Just because there’s rain in the forecast doesn’t mean you should cancel your camping trip. Yes, camping in the rain can be miserable, but it can also be one of the most enjoyable trips you’ll ever experience. I’ve been camping for nearly three decades with rain threatening to ruin many of those trips, but I’ve employed the following tips to make the best of a rainy situation.
Pack the Right Gear
It all starts with packing the right gear. Fast-drying and waterproof gear is a must. Rain jackets, pants, and waterproof boots will help keep you dry. Multiple tarps, a rainfly, paracord/rope, and dry bags will help keep your things dry. The tarps are an extra barrier on the top and bottom of your tent. If you bring several, you can also make a mud room to remove your wet and muddy clothes before entering your tent. The paracord can also be used as a makeshift clothesline to dry your clothes and gear between rains.
Since you will inevitably get wet, pack extra clothes and towels so you won’t be damp the entire trip. One often overlooked thing is a way to heat up or cook your food. Starting a fire in the rain is nearly impossible, let alone getting it hot enough to cook on. So, having a safe cooking method in your tent or under a tarp will keep your belly happy.
Once you have the right gear, you’re ready for the entertainment.
In-Tent Entertainment
Books, board games, and cards are other items worth packing when you know it will rain during your camping trip. A rainy day is the perfect time to catch up on your reading list or have a family game day (you might finally finish a game of Monopoly). If you have a portable power source, you can bring a tablet or laptop with some movies downloaded on it. Watching movies is my wife’s favorite in-tent entertainment, but I love a competitive game of spoons.
Now that you’re all packed, it’s time to find a good spot to set up.
Choose a Good Spot
I’ll never forget camping with my dad one rainy night. We knew the rain was coming, so I decided to sleep in my Toyota 4Runner, but my dad wanted to weather the storm in his tent. I watched buckets fall from the sky and quickly form a raging river, running underneath my dad’s tent. To his credit, he stayed out there longer than I thought he would, but he eventually jumped in the back of my 4Runner to get dry and sleep.
He had made a terrible mistake when picking a spot to set up his tent earlier that day. Instead of looking at the surrounding terrain and placing his tent uphill on a gentle slope, he set it up right where the water funneled between two gentle slopes. So when the rain came pouring down, it funneled directly to his tent, on its way to the river.
A good camping spot in the rain is on high ground with a gentle slope. You don’t want it to steep because it will be difficult to sleep and uncomfortable while in the tent, and you don’t want it too flat because the water will collect under and around your tent.
Once you’ve found a good spot, it’s time to begin enjoying camping in the rain.
Embrace the Experience
You’re now as prepared as you can be for camping in the rain. My final, and most important tip, is to embrace the experience. Some of the best camping memories I have are camping in the rain. I remember my parents letting my brother and me run around in the rain, catching it on our tongues, making mud pies, and splashing in the puddles. They allowed us to embrace the experience, and those memories are forever etched in my brain.
On the recent trip with my dad, we didn’t let the rain stop us from hiking and fishing. The rain just made the adventure a little extra muddy and gave us a few good stories to tell when we came home.
Embracing the experience means having a positive attitude about the ordeal (when life gives you lemons, make lemonade) instead of dreading the rain.
Final Thoughts: Camping in the Rain
Don’t let the rain ruin your camping trip. Instead, apply the tips from above to create some of the most fantastic memories you’ll ever experience. One of the added benefits of camping in the rain is that the rain often keeps most people away, so you’ll likely have the place to yourself.
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