To protect your safety and have a truly wonderful camping experience, don’t forget that there are some basic tips you should know before you go. The advice this article is going to provide will allow you to have a successful camping trip.

Always seek shelter before it is too dark to assess your surroundings. Once blackness falls out there in the woods, it can be extremely difficult to pitch a tent, find good firewood and prepare food. Those that live in urban areas find this to be the case even more than those that are used to pitch black darkness. Don’t let this happen to you. Look for adequate shelter before it gets this dark.

Sleeping Bag

Make sure your sleeping bag is right for the weather. A winter bag for the summer will cause you to sweat all night. The reverse is also true. Using a light, cool sleeping bag in the middle of winter will keep you very cold. You could even experience hypothermia.

You might think nature naturally provides all the wood you need, but the wood where you are could have already been picked clean, or it could be wet. Bring along some dry wood and store it where it remain dry.

Always keep a close eye on yourself, your family, and your possessions; as they will all get a little dirty. If you are prepared for that before you go, it will cause less stress when it happens. Let loose and allow everyone to get messy while you enjoy the time spent in the woods. You can get cleaned up when you return home.

Pack additional clothes when going camping. Camping is messy. Children seem to be dirt magnets. So, you are likely to be dealing with grimy kids all day long. While you can’t do much to prevent that, you can at least provide clean clothing, so long as you brought extra. It is important to be prepared.

Be sure that your tent will comfortably fit everyone that you will be sharing it with to have a good trip. This will ensure comfort while inside the tent.

Dryer lint can make great kindling for creating campfires. In order to have enough lint to start a fire, begin collecting it a month prior to your trip. You can simply stuff it all into a plastic grocery bag you keep near the dryer. Using this for your kindling will save you time looking for it, and it will work even better than any kindling that you do find.

Always become familiar with the potential dangers of a campsite before you enter it. Some examples of dangers are flash floods or poisonous spiders. All camping spots have some dangers associated with them and you want to make sure you pick a spot that isn’t too bad.

When you go camping for the first few times, be sure that your camp is close to where you live. There may be unforeseen issues that you never considered they may force you to cut the trip short. Maybe you’ll run low on food or not have enough clothing with you. All sorts of things can happy the first time you go camping. It’s better for mishaps to occur close to home.

If the area you are camping in is known for dangerous wildlife, you will need to be doubly careful with food storage. You should wrap up your food tightly, store it somewhere that isn’t close to your tent, and avoid certain types of food altogether. This will reduce the chance of an attack.

Though camping may be about roughing it in the wilderness, being prepared is a necessity. You should take sleeping bags and extra blankets. This will keep you warm if it gets really cool at night and/or you can use them for additional padding.

Before going on a camping trip, make sure that you compile a list of things that you will need to take with you. This will really be handy if you have a long hike to get to your campground. Have a list ready before your trip that you can check off, and pack at least two days before heading out.

A camping trip is much less intimidating when you are properly prepared. Using the advice presented here will give you the confidence to set out on your own safe and relaxing camping adventures.