tarps too that you can secure to provide added protection from the rain.

Fall Camping Clothing

• Wear mittens, not gloves. Mittens are more effective at keeping your hands warm because your fingers are huddled close together.
• Bring the right clothes. If you want to stay warm and comfortable throughout your entire camping trip, you have to learn the art of layering your clothes. But first, you have to know what to pack. Bring along clothes made of fleece, wool, and synthetic materials for their warmth, as well as water-resistant and breathable clothing.
• Don’t forget to bring some essential items to ensure your comfort outdoors. These include winter jacket, winter cap, wind- and water-resistant outer jacket, wool shirt, fleece jacket, thermal underwear, wool socks, down booties, two pairs of gloves or mittens, rain poncho and pants, sturdy boots with waterproof features, and lots of extra clothing in case you get wet.

Additional Reminders

• Bring along your own firewood. You might have a tough time locating dry firewood in the fall. Check your campsite’s rules and regulations first regarding firewood. If you’re allowed to pack your own, make sure to bring some.
• Protect your skin. Bring sunscreen and insect repellent.
• Drink and eat well. Pack plenty of cocoa packets, tea bags, and coffee that you can brew in the campfire. Prepare your fall camping menu as well, which may consist of berry cobbler, beef or chicken stew, chili, baked potatoes, biscuits, cinnamon rolls on a stick, and basked spiced apples. Plan ahead to accommodate longer cooking times since it may take more time to boil the water in the midst of cooler temperatures.
• Light your campsite up by packing a lantern or headlamp. If you want to keep working at the campsite with both hands free, a headlamp would be a great helper. Choose one with a LED bulb.
• Prepare a first aid kit. In case you get hurt, at least you won’t be completely helpless in providing your injury first aid treatment. Pack some pills for cough, flu, and cold, too.
• Keep your hygiene, even in the wilderness. You’re going camping to enjoy Mother Nature and relieve your stress, not to get sick. You can keep yourself safe by using disinfecting wipes to remove bacteria in your campsite. These wipes work on a lot of surfaces, from your tent cover to your tent footprint. Pack your hand sanitizers, unscented dry shampoo, and microfiber towel as well for some quick drying action. To protect the environment during your bath, just use biodegradable soap and bathe yourself 200 feet away from the campsite and the same distance away from any water source. Bring toothpaste, toothbrush, and floss, but leave your hairspray, deodorant, perfume, shampoo, and other scented, non-eco-friendly products at home. Don’t contaminate Mother Nature as you try to keep yourself clean during your camping adventure.
• Let your pet join in on the fun. If you want your pet to experience the beauty of nature and help them become familiar with the outdoors, bring them along. And when they get wet and dirty while running outdoors, don’t make a fuss. You can simply bathe them and use a pet dryer to quickly dry up their fur. This should help your furry friends from getting colds or flu during the cold weather.
• Plan a lot of fall camping activities. Beyond gathering around campfires, you can try fall fishing, berry foraging, hunting, leaf peeping, hiking, and canoeing.
• Read up about local wildlife. Store your food in a secure place if you don’t want to get unwanted attention from wild animals. Many of them might be hunting for food in preparation for their winter hibernation.
• Pack a small shovel. You’ll use it in creating a new latrine for bathroom breaks in the middle of the woods. You’ll use it again to cover the hole with dirt once your camping adventure ends.
• Use a map. Learn how to read one properly so you’ll reduce your risk of sleeping where you don’t want to be. If you use GPS, make sure it’s fully charged before you start exploring.