10 Ways to Ensure that Your Camping Trip Goes as Planned

You can't control the weather, but you can prepare in advance for any inconvenience you might experience while camping. Here are 10 tips.

Camping tip #1 - Be prepared for rain and storms.

Even if The Weather Channel assures you that there is no rain in sight, bring the rain tarp for your tent, raincoats, umbrellas, and waterproof bags. You never know when a storm will pop up.

Camping tip #2 - Bring more clothes than you will need.

Camping, and activities associated with it such as hiking and canoeing, is a dirty endeavor. Bring more clothes that you think that you will need. You never know when you might want to take a shower and change.

Camping tip #3 - Keep things organized.

The more organized you are when you pack, the easier it will be to pack up when it is time to go home. If you take a few minutes to tidy camp everyday, you will save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run.

Camping tip #4 - Purchase firewood from the campground, not before hand.

There are a lot of pests that you can transfer via firewood. In Michigan, you have to be careful of the Ash bore. Most campgrounds will no longer allow you to bring in your own firewood. Purchase your firewood onsite and don't take any left over home with you. Chances are that the last group left some firewood to help you get started.

Camping tip #5 - Plan to arrive at the campground before it gets dark and set up camp as soon as you can.

If you can take even half a day off of work in order to leave for the campground earlier, things will go much more smoothly. You don't want to have to try to find your campsite in the dark, and then try to set up a camper or worse yet, a tent. Getting to your campground by the early evening at the latest will save you a lot of headaches as you try to set up.

Camping tip #6 - Know what type of facilities your campground has before you make a reservation.