Hopefully you’ve gotten the opportunity to review my previous blogs and have researched your campsite and have a robust checklist of items to take with you. Now it is time to consider what you would like to do once you make it to your destination. Ideally you’ve chosen your campsite because the general area offers features you’d like to take advantage of such as a recreational lake or easy access to great hiking trails. If you haven’t looked into this much, I recommend viewing the campsite website because they will often times list what is available to you in the area. It is also good practice to pull the campsite up on a map and google the area to familiarize yourself with what may be available to you.
One of the most popular activities while camping is hiking. All Trails is a great platform to use to identify what hiking trails may be close to your campsite and it hosts reviews and photos of the trails to help you find what is best for you. You can use All Trails and get basic features without any additional cost, but if you upgrade to premium I highly recommend downloading maps and hiking routes of your designated areas. This will allow you to view your location, the mapped trails, and topography while you’re out in the woods even if you don’t have service.
Night hikes are also popular since you typically get spectacular views of the stars and during the summer months they can offer an escape from the heat. If you plan on going on a night hike make sure you start your hike around sunset so you can find your way to the path and allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Headlamps and flashlights are incredibly important so you can avoid obstacles and be better aware of your surroundings. Make sure to bring layers with you as well because the temperature can drop rapidly once the sun goes down.
If you’ve chosen a campsite that is close to a body of water chances are you might be interested in taking advantage of that. Depending on your location, the lake may or may not have a small marina in which you can rent boats, paddle boards, and kayaks from so take the time to research if that is available to you because those can be a great way to spend an afternoon. If the lake is more remote and doesn’t have this option, check out some of your local recreation shops because you can oftentimes rent these items for a few days to take with you. One thing I’ve learned is that you can never be to certain of the conditions of the lakes and ocean so it is always good practice to bring water shoes incase the shore is rocky or slippery with algae.
The possible activities don’t stop here. Depending on your interests there’s countless possibilities such as fishing, off roading, and dirt biking. You’ll also want to consider what you can do around the campsite to rest throughout the day. I personally always bring a deck of cards, plenty of fire wood, extra beer, and a fully charged speaker to make use of during my chosen down time. So what do you think you’ll do first? Leave a comment below with some of your favorite activities to partake in while camping!
In Tents. 