You made your lists, checked them twice, prepped food, and packed your sleeping bags. Your family is almost ready to depart for a five-day camping trip. Excitement and anticipation rise until you check the weather. Then you see it: Rain. Lots of it. What do you do? Cancel your plans?

No way! Plan on pitching your tent.

Camping in the rain can be a wonderful experience. Personally, I love the sound of rain on our tent. However, in order to keep the experience a positive one, there are some precautions you can take.

1. Watch The Weather

If you can, try to put up your tent when there is a predicted lull in the rainstorm. On our most recent camping trip, we drove through a deluge to get to the campground. Our weather app forecasted a lull in the rain for about an hour, so we were able to get our tent up and organized. A little bit of water came through the mesh top before we got the rain fly on, but it was easy enough to towel the floor dry. If you arrive and the rain is chucking down, then simply wait it out in your vehicle. Sooner or later, it will slow down.

2. Top with Tarps

Every tent dweller knows to have a tarp over your tent in heavy rain, even if you have a rain fly. The extra protection is well worth the effort. We use a heavy tarp and guy-line it out. Make it secure because an unexpected gust of wind could take it right off your tent and possibly collapse your tent in the process.

3. More Tarps Inside

Another common trick of the trade is to lay a footprint down before you pitch the tent. That gives an extra layer between the damp ground and your tent bottom. However, a strategy we used during our most recent camping trip was to lay a tarp inside the tent as well. I knew we were going to get a lot of rain. We had a large tarp which I ended up folding to fit our area in the tent. By the time I finished, there were four layers of protection between us and the ground. Another idea is to use an indoor/outdoor rug. We have tried that, and it worked well to keep moisture at bay. We had almost five days of rain. Our campground looked like a deep puddle. We were bone dry inside the tent.

4. Check Your Equipment

Knowing the weather would be very wet all week, I packed extra old towels to use for drying any leaks. Thankfully, other than when we first set up, there wasn’t much to dry. I did notice a couple of spots that puddled a little in the tent. One was by the entrance, and the other was under our air mattress. Again, we never realized the water was even there until we packed everything up because of the extra tarp underfoot. I believe this is because every year we seal our seams every year and coat the tent with waterproofing treatment. Take good care of your equipment and try to purchase the best quality tent you can. A park ranger once said to me, “There’s no such thing as a bad trip; only bad gear.”

5. Pack Accordingly

Everyone has a certain level of comfort they need. When packing for a rainy camping trip, you need to decide what is most important for you. Dry socks? Pack extra. Dry shoes? Have one pair to wear when it is wet, and keep a pair inside the tent where they’ll stay nice and dry. Plan on being out, even in the rain? Pack rain ponchos. They slip easily over your clothes, and many have hoods and pockets. Speaking of clothes, it wouldn’t hurt to pack one or two extra sweatshirts and jeans, just in case. We have the luxury of a huge tent. It is twenty-five feet by eight feet. There are three sections that can be zippered off. We also drive two vehicles to the campground and have plenty of room for the necessities.

6. Deal With Mud

When there is lots of rain, there is lots of mud. It can’t be helped. You can try and keep your tent spotless, but you will drive yourself and your family crazy. One way I prepared for mud was to purchase a couple of cheap welcome mats for inside the tent. Originally, one was meant to be outside the entrance door, but it was too wet and muddy for that. So, I rotated them just inside the door. This ended up being a great strategy. When one mat got soaked and dirty, I traded the clean one out. Thankfully, due to some sunny moments, I was able to continually dry and reuse the mats. Another strategy is to have a container for wet shoes. Our tent rules state that no one can wear their shoes any further than the container next to the entrance. However, you choose to deal with the mud, having a way to not spread the dirt and water all over the tent will bring peace of mind.

7. Have A Safety Plan

In our area, heavy rains during the summer mean thunderstorms. We knew some were heading our way, so we worked out a safety plan in case the weather got really dangerous. At one point, during a deluge, we had gusty winds, thunder, and lightning. Normally we would just hunker down in the tent. At one point, the lightning flashes were so frequent we evacuated the tent and sat in the car. In less than ten minutes, the storm was over, and we went back into the tent. If you aren’t comfortable getting into your car, then find the bathhouse. Since there is electricity in the bathhouse, it is probably grounded.

8. Think About Meals

Typically, we like to cook over a campfire. In the rain, especially heavy rain, that may not be possible. While preparing for your camping trip, think specifically about foods that can be cooked over a small gas stove as well as a campfire. Most traditional camp food, such as hot dogs, are easily adapted to either cooking method. Foil packs, while technically can be cooked over a gas grill in a skillet, are better when prepared over hot coals.

9. Relax

Some people get very uptight when it rains while camping. Personally, I love the sound of rain on our tent. Even during a thunderstorm, I don’t get ruffled. What a perfect time to read a book, play games with the family, or watch a movie on the laptop (yes, we are glampers; the secret is out). Don’t let the rainy weather chase you away from your camping trip. Embrace it as part of the experience.

Photo by Nadezhda Zima on Pixabay