19 articles
Campgrounds, backcountry camping and nights outdoors: where to sleep, with what gear and under which rules.
The tent is pitched, water’s heating on the stove a safe distance from the fly, and the light is fading over the meadow. A night like that takes a little planning, and this section covers everything that leads up to it. That means deciding where to sleep, whether at a developed campground, a backcountry site or in a hammock strung between two trees, and finding out whether the spot allows it. Then comes the gear that keeps you warm and dry.
Campground rules, backcountry permits and dispersed camping on public lands don’t work the same way, and the difference matters the moment you read the regulations. Depending on the agency, the park, the state and sometimes the landowner, pitching a tent for the night can be allowed, allowed with conditions, tolerated or prohibited. We quote those rules from official sources, with the date we last checked them, and we never present a tolerated practice as a right. Campfires get the same care, since fire restrictions change with the season, the location and the current fire danger. Where a rule is unclear, we point you to the agency to ask instead of guessing for you.
On the gear side, we help you read what spec sheets really say. A tent is best judged by its packed weight, the one you’ll actually carry, not just the headline number. Sleeping bag temperature ratings follow a standard worth understanding before you buy, sleeping pads can be compared by their R-value, and a water filter should be chosen for what it actually removes. Stove safety gets its place too, carbon monoxide included, and so does storing food where bears live. When we compare models, it’s spec sheet against spec sheet, with the standard and the sources right alongside.
The guides are written for families booking their first campground weekend as much as for backpackers stringing together nights in the backcountry. You’ll find simple skills, like picking a site sheltered from wind and runoff, keeping condensation down and leaving no trace when you break camp, plus the most common mistakes. Folks who collect titanium cookware won’t be left out either. And when someone on our team has actually spent the night in the tent they’re describing, they write it up themselves.
CampingRules and regulations
Can you camp in the backcountry of the Spanish Pyrenees? There’s no national answer: each region decides, then each protected area. Aragon bans free camping outside the forms its rules allow, Navarre’s decree leaves hikers crossing on foot out of its scope, Ordesa sets elevation thresholds, and Aigüestortes allows huts only. Here’s each rule, with its text and its date.
Arnaud Couderc··18 min
Dispersed camping on BLM land, national forests, refuges and state lands: stay limits, distances, fire permits and official maps, agency by agency.
Arnaud Couderc··15 min
Length, wide straps, a 30° hang, the diagonal lay, tarp, and underquilt: what hammock makers say about sleeping well, and what the parks allow.
Guillaume Hoarau··15 min
Wild camping and bivouacking in Italy: texts from seven Alpine regions and provinces, national parks, the 8,202-ft (2,500 m) rule, bivacchi and fines.
Arnaud Couderc··18 min
1,500, 3,000, 5,000 mm: what a tent’s waterproof rating measures, why the floor needs more, and why a high number doesn’t guarantee a dry tent.
Guillaume Hoarau··11 min
Dew point, breath, wet ground, tall grass, still air: where the water inside your tent comes from, how to reduce it, and how to tell it from a leak.
Guillaume Hoarau··12 min
Backcountry permits, fees, reservation windows and food storage rules in six national parks: Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Rainier, Smokies.
Arnaud Couderc··8 min
How much food to pack for backpacking: about 4,500 calories a day for a 154-lb hiker, or 2.2 lb of dry food. Freeze-dried meals, water, fuel, and a menu.
Julien de Jurquet··16 min
Wild camping in Austria: what the forest law and nine state laws allow, the fines, sleeping in a camper van or RV, and when an emergency bivouac is legal.
Arnaud Couderc··17 min
Gear for your first backpacking trip, item by item, with the weights manufacturers list, what to borrow or rent, and a printable checklist.
Guillaume Hoarau··15 min
Fuel per liter by stove, wind and cold, butane vs. propane, weighing, valves, flying, recycling, and carbon monoxide: a guide to backpacking stove canisters.
Guillaume Hoarau··16 min
Minimum or packaged weight, floor width, freestanding or not, rainfly, seasons, vestibules, and standards: how to read a backpacking tent’s spec sheet.
Guillaume Hoarau··14 min
Wild camping in Germany: where one night in a tent is allowed, what the forest laws ban, the fines you risk and where you can sleep outdoors legally.
Arnaud Couderc··9 min
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