Last updated on August 18th, 2021
This week’s article was a fun one to write: The Top 10 Reasons To Go Camping! Camping has always been one of America’s favorite outdoor activities. According to the 2018 North American Camping Report, it is continuing to grow in popularity. More than six million new North American households have started camping since 2014, and the number of campers who camp three or more times each year has increased by 64 percent.
It’s not hard to see why camping is so popular. Breathing in the fresh air and basking in the sunshine, sitting around the campfire making memories with family and friends, and swapping the worries and stresses of the daily grind for peace of mind and freedom in the outdoors are just a few of the wonderful benefits of spending time camping.
If it’s been a while since you’ve been camping, you’ve never been camping, or you’re not sure what the camping hype is all about, check out these top 10 reasons to go camping this season:
10. Camping Is An Affordable Vacation
A weekend at the campground can be as budget-friendly or as high-end as you want it to be, which makes it one of the most popular reasons to go camping. With some planning and preparation, the cost of camping can be considerably less than that of a traditional vacation, and you can make plenty of memories that will last a lifetime.
The most practical and affordable option is what has become known as “car camping.” This is essentially packing up your vehicle with your camping supplies, driving to the campground, and setting up your tent and campsite nearby. Check out The Beginner’s Guide to Car Camping to see why this is often the easiest and most fun way to get started camping.
There will be some upfront costs when purchasing equipment, but once the initial investment is made, camping becomes a relatively cheap way to enjoy an outdoor getaway. In fact, aside from the bigger purchases such as a tent, cooler, sleeping bag, and camp stove, many camping essentials are things you already have in your home or you can find very inexpensively at dollar stores or secondhand stores.
Once you make the investment in some durable and affordable camping equipment, be sure to keep it organized and protected when it’s not in use. You’ll be protecting your investment and it’ll be ready to go on your next adventure when you are!
If tent camping isn’t for you, many state parks and private campgrounds offer small cabins you can rent for a reasonable nightly or weekly rate. Many are equipped with climate control, indoor plumbing, and electrical access. Be sure to check out our article, Where to Find a Campground, for a comprehensive list of resources to help you locate camping cabins and other amenities at parks and campgrounds across the U.S.
9. A Chance To Hone Your Outdoor Skills
This next item on the list is one of the more practical and dual-purposed reasons to go camping. Spending time in the great outdoors affords a perfect opportunity to practice basic wilderness survival skills. Finding or creating shelter to protect you from the elements (correctly setting up a tent counts!), starting a fire for warmth and cooking, navigating trails in the forest, and finding water sources are all important.
You will also be more aware of your outdoor surroundings. You can quickly become familiar with types of plants (and which poisonous ones to avoid!), learn how to identify types of animal tracks, learn how to read the weather, and become adept at locating potential sources of drinking water.
Camping is also useful for becoming comfortable with skills that would be necessary for survival if the modern utilities of everyday life were temporarily interrupted. These skills will be handy when a hurricane, tornado, snowstorm, or other natural disaster strikes and limits access to electricity and running water.
We have been accustomed to having these conveniences at our fingertips, but this can also lead to a sense of false security that can leave us feeling stranded and panicky if they fail. By intentionally seeking experiences in the outdoors that challenge our basic abilities to create shelter, make fire, prepare and cook food, find and purify water, and navigate using nature, we will be much more confident and comfortable in our ability to survive should we be faced with a real-life survival situation.
Camping in the wilderness, at a designated campsite in a park, or even in your own backyard is a great way to start learning and practicing these skills. Remember, camping is what you choose to make it. You can include as many modern conveniences as you want, or you can rough it in more remote conditions and test your skills. The challenge is yours to choose!
8. Digital Detox
In today’s busy world, phones, tablets, computers – basically anything with a screen – are the norm. Most of us have become obsessed with our digital devices, constantly checking social media, emails, and news feeds. It’s just what we do.
But what effect does all that screen scrolling have on our minds and bodies? We don’t need scientific studies to tell us that too much digital interaction can cause increased stress, anxiety, and worry. We may even suffer from a “false sense of connection,” which can leave us feeling lonely and depressed.
Camping, or just spending time outdoors in nature, is an excellent way to step away from life’s digital demands. It’s the perfect time to focus on being completely present with family, friends, yourself, and the beauty of the outdoors. There’s no doubt your mind will relax. You will likely feel happier and less stressed without the constant sound of digital notifications vying for your attention.
Sure, you may want to take plenty of pictures to remember your camping trip or reflect on the beauty of nature, but leave the emails and social media notifications for another time.
Yes, you’ll probably resume your digital lifestyle when returning to work or school after a camping trip. But, having “digitally detoxed,” you will likely return more vibrant, social, relaxed, and focused.
7. Re-Connect With Nature
What are some images that come to mind when you think about camping? Most of them probably center around visions of nature. Whether it’s sitting around the campfire listening to the sounds of crickets and crackling wood, gazing upon the glistening waters of a stream or lake, hiking through forests of green trees, or finding constellations in the night sky, you are tuning your senses in to the natural world around you.
Camping allows you to get outside the walls of your house, office, or schoolroom. Your senses are no longer dulled by the mundane, man-made scenery around you but are awakened by the sights, smells, sounds, and feel of nature. How refreshing!
There’s a certain feeling you experience when you’re relaxing in nature. Basking in the sunlight and feeling the fresh, cool breeze gently flowing around you. When you touch the earth, get a little dirt on your hands, and see the beautiful creation around you with your own eyes, it’s as if you’re being welcomed home to a place of comfort and belonging.
6. Outdoor Exercise
You get more exercise than you realize when you’re camping. You’ll bend, lift, squat, reach, balance, walk, and step up and over obstacles. You walk around the campsite, drag or carry firewood, skip rocks on the water, or climb a tree.
The best part about it? It’s not structured and doesn’t even feel like “exercise” most of the time. It’s certainly not like running or walking on the treadmill at the gym. This is functional exercise and it helps you build strength and endurance for everyday tasks.
In addition to the natural increase in activity that comes along with a weekend of being outdoors, you may also choose to perform structured exercises in an outdoor setting such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, paddle boarding, trail running, or swimming.
Any type of exercise you choose to do outdoors will have its benefits. It can help lower your blood pressure, decrease stress and mental fatigue, increase your sense of wellbeing, and boost your immune system. When exercise is naturally incorporated into your day, it becomes a celebration of what your body is capable of, rather than just something else on a to-do checklist.
5. Improve Your Health
In addition to the benefits of outdoor exercise and naturally increasing your activity level, studies have shown that spending time outside in nature has incredible health benefits.
Spending a few days outside can improve your health by increasing your vitamin D levels through exposure to sunlight, improving your sleep quality by resetting your circadian rhythm, and helping your body purify itself by breathing fresh air free of the toxins and chemicals found inside our homes and businesses. I’d say those are pretty good reasons to go camping!
Let’s not forget about the mental health and stress-reducing benefits that come along with outdoor time, too. In fact, the Japanese have a long-standing practice known as “forest bathing” that focuses on getting people out of the chaos of the city and into the woods in order to relax, reduce stress, and boost overall well being.
According to this article by Florence Williams of Outside Magazine, Japan’s Forestry Agency has established 48 official Forest Therapy trails designed to encourage relaxation, decrease anxiety, improve mood, and lower blood pressure. What a great concept and a responsible use of forest land!
4. Make Lasting Memories
One of the next reasons to go camping is particularly special. When you take a weekend camping trip or go on an outdoor-focused vacation, you will undoubtedly return with many stories to tell and memories to reminisce in the weeks, months, and years down the road. Some of my fondest memories and most recounted adventure stories center around weekend camping trips, hiking adventures, and time spent outdoors with friends and family.
For example, there was one time when we had settled into camp for the night and were telling stories around the campfire when suddenly a fierce thunderstorm came out of nowhere. We scrambled to secure lightweight items that were being swept away by the wind, and our rain tarp took flight into the surrounding woods. Our group of six quickly huddled in one small tent to take shelter from the storm.
One friend, thinking she was being helpful, decided to push the top of the tent from the inside out to help the water drain and to prevent the material from sagging under the weight of the pooling rain. To her surprise, the water then began dripping inside the tent from the spot she had touched!
Caught off guard by the leak, she continued to press on the tent fabric in multiple places in attempts to stop the water from entering, but to no avail. The water leaks increased! We ended up with a soggy tent and sleeping bags, but we learned not to touch the tent fabric from the inside when it was raining!
Then there was the time I went on a week-long camping and hiking trip in Colorado. We rappelled down steep cliffs, climbed rock faces, spent our evenings cooking and laughing around the campfire, and genuinely enjoyed the company of our fellow adventurers without a care in the world.
Over the course of the week, we hiked to the summit of a 13,000 feet peak and stood amazed by the beauty of the vast landscape around us when we looked down from such a great height. I’ll never forget the feeling of true freedom from the demands of the world. It was if I had found where I belonged, genuinely happy and peaceful, while enjoying the company of my close friends.
As a team, we tackled the challenges of hiking and living outdoors for a week, sometimes coming up with unconventionally creative solutions. We still talk about the good times and adventures from that trip. Flipping through a worn photo album containing those special memories always brings a smile to my face!
3. Food Tastes Better Outside
Have you ever noticed that food seems to taste better when you cook and eat it outside? Maybe it’s the fresh air or the sense of preparing food in a more primitive fashion. Maybe it’s the extra “seasoning” from the cast iron pan or the campfire smoke. Whatever it is, it makes food taste good and earns this reason a spot at number three on the list of top 10 reasons to go camping.
There’s also something to be said for how amazing a meal tastes when you’ve been setting up camp, hiking the trails, playing in the lake, or being active outside all day. Cooking seems to no longer be a chore, but rather a memorable part of the camping experience. We become more aware of food as sustenance, fueling our outdoor activities and adventures.
Personally, I love the role of camp chef. I plan the menu before the trip and pack the cooler and the cooking supplies before leaving. I organize my camp kitchen shortly after arriving at the campsite. In fact, I have a designated tote box that stays packed with camp kitchen supplies so it’s ready to go when we are.
Be sure to take a look at the Recipes section of the blog for camp cooking recipes, tips, and inspiration to make your next trip delicious!
2. Refocus Your Perspective
Spending time in nature affords a unique opportunity to refocus your perspective. It allows you to step back and take a minute to realize the magnitude of the world around you.
Most days, we live in our own little worlds. We focus on our jobs, to-do lists, and the needs of our families. We worry about bills, deadlines, and daily problems. Sometimes this makes us feel like our little worlds are stressful, boring, and narrow. We become so focused on the things happening in our lives that we forget there’s a bigger world out there.
In comparison, how would you feel if you stood in the middle of a forest full of tall trees gently swaying in the cool breeze? Or a big open field with the blue sky above you? What feelings would you experience if you stood at the edge of a tranquil lake, with the expanse of water stretching as far as your eyes could see? Or at the base of a great mountain, with the peak seeming to reach upward into the sky?
Chances are, you would realize the grand scale of what’s around you. You would feel your worries and problems start to become much smaller. You may even experience more clarity, peace, and open-mindedness as you ponder your thoughts in a new light.
1. Unwind, Relax, Recharge
And number one on our list of the top 10 reasons to go camping this season is to unwind, relax, and recharge your body, mind, and spirit.
Take off your watch and ignore the construct of time. Turn off your phone. Forget about work obligations and deadlines. Relax in the simplicity of nature. Focus on being truly present, enjoying each moment for all it’s worth.
Out in the woods, there are no schedules, no daily agendas, and no social pressures. Do what moves you. Whether it’s lounging in a hammock by the lake or seeking adventure on the trails, enjoy it to the fullest. The freedom of mind and body you experience when you give yourself permission to be free of all obligations and expectations is healing and energizing.
Whatever your reasons are for going camping, the most important thing is just to get out there and go. Enjoy time with your friends, family, or by yourself. Recharge your mind and body, and return to daily life feeling happier and less stressed. You’ll be glad you did!
We’ve shared our top 10 reasons we love to go camping. Now, it’s your turn! What do you love about camping? What motivates you to spend time outdoors? Where are your favorite spots to camp? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!
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