The summer camping season is upon us. And while summer vacation allows many families their only real time to take a trip, it also brings hot temperatures. Nice weather is excellent for camping, but hot weather can get uncomfortable – even dangerous in extremes.
To help everyone enjoy their summer camping adventure, we’ve compiled a top 10 list of tips to stay cool while camping. Being able to stay at a comfortable temperature ensures maximizing your fun.
10 Ways to Stay Cool While Camping in Summer
- Make sure you have a source of water. This one seems obvious, but it’s something you do need to plan for. If the property you are camping on has access to plenty of water, you should be set. But that isn’t always the case, depending on how remote your campsite is. Either way, bringing along ample water for any situation will ensure you stay hydrated, which is essential for not only staying comfortable – but surviving.
- Pick a site with shade. The physical location of your campsite will factor significantly into how comfortable you are. If you can find a shady site, it will allow you a comfortable place to sit out of the sun, and more importantly, it will keep your tent and gear cool during the day.
- Take your tent down during the day. If you are unable to secure a site out of the sun, it’s a great idea to disassemble your tent during the day. This will create a bit more work for you, but it’s worth it. Your tent will be soaking up the sun’s rays all day, greatly increasing the internal temperature of the tent, which will be hard to reduce come night time. In addition, the sun’s rays are hard on the tent’s materials, so keeping it out of the sun will increase its lifespan.
- Put up a tarp. Another option to keeping your area cool is to put up a tarp to produce your shade. While not fancy, a tarp can provide a much-needed escape from the sun on a hot day and keep your gear out of the sun as well.
- Wear the right clothes. The right gear is essential to keeping you cool. Pack plenty of shorts, t-shirts, and tank tops – and some cooling equipment if you can afford it – to make sure you are keeping your body cool. The fabric and color of your clothes also factor in, as breathable and light-colored clothing will help you stay cool.
- Have the right tent. The makeup of your tent can dictate how cool it will keep you at night. A tent with plenty of mesh that allows it to breathe and blow air through will keep the internal temperature much lower.
- Find a breeze. If you can find a camping spot with a higher elevation, it is much more likely to have a breeze, which can be a lifesaver on a hot day. Staying near water is also more likely to help you find a cooling breeze.
- Bring a portable fan. If you can’t find any natural breeze, you can create your own with a portable fan. On a stagnant night, a portable fan will provide some much-needed comfort to at the very least get the air moving on a hot night.
Find a swimming location. If you can explore and find a place to take a dip, it will make a big difference in your body temperature. Cooling yourself down in a lake will help get your core temperature down, recover your body and help you sleep at night. - Wear sunscreen. While sunscreen may not keep you physically cool when you are exposed to the sun, avoiding sunburn is key to staying comfortable. A bad sunburn is a problem for many reasons, but it will make you feel boiling at night and extremely uncomfortable in the immediate.
While camping in the summer has many advantages, keeping cool is essential to enjoying your time. If you are camping in an RV, staying cool is much easier than roughing it in a tent. Either way, if you want to enjoy a little downtime and check in on the world, find a campsite or RV park equipped with quality Wi-Fi.
