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Keeping Cool on a Summer Camping Trip

Keeping Cool on a Summer Camping Trip

Staying cool in the dead of summer is hard enough. But what about camping in the summer? There are actually a lot of ways you can make camping in the summer more enjoyable. Here are some tips to help you keep cool on your next summer camping trip:

Keeping your cooler cool

  1. Use separate coolers
If you’re planning on camping for longer than just a night or two, keeping your cooler nice and icy in the summer can be hard to achieve. The first, and most obvious piece of advice is to open your cooler as little as possible. When you do have to open it, only keep it open as long as is necessary.
If at all possible, we recommend having a separate cooler for drinks/snacks as you’ll most likely be accessing these the most.
  1. Use the right ice
As we all know, you’ll need lots of ice to keep your meals fresh and cool. However, a lot of people tend to use ice cubes, which is not the most effective way to keep food cold. Large blocks of ice actually last a lot longer than cubed ice. Instead of going out and buying ice packs, you can actually use water frozen in gallon jugs (make sure to leave some room for expansion in the freezer).
The best part about using these frozen gallons is that you can use the excess water for drinking water as it melts. Who doesn’t love multi-purpose gear?
  1. Freeze your food

If at all possible, freeze your food before you put it into your cooler. This will help your food keep longer, and help keep the temperature nice and frosty inside.

Setting up your tent

  1. Airflow is important

Most standard tents come with a rain fly, which is great in most conditions. However, in the summer, a rain fly can prevent air from circulating in your tent. Our advice is to ditch the rain fly and pack a tarp to string up over your tent. The space between the tarp and the tent allows air to flow better and keep you cooler at night.

  1. Location, location, location
When setting up your tent, don’t settle for just any flat spot. You’re going to want to look for a nice shaded location that will keep the sun off your tent for most of the day. Having shade trees around will also give you a place to secure your rain-cover tarp as well.
Ideally, you’ll also want a spot that gets a decent breeze throughout the day. This will help to drastically reduce the number of bugs flying through your campsite and around your tent.
  1. Bring proper sleeping arrangements

In most cases, an air mattress works great for getting a good night’s sleep in a tent. However, as we talked about earlier, airflow is an important factor in staying cool all night. To that end, we recommend packing a mesh cot for sleeping. A breathable cot will allow air to flow all around you at night.

Dress for the occasion

  1. Cotton is not your friend

While cotton is useful in a lot of weather situations, it isn’t great for summer. Cotton tends to soak up liquid very easily, including sweat. This leads to cotton shirts starting to smell very quickly. You’ll want to get some breathable, moisture-wicking shirts to help avoid this.

  1. Cover up if you can

Part of the heat in the summer comes from being out in the sun for long periods of time. If you know you’re going to be in direct sunlight, wearing long sleeves will actually help a lot. Of course, you’ll want those sleeves to be made of something very breathable. Wearing a lightweight hat is also a good idea to help keep the sun off your face.

  1. Bring a bandana

If you’re still too hot, you can soak a bandana in cool water and wrap it around your neck. The back of the neck has a lot of major blood vessels run through it, so this will help to cool of your whole body for a little bit. Just resoak the bandana as needed to help keep yourself cool.

If you’ve got any more tips for summer camping, let us know in the comments below!

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