How to get started camping without any prior experience or equipment

June 1st, 2024 - Written By Mason Stein

Getting into camping may seem like an expensive and daunting task at first, however, it does not need to be this way. In this article, I hope to provide you with all the necessary facts for you to get started camping and I give you real-world examples for a glance at how I plan my trips. This guide can be used as a reference or step-by-step planning tool. Using my prior experience, I hope to save you some trouble and make your first camping less chaotic and more fun.

 

This Article is broken up into three main sections, Camping Options, Camping Equipment, and then finishing with a Camping Example. You can skip over those sections if you already have the aforementioned materials or knowledge. 

 

 

Camping options

 

I distinguish two types of camping; campground and dispersed camping.

 

• Campgrounds: are officially designated camping locations by the land manager (owner of the land). Sights are often within parks that already hold other amenities such as hiking trails, fishing, swimming, boating, kayaking, and bathrooms. A plot reservation can also simply be a designated primitive location within a park with no amenities, so make sure to determine the features of the specific plot you're camping at beforehand. When staying at a campground such as a state park, expect to see other campers during peak season, and while camping at a primitive campground deep in the wilderness expect wildlife. 

 

• Dispersed Camping: is a term used for camping anywhere outside of a designated campground. Dispersed camping often involves hiking then eventually traveling off the beaten path, finding a suitable site, and establishing camp. Dispersed camping means no amenities such as a drinking well, trash removal, restrooms, or reliable help. You must bring all the equipment with you to your campsite and out.

 

When planning your first camping trip, you must decide if you're dispersed camping or staying at a campground. If you want to hike several miles to a remote pond, and camp in the deep woods far away from all civilization dispersed camping sounds like the right option. If you want to spend a day or two relaxing in a pretty park with many activities, a campground sounds like the right option. Once you have chosen the type of camping trip you would like to embark on, you can then look for the location of your trip.

 

 

Choosing where to camp

 

Camping can be done on either type of land:

1. Private

2. State

3. Federal

 

Each type of land comes with its own set of rules and regulations. For instance, state land may not allow dispersed camping, and federal land may not have campgrounds where you're traveling. Once you decide which type of land you want to camp on the next step is locating where you want to camp. When participating in any outdoor activity ensure you are abiding by all rules and regulations to avoid any unwanted trouble and to preserve the nature around you.

 

Private land can be your backyard, or someone else's property that has permitted you to camp on. This is a good way to test your equipment before going into the woods to become familiar with your gear. 

 

When picking which type of land you are going to camp on, you need to decide the kind of camping you want to participate in and what options of land are near you to visit. For instance, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) does not offer any public land to camp on in my state, so unless I want to travel several states over, I do not need to worry about this organization. As a rule of thumb, federal lands generally allow dispersed camping and only some state parks allow it. Picking the right location to camp requires you to choose between a campground or dispersed camping, then you can find the public land near you that offers that service.

 

 

Camping at Designated Campgrounds

 

State:

 

The easiest way to find state campgrounds is to use your state Division of Natural Resources website, and then search their camping section. These parks often include many creature comforts like a bathroom, shower, and other facilities. In my state, state campgrounds should be reserved in advance. When camping season is in full effect these plots can be in high demand!

 

Federal:

 

Federal campgrounds are often within larger federal lands that are open to the public to visit. Just like the state parks, there is a wide variety of campgrounds. Federal campgrounds can be large with many plots next to one another, or a single plot in the middle of a long trail with no neighbors in sight. Finding these federal public lands can be done by using US Forest Service Map Finder, BLM Map,  Google Maps, or Google Earth, or simply searching the "nearest National Forest" or "nearest national Public Land". Once you have located the nearest federal land it will fall under a park jurisdiction. Using the park's website, navigate to the campground sections and locate the designated areas for the specific land you are looking at.

 

 

Dispersed camping

 

Dispersed camping is a harder process that requires more planning and manual labor, however, when planned right these are great adventures. Not all parks allow dispersed camping, some parks only offer designated primitive campsites, refer to the section above if you discover your nearest public lands only offers designated primitive campgrounds. 

 

State Land Dispersed Camping: 

 

By using your state's Division of Natural Resources website, you can locate dispersed camping locations. The best way is to do this is to use the camping function, search through various state parks, and figure out which parks allow dispersed camping. Sometimes this process can be tedious as there may be no dispersed camping function to easily sort through all other state parks.

 

Federal Land Dispersed Camping:

 

To start finding federal land near you I recommend simply searching "national forest near me", or "federal public lands near me". You can also use Google Maps to find public land, these lands are often marked, and displayed as green.

 

When you find the federal land you intend to stay at, use the park's resources to view maps of the park's boundary and terrain. This will help you become familiar with the land while helping narrow down where you would like to camp. I use both Google Earth and Google Maps, while also viewing the park boundary map to locate an area I want to camp at. This allows me to establish the park's boundary while being able to find trails inside the park that are not on Google Maps. Then I use Google Earth to get a better understanding of the terrain and landscape I intend to camp in.

 

Once you locate federal land you want to camp at ensure you are abiding by all rules and regulations set forth by the jurisdiction who has authority of the land. For instance, it is often required you travel at least 100 feet off trail before you can set up camp inside a USFS national forest. Going to the restroom outdoors requires first digging a hole at least 6 inches deep so you can bury anything you wouldn't want to run into yourself. Always pack out what you take in, generally, you should try to leave the area better than you found it, i.e. pick up any trash you find.

 

Here are some general questions you should have answered when deciding on a Dispersed camping location:

1. Where am I parking?

2. How far am I traveling?

3. What is the situation for my drinking water, and do I have the necessary amount of water for the situation at hand?

4. How long am I staying out? What do I plan on doing?

5. Is there wildlife life in the area that I need to be aware of? Do I need to pack a bear spear and hang my food?

6. How will I start my fire? Can I reliably start my fire? Is there a fire ban, or fire alert?

7. Do I have the necessary items for going to the bathroom in the woods?

8. How much does my pack weigh and can I carry it that far?

9. What am I eating, and what is the cooking system I am using?

10. Do I have the proper clothing for the climate?

 

 

Equipment

 

The equipment you will need to bring will depend on you're environment. For instance, throughout the Appalachian Foothills, the terrain is a constant series of rolling densely tree-packed hills with steep drops to the valley below, where the ground is often waterlogged or at a high chance of flooding due to water accumulation, this makes finding tent camping spots rather sparse compared to the available hammocking spots. This is why I prefer using a hammock while dispersing camping during spring, summer, and fall, during the winter it is possible it just comes with its own set of challenges. The equipment best to bring will be dependent on the terrain of your campsite, the time of the year, and the journey to get there.

 

 

Campground Equipment

 

Depending on the plot you stay at in the campground you might not be able to string a hammock up, thus a tent is the only option available (besides RV and car). If you're staying at a campground with no amenities out in the bush use the dispersed camping equipment reference. Given you're not camping during extreme winds or severe rain, a cheap reliable tent, tarp, cooking utensils, and a sleeping system are all you need to get started camping at a campground. Bringing more equipment than you need is much more forgiving, as you can bring your vehicle up to the reservation plot and unload your gear from there. 

 

 

Dispersed Camping Equipment

 

Dispersed camping can be done by tent or hammock, whether you have reliable trees or flat ground will be the deciding factor in what equipment you bring. For dispersed camping in a hammock, I bring the following items: a backpack, hammock (with bug net), tarp, sleeping bag, hatchet, water, food, and cooking system. Camping in a tent calls for the same items, but bring a tent and ground pad/cover for sleeping instead of the hammock.

 

Water can be a challenging aspect of dispersed camping, inside the national forest near me coal mining, other surface mines as well as polluting activities contaminated the water with heavy metals so normal water treatment methods such as a filter or boiling water will not work. This has forced me to bring gallon water jugs in at a brutal 8 pounds a gallon.

 

If you plan on going a long multiday hike while dispersed camping through the night, making a cashe beforehand to periodically resupply as the journey goes on can be a powerful tool. Other parks will have water that is reliably available and safe for drinking after water treatment. If you are collecting and treating your water, ensure the filters are still working and you know how to use them prior to going out.

 

Be prepared for the worst, bring an extra pair of clothes, and expect rain to occur, you should feel confident in your setup with water before venturing into the woods. It is also smart to bring a water cover for your backpack in the event it rains before you can set up your tarp or rain cover.

 

 

Camping Example

 

In this section of the article, I will be preparing a mock camping trip for both campground and dispersed camping. For context, this example starts as if the person lives in Louisville, Kentucky, their goal will be to find the nearest public land to camp and stay for the weekend. With that given context here is how I would approach each situation.

 

 

Campground Camping Example

 

To start this process I am going to go on to Google Maps and take a look at what is around Louisville, I will be looking for any green blocks on the map. Once I see locations that could allow camping, I look into them. You will find most parks do not allow camping, such as the Jefferson Memorial Forest below.

Louisville is a unique example as it sits right on the river and border to Indina, from my quick glance on Google Maps as a non-native it looks like the closest park will be North East of the city, at the Charlestown State Park, or the Harrison-Crawford State Forest. Since the goal of the example is to plan a camp at the closest park I'll plan a trip to Charlestown State Park.

 

To gather more information on this park I will go to the Indiana DNR website and search the park name, or using Google Maps click on the website from the map icon. While on the website I found the following information:

It looks like this park has electrical hook-ups for reservation. I will use the reservation link provided and go through the steps to reserve the plot. 

After I successfully found and booked an open sight at a campground I just needed to pack and prepare for the trip at hand. In this scenario, the park is not big but does include fishing access, so in this case, I would make sure to pack a fishing pole. Campground camping does not need to be too hard to plan, mostly it's finding a park and an open reservation plot, then what amenities come with the park you can participate in.

 

 

Dispersed Camping Example

 

Using Google Maps I will search for the nearest state forest or national forest.

While Harrison-Crawford State Forest is closer than Hoosier National Forest, Hoosier has much more land to explore which means a larger area to camp and fewer people to run into. Already I can tell the green block area of the Hoosier National Forest is not the real forest boundary line open to the public. What is being displayed on Google Maps is closer to the proclamation boundary of the forest, this is the land, the land manager deems as the forest, they are willing to buy private land to convert to public in these areas.

 

To gather more information to find where I would like to camp I will go to the Hoosier National Forest page on the US Forest Service website. This will provide me with activities, marked locations, trails, notices and alerts, the rules and regulations, and the map of the park.

Now that I am on the website I can go into each of the listed categories in the image above, this will provide a lot of information for you. Using this page will also provide you with a host of activities to do in the forest. As read the rules and regulations, they could be different from your usual national forest.

Using the map section of the page I located the full park map for the Hooser National Forest (view image above). What we are looking for is Hoosier National Forest land, this land is open to the public for all allowed activities, and this is perfect for dispersed camping.

The red circled locations in the above image are promising areas to dispersed camp, the reasons for this are due to the proximity of the highways for road access, there are creeks and rivers on the east side, and most importantly there is a large sprawling area of the forest with lots of land to find a good campsite.

 

Now we have found the general location to camp, I will search through each red circle and decide which location I would like to camp in.

In the image above, the yellow-highlighted road will give great access to the public forest circled in red, this part of the forest also so happens to be on the Ohio River which is pretty cool.

 

Now that I know where I will be camping, I will use Google Earth to gather more information about the terrain and possible spots to camp.

Above is what the road and forest look like, from a top view using Google Earth, the yellow-highlighted road gives access to Buzzard Hoost Recreation Area. The purple-circled area is a parking area where you can pull up your car to car camp or tent camp in the area that has been cleared. This parking location will also give access to get into the forest for deeper dispersed camping. The purple arrows are possible entries into the forest, it doesn't look like there are any official trails into the forest from this location, but from previous experience, there are most likely beaten-down paths that you can use.

After using Google Earth to get a better understanding of the terrain, it is clear going south and towards the Ohio River from the parking location would not be feasible due to the steep hill (view red arrows).

The final decision for dispersed camping in this example involves parking along the Buzzards Roost Acess road at a roadside pull-off location. Once parked the next step will be finding a path into the forest, or simply venturing into the forest. Going north along the Red arrow into the red-circled area above will provide a dense forest for strings hammocking and camping among the wilderness.

The final drive from Louisville, Kentucky to a national forest for dispersed camping ends up only being an hour's drive. The equipment I would bring for this dispersed hammocking trip includes: a Hammock with a bug net, 3 Season Sleeping Bag, a Tarp/Rain Fly set up, a Hatchet, Food, and Water. Luckily the trip into the forest doesn't seem too far from the final parking location.

 

 

Equipment Example

 

The point of this section is to provide a complete camping kit with everything you need for camping from absolutely nothing while on a budget. You can always substitute the items you see on this list with a higher quality product than the best bang for your buck that I will provide you. Most people have a Walmart near them so I will use that service, I will also use Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's.

 

Your tent and sleeping system are the most important tools for your trip. The price of your tent will reflect on the quality heavily, most starter tents do not do well with water. In all honesty, I wouldn't trust any two-person tent under $100 to be waterproof.

 

However, I have a Bass Pro Shop Eclipse Two-Person Tent I got two years ago on sale for $49.99, I have used it for four different camping trips now, one during a week-long Turkey Camp, where light rain occurred a couple of times. The tent has worked fine so far but by no means would I trust this tent in a multiday trip with constant rain, or even an extreme downpour for an extended amount of time. That being said I would recommend someone get this tent as a starter tent if they can't go with a more expensive tent.

 

My final note, the gear recommended in this section is purely a starter setup, a friend of mine and I have both used very similar set-ups for over five dispersed camping trips into national forests for extended periods of time, in all seasons and weather. Once you get your starter kit you can slowly purchase higher quality products to replace the starter items. The prices and products are listed as of June 2024.

 

Tent camping:

 

Tent:

Name: Ozark Trail, 3-Person Clip & Camp Dome Tent

Cost: $34.00

Note: You can use any 2-person or 3-person tent you can afford, these tents can usually only fit one person, unless its a significant other. I wouldn't recommend anything more than 3 people as you might not be able to carry it on the trip.

 

Sleeping Bag:

Name: Ozark Trail 30-Degree Cold Weather

Cost: $34.88

Note: This is definitely a three-season sleeping bag, I wouldn't recommend taking this down to 30 degrees, I wouldn't go below 40 degrees. For winter camping I would recommend a 20-degree sleeping bag for freezing temps, and anything below 20 requires a serious investment into proper gear to stay safe and comfortable.

 

Ground Pad:

Name: Ozark Trail Closed Cell Foam Blue Camp Sleeping Pad

Cost: $14.98

Note: This may not be needed in the summer if you have a good enough sleeping bag. In the winter you may need a higher value R-Value ground pad such as a Thermarest branded ground pad, these will cost much more.

 

Pillow:

Name: Camping Pillow - Inflatable Pillow

Cost: $9.99

Note: If any inflatable pillow works, you can also use bunched-up clothes. In fall, winter, and early spring I use my jacket as the pillow.

 

 

Hammock Camping:

 

Hammock:

Name: QUANFENG QF Hammock Nylon Portable Hammock

Cost: $14.99

Note: Hammocks are easy to come by, any hammock in your price range you like will work for camping. If you end up buying a high-end hammock look for a product that includes a bug net, insulated pad, and rain fly built-in.

 

Bug Net:

Name: Equip Bug Net, No-See-Um Polyester Mesh

Cost: $16.99

Note: Bug nets are a must for hammock camping when bugs are active. During the cold season, it may not be required.

 

Sleeping Bag:

Name: Ozark Trail 30-Degree Cold Weather

Cost: $34.88

Note: This is definitely a three-season sleeping bag, I wouldn't recommend taking this down to 30 degrees, I wouldn't go below 40 degrees. For winter camping I would recommend a 20-degree sleeping bag for freezing temps, and anything below 20 requires a serious investment into proper gear to stay safe and comfortable.

 

Tarp:

Name: Project Source 10-ft x 12-ft Green Waterproof Commercial Polyethylene 5-mil Tarp

Cost: $19.98

Note: If you want a longer-lasting tarp that does not tear as easily I recommend a 10-mil tarp, it's a bit more costly but more reliable.

 

Rope:

Name: Hyper Tough 3/8 inch x 100 ft, Diamond Braided Polypropylene

Cost: $7.97

Note: Any rope you can find will work. I recommend a 100-foot-long rope that can hold at least 50 pounds. 

 

Pillow:

Name: Camping Pillow - Inflatable Pillow

Cost: $9.99

Note: If any inflatable pillow works, you can also use bunched-up clothes. In fall, winter, and early spring I use my jacket as the pillow.

 

General Camping Items to ensure your camping trip is smooth:

These items much like the ones above can be anything, yet these are even more dependent on your preference.

 

Backpack:

I recommend getting a camping backpack that is at least 50 litters, rucksacks can come with a host of features such as a drinking pouch, or MOLLE if that's up your alley. 

 

Shoes:

Hiking boots are an amazing addition to any outdoorsman's gear. A set of properly-fitted hiking booting with provide the most comfort, support, grip, and water protection while on the trail. 

 

Socks

A good pair of socks will allow moisture to wick away, while also providing comfort. I like merino wool socks, the thickness and support structure is dependent on the time of year and terrain. 

 

Cooking System:

An aluminum cooking system is just fine, I would stay away from cast iron unless you plan on campground camping/car camping where you bring storage to your campground.

 

Eating System:

Having a light portable plastic bowl/plate system with a fork and spoon is just fine to get by while camping.

 

Water Filtration System:

Your water filtration system will depend on your preference for purified water.

 

Illumination:

A headlamp is very useful while camping so you can see at night while having both hands free. A lantern is also useful to have around the base camp.

 

Hatchet:

A camp hatchet is very reasonable to bring along with you and is very useful.

 

Shovel:

A collapse-able shovel is useful for digging firepits, clearing debris, and digging a bathroom while dispersed camping.

 

Cleaning Products:

I never go into the woods now with a form of wet wipes! These are very useful while in the bush where you won't be able to shower. I also use it to wipe my legs and arms when exposed to poison ivy. I use them to clean my hands before eating, then I use them to clean my dishes after eating. Finally, it's a good way to wash your face. I recommend getting the store-brand wet wipes, you get the most for the least.

 

Restroom Products:

Toilet paper is smart to bring to a campground just in case they have run out and is essential to bring with dispersed camping.

 

Lighter:

Any lighter will work, I use the cheapest.

 

Firestarter:

Any fire starter will work, it is fun to make and try new ones. Just ensure you have a way of starting a fire in adverse conditions.