How to Safely Camp in the Rain

Karen Hendry Survival Skills
Whether you are camping for a weekend or a week or surviving in the bush, you will run into rainy days and nights. There is no avoiding the rain. You can’t put an order in with Mother Nature for sunny days. So how do you handle rainy weather when camping?



The key when camping is that you want to stay as dry as possible. You can minimize getting wet if you properly plan out your campsite and come prepared with the right equipment. There are a number of things to consider when camping in the rain and I’ll break these down here.
Choosing a Campsite

The key (of course) is to stay as dry as possible. You can have the best tent or improvised shelter in the world and it won’t matter if your campsite it terrible. When choosing a campsite, follow these guidelines:

• Choose high ground. If you set up low down or in a depression in the ground, then you are going to end up in a large puddle when it rains.
• Choose a site that has good drainage so that the water will run away from your tent and the “living” areas of your campsite.

Choosing a Shelter

If you are planning ahead and have or are buying a tent, then make sure it is good quality. Spend the extra money on a tent that has a decent fly and one that has a base that is designed to keep water out. Even with this tent, you will still want a tarp over it and under it (see below).


If you are making an improvised shelter, then you will need to take rain and wind into consideration. A tent is fully enclosed, which will keep the rain and wind out, but what about a shelter that you make yourself? I won’t go into specific shelters and how to build them. You can find information on that here.


What I will say here is that with any improvised shelter you think you will need to protect you from the rain will ideally be as enclosed as possible. If you can ensure that it has all sides enclosed, except for the door, such as a teepee-style shelter or a mostly enclosed one-person shelter, this is best. Position the shelter so that the door is away from the prevailing winds (if possible) so that the rain will not blow inside the shelter.
If you are making a shelter using a tarp or a lean-to style and you only have one wall, then put that wall between you and the prevailing winds, again to keep the rain out. Whatever shelter you build, particularly if you don’t have a tarp to use, be sure to cover the outside of it with brush and leaves to help insulate it and keep the inside dry. Use a tarp above the shelter if possible.
Sleeping in the Rain

This is all about setting up your tent or shelter in the best possible location and ensuring it and you will stay as dry as possible. First, if you are on a slope, then set your tent or improvised shelter so that the door/opening is facing downhill. This can be tricky when it is windy because you don’t want the wind to be able to blow the rain into your shelter.


A tent should be fine in this situation because it has a door, but you will have to use your judgement when it comes to an improvised shelter. Just don’t point the opening of your shelter directly uphill.
Second, tarps are your best friend when it comes to camping. Just take a look at permanent camps and homeless camps and you will see that there are tarps set up over the tents. There are generally tarps under the tents, too. If you are putting a tarp under your tent or shelter, be sure to fold the tarp so that the edges aren’t sticking out. If the edges are sticking out, then water can collect on the edges of the tarp and run under your tent or shelter.

 

It’s a good idea to dig a trench around your tent or shelter to ensure that any water that does come near it can be directed away from it. Follow these guidelines when digging your trench:

• Start the edge of your trench just past the edge of your tent/shelter
• You want the side of the trench closest to your tent/shelter to go straight down and the side of the trench farthest away from the tent to be sloped. Do NOT make the trench a V-shape because you will be more likely to have water reach your tent.
• The trench should be between 3 and 5 inches deep.
• Dig the trench all the way around the tent/shelter.
• You will want the trench to slope toward the lowest point in the area around the tent/shelter.
• At the lowest point, create an opening so the water can flow out, rather than backing up into the trench.
• If water can come from uphill, then dig a ditch that will direct water away from the tent/shelter.
• When digging, be sure to throw all the dirt away from the tent. If the dirt rests against the tent material, it can cause it to rot.

When it comes to your sleeping area inside the tent, be sure to have some sort of padding underneath you. This will help keep you dry and insulate you against the cold coming up from the ground, keeping you warmer at night. If you don’t have a pad or blanket you can place underneath you, then you can collect dry brush, grass, or boughs to use as padding.
Daytime in the Rain

When it comes to your daytime activities in the rain, the last thing you want to do is spend your entire day (or many days) sitting inside your dry tent and eating in the rain (remember, no food in the tent or you will attract the wildlife). To solve this problem, you will once again need tarps. The best plan is to have a large tarp that you can suspend over your dining area, right over the table if you have one.


You can also suspend a tarp over the fire pit, giving you a nice spot to sit and relax and enjoy the warmth of the fire on a rainy day. That will definitely help make the weather more bearable.
Make sure that when you set up the tarps you give them a peak, like you see on a roof. That way, the water will run off the tarp. If you don’t do this, the water will collect in the middle and the tarp will sag right onto your table or into your seating area. Ideally, you should peak the tarp in the middle so that there are four sides, rather than an A-frame. This way, you will have more protection from the wind.
What to Pack/Prepare

At this point, I’m sure you can figure out what the first item on this packing list is – tarps! And lots of them! In actual fact, if you can plan ahead, you will need a minimum of three large tarps, one for over the tent, one for under the tent, and one for over your dining table/cooking area. Having extra tarps is always a good idea so you can cover more of your campsite.


Aside from the tarps, you should try to pack the following, whether you are packing for a regular camping trip or you are packing survival gear:

• Plastic bags: These should include many garbage bags and large Ziploc bags. These allow your equipment and food to be store away so they stay dry.
• Rain gear: Regardless of how sheltered you have made your campsite, water will often still get in. Even if it doesn’t, you will still need to leave the comfort of your sheltered area. Having a good rain jacket or poncho and good rain pants is a must. Don’t skimp on the price because you will get what you paid for. I promise!
• Proper clothing: You need to keep warm during rainy weather. Even if you have a good shelter and good rain gear, the air will still be damp. Avoid cotton clothing and opt for nylon and synthetic underwear. Cotton will suck up the moisture and it won’t dry quickly, leaving you cold and damp. If the weather is especially cold, then use wool or polypropylene layers.
• Bivvy bag: If you have or plan to purchase a bivvy bag, which is particularly good in survival situations or in situations in which you are camping in the bush with minimal gear, then you can find one that will keep out the rain. But you have to get a good quality bivvy bag! However, it is still best to use tarps over and under and to put over your dining area.
• A good stove: You will need a stove that is easy to light in the rain, one that runs on gas or propane. A wood stove will also work. Having a working stove to help make hot food and drinks when it is raining is the best way to bring comfort to all campers.
• Activities: Be sure to pack something to do to keep people busy. Sure, this doesn’t have anything to do with keeping dry, but it does have to do with keeping everyone sane, especially when the rain is falling for days. Even a deck of cards is ideal. A board game or two will also work wonders.

Don’t Avoid the Rain…

…Embrace it! Seriously, if you want to get a good amount of camping in over the season, then you can’t avoid the rain, and if you are given no choice but to be in the outdoors (due to a survival situation), then it is guaranteed you will be in the rain at times.


As long as you are prepared, you won’t end up in an emergency situation, with a wet shelter, no way to cook, and no way to keep dry. Will you get wet? Sure, at some point you are bound to get a little wet, but as long as you are prepared, you can have fun, keep your sanity, and stay mostly dry even if it is raining.