1. Choose Your Own Adventure
When planning a camping vacation, the world really is your oyster. Do you love the beach, the mountains, a grassy meadow, or a raging river? It’s easy to plan a trip around any of these locations. It’s also easy to plan a trip as rugged or as comfortable as you like. Want to really challenge yourself and get away from it all? A backpacking trip would be a great choice. Or do you prefer to have as many comforts from home as possible? Rent a cabin by a river or go glamping!
2. Challenge Yourself and Learn Some New Skills
As humans, we get fulfillment out of learning new things and accomplishing feats that once seemed difficult. What better way to challenge yourself than to go on a camping trip just a little bit outside of your comfort zone? If you’ve been car camping and want to push yourself a bit, plan a canoe trip. A little challenge will make you feel extra accomplished when the trip is over. (And probably give you some great stories to tell.)
It feels great to build a successful camp fire!
While on this challenging trip you can teach yourself some new skills that will be useful on your next trip. Depending on your skill level you could learn to start a campfire, read a map using a compass, pitch a tent, practice your paddling stroke, or become an expert at knot tying. Either way, learning these types of survival skills is a good way to boost confidence.
3. Get Away From It All and Recharge
This is a big one for me. One of the best things about a wilderness trip is that you have a great excuse to turn off your cell phone. In fact, it’s not exactly an excuse when you go somewhere without cell service! It’s really nice not to worry about who is emailing you or even what time of the day it is.
It’s also very relaxing to get away from almost everyone and be only surrounded by nature. A certain kind of peacefulness comes from being the only people around. Imagine yourself swimming in a crystal clear lake with your friends or family with absolutely no one else in sight. It’s an amazing experience that everyone should have!
4. See Beautiful Places That Are Not Accessible Any Other Way
Here we have the river to ourselves!
There are many amazing places that can’t be accessed by car. And let’s be honest, part of what makes these places amazing is that it takes some work to get there. And therefore, they aren’t overrun by hordes of people (See 3 above). The challenge of getting to the destination will make it that much more rewarding when you do.
5. Cheaper Than Other Vacations
Okay, so I’m not going to pretend that camping is always cheap. But there are definitely ways to camp on a budget. When you compare the cost of reserving a campsite and cooking around a campfire to staying in a hotel room and going out to dinner, there is a clear winner.
6. Get Worn Out from Actual Exertion
Obviously we all get tired after a long day of work. But when is the last time you were exhausted from essentially working out all day? If you go on a backpacking or canoe trip, you will be. And it will make whatever random thing you happen to be eating for dinner taste like a gourmet feast. You will be that hungry. And then when it’s time to crawl into your sleeping bag it won’t take long until you fall into a deep sleep.
7. Learn to Appreciate the Comforts of Home
The truth is, all vacations come to an end. When you get home from a camping vacation, the luxuries of home will feel amazing. That first shower, sleeping in a bed again, fresh food: these things will seem like such a blessing. It’s basically a free way to extend the joy of your vacation! Plus it’s nice to remember not to take our home comforts for granted.
So what are you waiting for? See tips on planning various types of camping trips below:
Planning a Car Camping Weekend