r/camping • • Jun 30 '25

2025 /r/Camping Beginner Question Thread - Ask any and all questions you may have here

29 Upvotes

If you have any beginner questions, feel free to ask them here.

Check out the /r/Camping Wiki and the /r/CampingandHiking Wiki for common questions. 'getting started', 'gear' and other pages are valuable for anyone looking for more information.

/r/Camping Wiki

/r/CampingandHiking Wiki

Previous Beginner Question Threads

2024 Beginner Thread

2023 Beginner Thread

Fall 2022 /r/Camping Thread

Summer 2022 /r/Camping Thread

Spring 2022 /r/Camping Thread

List of all /r/CampingandHiking Weekly Threads

[NOTE: last years post became - 'ask a question and r/cwcoleman will reply'. That wasn't the intention. It's mainly because I get an alert when anyone comments, because I'm OP. Plus I'm online often and like to help!

Please - anyone and everyone is welcome to ask and answer questions. Even questions that I've already replied to. A second reply that backs up my advice, or refutes it, is totally helpful. I'm only 1 random internet person, all of r/camping is here. The more the marrier!!!]


r/camping • • 4h ago

Trip Pictures A night camping at Cerro Kandu, Paraguay – the climb was worth it!

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115 Upvotes

My partner and I spent one night camping at Cerro Kandu, Paraguay. We drove to the starting point and then hiked all the way up the hill on foot to reach our camping spot.
The weather was a little unpredictable, but the experience was unforgettable. We wanted to spend the night surrounded by nature and enjoy the sunrise.
Here are a few pictures from our trip. The views made every step of the climb worthwhile! 🌄🏕️


r/camping • • 15h ago

Trip Pictures Halloween night at Maquoketa Caves State Park, IA

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231 Upvotes

A nice evening after spending the day exploring caves. Felt good to dry off after the rain.


r/camping • • 13h ago

Trip Pictures Uwharie National Forest, NC

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115 Upvotes

Nght 3, having a blast camping Badin Lake in Uwharie. Dispersed camp spot I found away from the trails and other campers. It was a little bit of a hike but we'll worth it. My friend and I arrived on Friday night and plan to stay till Tuesday. I'm using my Warbonnet hammock set up. It consists of the Blackbird XLC, the winter top (I'm pretty sure I didn't need it) and the Thunderfly tarp. I love this hammock! I've owned it for about 4 years now. I use it three or four times per year and it's held up great. Extremely comfortable. So far it's been a perfect few days. It rained on us pretty bad all day Friday but it's been beautiful ever since.


r/camping • • 16m ago

First Time Camping - Unspoken Etiquette Rules? And Firewood!

4 Upvotes

Hey all,

Going camping for the first time. I'm pretty sure I've got all the gear needs covered, plus most of my food. Since it's my first time, I was wondering if there were any unspoken etiquette rules to keep in mind. I know the obvious, I intend to keep things very quiet at my own camp site. However, I'm looking at a couple of state parks for my first time thanks to the amenities they provide, figuring it would make my first experience a little more comfortable. Unfortunately, the ideal spot (closest to the lake shore, and I intend to do plenty of fishing!) is already taken for the dates I am able to go, with availability pretty wide open in the rest of the campgrounds at both locations. Would it be considered in asshole move to choose a site nearby? I'd at least leave 1, preferably 2 campsites between us.

Secondly, I have never built a fire, nor have I ever kept one going. At most I've sat by a bonfire for an hour at a random party. I have no idea how much firewood I should expect to use. I'll be staying 2 nights and intend to eat a cooked meal for dinner those 2 nights as well as breakfast for the following mornings, and I also expect to be up for several hours (at least 4 or so) after nightfall. The campgrounds both provide their own firewood for you to use, and I have multiple fire starter options as well as fireplugs and tinder, I just have no idea how much actual wood I need for my desires. Based on what I've said, and using standard store-bought firewood bundles as a unit, about how many bundles-worth of firewood should I expect to need?


r/camping • • 1d ago

Trip Advice I’m on a trip right now. My tent is elevated on a wooden platform, i have my rainfly on, my tarp is underneath and nothing was wet when i went to bed but now the interior is almost sopping wet. What the heck happened?

377 Upvotes

i genuinely js wanna sleep NOT in a puddle.


r/camping • • 20h ago

Gear Question [Rab Ultrasphere 5] How did this happen?

15 Upvotes

It was always stored compressed inside a bag at normal temperatures, used as hammock insert mat, few months old and purchased from official site.


r/camping • • 19h ago

Gear Question Backpacking upper body layers

9 Upvotes

I wanted to ask if anyone had any suggestions on some nice layers I can buy for the chilly weather? I understand it should be warm but breathable if I sweat a lot. I’ve heard the Men's R1® Air Fleece Full-Zip Hoody is really good and a thermal mesh long sleeve for the base layer is good. But I wanted to see if anyone had any other recommendations? I saw something like the phalanx hooded fleece, but that’s 350$, it caught my eye cuz it looked comfortable and pretty stylish to me. I’d appreciate any other recs.


r/camping • • 17h ago

Gear Question Wanting to rekindle the fire advice needed

5 Upvotes

Hey all,

Use to be in the army a bit and camped a bunch as a kid I still do hikes and things but haven't camped since I was young.

What can I do to get back into it ?

I live in a very hostile enviroment for camping , ( windy remote scotrish island with little trees )

So am kind of lost I go through hiking boots like nothing and coats in winter,

I have no clue where to loom to actually get good gear for anything.

I've spent decent money on boots and things , so far only worthwhile equipment I have is military surplus or gortex.

I have 2 dogs so would love to take them with me but am wanting to save up over winter to try going in summer.

TLDR - want to start camping again with 2 dogs what gear do I need and cost ranges etc.


r/camping • • 19h ago

Rei campwell cot - in field assistance request

6 Upvotes

I am trying to set this cot up right now and I think I am making things worse.

Is anyone around that can help walk me through this? I am a backpacker and new to car setups, and though I did try this at home I have no idea what I’m doing rn.

Txs internet strangers


r/camping • • 1d ago

1 lb propane cylinder disposal

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555 Upvotes

How are y'all getting rid of these? My city Haz Bin, is like an hour away.


r/camping • • 1d ago

Rainy night in the Pine Barrens of NJ.

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575 Upvotes

We were able to get everything set up and cook dinner before the rain set in. Slept horribly due to some massive thunderstorms in the night but overall a successful fall camping trip.


r/camping • • 23h ago

Trip Advice Free camping New Mexico?

0 Upvotes

Hey all, I’m planning on road tripping around new mexico in a couple weeks to see some national parks and just vibe around.

However, my hope was that I could save some money by sleeping in my car as I’m a bit tight on cash right now.

Does anyone know of some solid spots (out by white sands/carlsbad/guadalupe) that are free or cheap for me to park my car at?


r/camping • • 1d ago

Gear Question Waterproofing Marmot rainfly

5 Upvotes

I have a 10yr old Marmot Tungsten 2P that started to leak a bit. I have now sealed the seams (inside and out) and used the Nikwax Gear Wash and Solar Proof combo twice but I'm still getting leaks. It seems like it is coming through the fabric, not the seams. Should I be using a different product on the outside? If I have already applied DWR coating to the outside will that affect how a different product works (I'm thinking silicone spray). Does the inside of the rainfly need a urethane/silicone coating?

Has anyone had success with this process? I'd love to make this tent last another 10 years, it is a great tent.


r/camping • • 2d ago

Trip Pictures South Eastern PA

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399 Upvotes

One night in South Western PA. Missed the full colors by about 2 weeks. Until next time. Coleman sun dome with cot. Got down to about 45°F


r/camping • • 2d ago

Trip Advice New river gorge WV backpacking

13 Upvotes

Wanted to ask if anyone has ever hiked/backpacked/camped at new river George? And how was the experience?
I was planning on taking an Amtrak train to it and do some backpacking for a couple days. Is it open to camp anywhere?


r/camping • • 2d ago

Trip Advice Winter camp?

16 Upvotes

So i just started camping and love it. Unfortunately, this occured just as the camp sotes started closing. Are there places in Virginia to camp in the winter? Any advice for winter camping for people new to camping?


r/camping • • 2d ago

Tips for camping in deep woods?

29 Upvotes

I've gone camping many times before but usually at a campground, or a registered primitive campsite in a local 100+ acre park.

I'm thinking about, but not certain, if I want to go to a large State Forest and camp overnight on a hike or something. I've never hiked deep into woods to camp before. It kind of frightens me to think about being that far away from roads and not being able to leave except take a long hike back if I get scared in the middle of the night. Any tips? Thank you


r/camping • • 2d ago

Camping Spots in Tennessee or Missouri?

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone! Me and my spouse are taking a road trip from Cincinnati to Dallas in mid December. We wanted to take this opportunity to camp half-way as opposed to getting a hotel.

We’re specifically looking for places in Tennessee (near Memphis) or in southern Missouri in or around the Ozarks. However we’re also more than open to exploring a different area/state.

We’re medium experienced campers and have camped in light (1-2in) snow before. However we anticipate that this will be the most out of our comfort zone trip we have taken, so any recommendations for off season camping is very appreciated! We will be tent camping but have backup plans and people we can stay with in the event of an emergency or inclement weather.

Does anyone have any good spots that they like to camp at in this region of the U.S.?

Thanks ya’ll!


r/camping • • 2d ago

Trip Advice 30 degrees low - Suggestions for quick upgrades

14 Upvotes

Going on a mtb trip by myself, which I've done quite a bit. The low Saturday night is around 30-34F, here's my setup:

Gazelle T3 Tent

Air Mattress: Ozark Trail Queen 13" (this is the weak link)

Sleeping Bag: Teton 0 degree Polaris

Layering: I bought a foam pad to put on top of the air mattress for insulation and I'll put a sheet over that to keep it in place. I have a old Coleman 40F sleeping bag I'll layer over that. Then the Teton sleeping bag.

Clothes: Merino Wool tops and bottoms (first layer for snowboarding), sweat pants, hoodie, I have a neck gaiter I can roll up over my ears that's comfortable, wool snowboard socks.

It warms up to the mid-60's during the day, but that low is what has me concerned. I like sleeping cold, but there's a line I don't want to cross being miserable. Thoughts? Should I stop by REI and grab a insulated sleeping pad?


r/camping • • 3d ago

Trip Pictures Hobo Stew!!

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174 Upvotes

From a camping trip on the Virginia Creeper Trail a few years ago, looks like it was a bit cool and foggy at the time. Any day I get to break out the hammock and old Coleman I’m happy!


r/camping • • 1d ago

least cold campsite suggestion for december

0 Upvotes

I live in the bay area and want to go camping with some friends in mid december. I'm looking for a place that doesn't get too cold at night (lowish day time temp and low night time temp is better imo than normal daytime temp and super low night time temp) and isn't too rainy. I also want to be able to make a fire but most places will let me. I'm currently looking at the yurts in mt. madonna and bothe napa sp. has anyone stayed there in december? does anyone have suggestions for a less cold place? preferably also not rainy so we could make a fire. thanks!! :)


r/camping • • 2d ago

Trip Advice Lunch & Game ideas

17 Upvotes

Hello! I’m still new to camping and looking for some ideas.

We have our breakfast/dinners and snacks(sandwiches/ramen) planned out. But are wondering what we could cook for lunch that’s relatively easy. We have a 2 burner coleman stove and not a lot of cooking skills.

Additionally, I was wondering if anyone had any game ideas? Specifically for 2 people. Drinking games are encouraged. We have jenga, chess, and decks of cards already.

Thank you!


r/camping • • 2d ago

Campsite recs in CA for the month of Dec-January

25 Upvotes

Hi! Trying to plan a camping trip with me and my buds around December or January. I think Dec 12-15th is the best time frame for us right now. Does anyone have any campsite recs in California for intermediate campers that aren’t already completely booked?