Maybe you’ve day-hiked a trail or two, and feel ready to take your love of the great outdoors to the next level and spend a whole night — or more — outside. But what’s the right way to do it?
Backpacking, car camping, glamping, cabins, RVs … the options can seem overwhelming. This guide breaks down your choices and gives you tips on camping and backpacking for beginners, so you can find the one that’ll be the most fun for you.
Camping and Backpacking: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between camping and backpacking is in how you get to the spot where you’re spending the night(s). To camp, you can drive right up to your location (more on that later). But when you backpack, you carry all the gear you need to set up your campsite on your back.
Camping for Beginners
There are several different types of camping, each requiring varying levels of gear and wilderness experience, including:
Glamping
Glamping mixes the words “glamorous” and “camping,” which tells you all you need to know. It’s luxury camping — nature with even more comforts than home. Tent amenities can include hand-loomed rugs, oil paintings, ceiling fans, and “fishing butlers” who’ll bait your hook.
Skill level: Low. The whole objective of glamping is ease, so it should be as straightforward as checking in to the Four Seasons.
RV or Van Camping
With RV or van camping, you bring all the comforts of home, like a bed, bathroom, and kitchen, on the road with you to a beautiful spot in nature.
Skill level: Medium. An RV or van reduces the outdoor savvy you need, but you’ll still want some mechanical skill to operate and maintain the vehicle.
Cabin Camping
This is the camping you experienced if you went to summer camp as a kid. You’re out in nature, possibly without electricity or running water, but you have a roof over your head. (This can make gear selection and setup easier because you won’t have to bring a tent with you.)
Skill level required: Low. This is basically pack-and-go.
Car Camping (aka Tent Camping or Front-Country Camping)
Car camping is not sleeping in your car. Instead, you drive to a campsite, where you unload all your gear to spend your nights in a tent. You might park right next to the tent or have a short “walk-in” from the parking lot, but the tent and the car won’t be too far apart.
Campsites for car camping can be as simple as a cleared spot in the woods or can have an electrical hookup, showers, and running water. Check the website of the campground to understand what’s included at your campsite.
Skill level: Low to medium. You’ll need to know how to set up your gear and pack food, but easy access to your car — and other campers — means you’ll have an escape hatch if things go wrong.
Backpacking for Beginners
If you’re ready to hike to a destination and set up a camp there, then it’s time to explore your backpacking options. There are several types, including:
Backpacking (aka Backcountry Camping)
This is camping where you carry your world on your back, usually in the form of a large pack containing a tent, sleeping bag, and all the gear you’ll need to prepare food and take care of yourself while you travel in the wilderness for days at a time. (There’s a variation called canoe camping, where campers paddle in rather than hike.)
Skill level: Medium-high, depending on the destination and duration of the trip. Backpacking entails physical demands (lugging gear for miles) and requires outdoors experience (understanding survival and how to behave when in the wild country). To try out backpacking, hire a guide as support to ensure you’re ready to take the adventure on for yourself.
Ultralight Camping
Ultralight camping follows the same premise as backpacking but with the added goal of taking as little with you as possible. Ultralight campers often have speed goals or far-off destinations to reach, so they’re hitting the trail with a whole lot of experience and very little stuff.
Skill level: High
Survival Camping
Survival camping is about taking on nature with as little help from civilization as possible. Like ultralight camping, survival camping means taking as little gear as possible. Unlike ultralight camping, some of the gear that’s sacrificed might include necessities like food.
Skill level: Extremely high
Which one is right for YOU? Share with us below!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Nicole is our Content Strategist. She enjoys long walks to Taco Bell, rollerblading into the sunset, and eating Reese’s Cups for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Find her writing about iPhone cases, holiday card messaging and even music festival tips!
