Pursuit

Camping

Car camping and basecamps — comfort, camp kitchens, and site craft.

About camping

When weight stops mattering, camping becomes about comfort and systems: a kitchen that works in the dark, a site that drains, and a setup you can pitch and strike without arguing.

Season: Year-round with the right shelter and sleep system.

Learn these first

Pick a site that drains, catches morning sun, and blocks prevailing wind
Run a two-bin camp kitchen so cleanup never stalls dinner
Build a fire that lights in wet conditions and dies out cold
Leave No Trace at a basecamp scale — greywater, waste, and firewood

Kit that matters

Tent or canvas shelter with a full footprint
Cot or thick pad, plus real bedding if the car is right there
Two-burner stove, cast iron, and a hard-sided cooler
Lighting: lantern for camp, headlamp per person

The camping guide

Camping is the easiest way to spend real time outside: drive or walk a short way in, set a comfortable camp and enjoy it. Comfort comes from a good sleep system and a kitchen that works in wind and rain.

Pick campgrounds with amenities for your first trips, then move toward dispersed sites once your setup is dialed.

How to progress

Step 1
Getting started
Reserved campground, practice pitching the tent at home first.
Step 2
Building range
Dispersed sites, cold-weather nights, cooking real meals at camp.
Step 3
Going further
Winter or remote camps, multi-week basecamps, group trip leadership.

Core skills, explained

Sleep system

Your pad's R-value matters as much as the bag. Use R 4+ for cold ground and stack pads in winter.

Camp kitchen

Cook on a stable surface out of the wind, with water boiling before you start prep. Clean as you go to keep critters away.

Site setup

Pitch on high, flat ground with the door away from the wind. Stake and guy out the tent before dark, not when the storm arrives.

Fire craft

Use existing fire rings, keep fires small and drown, stir and feel them until cold to the touch.

Safety rules from the experts

Never run a stove, heater or grill inside a tent or vehicle — carbon monoxide builds up quickly in small spaces.
Buy firewood where you'll burn it; moving firewood spreads invasive insects and diseases.
Check current fire restrictions before every trip; bans can change daily in dry seasons.

Common mistakes

Bringing firewood from home and spreading forest pests
Pitching in a low spot that floods overnight
Leaving food or coolers out in bear country
Arriving after dark to an unfamiliar site

Through the seasons

Reserve popular campgrounds well ahead for summer weekends; spring and fall are quieter but much colder at night.

Before every trip

Reserve early — popular campgrounds fill months ahead
Check fire restrictions before you pack firewood
Plan for overnight lows, not daytime highs
Store food to the area's wildlife rules

Sources: Leave No Trace — 7 Principles · Don't Move Firewood

Honest hazard notes

Carbon monoxide from stoves or heaters inside a closed shelter
Food and scented items left out in bear country
Site drainage — pitch above the low spot, always

Gear picks for camping

Our Top 10 lists for the kit this pursuit leans on, each with real product photos.

See every Top 10 →

Top destinations for camping

Browse all destinations →

Camping seasons & weather handling

Late May through mid-October, with the sweet spot in September when bugs drop and trails empty.

Summer

Prime

Days: 70–90°F
Nights: 48–62°F

Peak daylight and stable overnight temps; heat and afternoon storms set the schedule.

Afternoon thunderstorms on ridges and passes
Heat and dehydration on exposed miles
Fire closures and smoke drift

Fall

Prime

Days: 50–70°F
Nights: 28–45°F

The best conditions of the year: cool days, few bugs, cold nights that reward a real sleep system.

Short daylight catching people out
First storms arriving with snow at elevation
Overlapping hunting seasons — wear blaze

Spring

Good

Days: 45–65°F
Nights: 28–42°F

Long light returns but the ground is wet, snow lingers up high, and creeks run big.

Snowmelt creek crossings peak in late afternoon
Postholing and mud damage on soft trail
Fast-moving cold rain squalls

Winter

Marginal

Days: 20–40°F
Nights: 0–25°F

Quiet and beautiful, but it becomes a cold-weather trip with cold-weather consequences.

Wind chill and frostbite on exposed skin
Icy trail and unplowed access roads
Long rescue times and dead phone batteries

Weather playbook

Check the forecast for the trailhead elevation, not the nearest town — expect roughly 3–5°F cooler per 1,000 ft of gain.
Turn around on lightning, not on schedule: in summer be off exposed ground by early afternoon.
Rain plus wind plus 45°F is the classic hypothermia window — treat it like cold, not like drizzle.

Numbers that decide the day

Layer up when: Wind above 15 mph or sustained rain under 50°F
Rethink the day when: Storms forecast before noon or highs above 95°F
Daylight math: Plan to finish one hour before sunset, every time

See live conditions and seasonal averages the same way destination pages show them.

Browse the destinations map

Planning ranges are typical temperate-latitude values — always verify the forecast, flow, avalanche, and fire advisories for your specific area and elevation before you commit.

Start your camping build

Every link below opens a planner already set to camping — the right trip type, temperature band, checklist and builder, so your kit starts from the skills and hazards this pursuit actually demands.