Discover Winter Camping

If you enjoy hiking and camping during the spring, summer, and fall but wonder what to do once the snow starts falling, winter camping may be a great opportunity for you to continue doing what you love. If you take a few important precautions, winter camping can be as warm and as fun as camping in warmer months, and it can be easily combined with activities like snowshoeing and backcountry skiing to make for exciting weekend or even week-long adventures.

The two main differences between winter camping and summer, spring and fall camping are pretty obvious: cold and snow. Staying warm is the main concern, but it actually isn't as difficult as you may think. Neither is snow that much of an issue, though you'll need a four season tent, as three season tents are designed to keep out wind and rain but will collapse if they're heavily loaded with snow. The extra support from a four season tent is definitely worth the cost and weight.

Stay Warm and Dry While Camping in the Winter

The trick to staying warm in winter weather is the same as staying warm in the warmer months: wear layers and stay dry. Layers will allow you to carefully regulate your body temperature and avoid getting too cold or too hot by adding or taking off layers. Though you may think that getting too cold is your only problem, overheating produces a lot of trapped sweat, which then lowers your body temperature quickly. Getting soaked from the inside out is just as dangerous as getting wet from the outside in; both put you quickly at risk for hypothermia. Melted snow will also get you wet quickly. It's important to make sure you have a good, full-coverage ground pad that keeps your sleeping bag high and dry above the snow beneath.

It's also important to keep hydrated while winter camping, since your body uses a lot of water in the cold and it's easy to become dehydrated without realizing it. Don't be tempted to eat snow instead of drinking water; not only will it drop your core body temperature, the energy required to melt the snow will make you more thirsty.

Finally, remember that all of the extra insulation required to stay warm and safe while winter camping is going to be heavy, so your pack will be heavier than it would be on an equally long summer trip. You'll eat more too, so you'll probably want to plan for about a third more food per person per day. These concerns, along with slower travel through the snow, will mean your winter expeditions won't cover quite as much ground as your summer backpacking trips may have covered.