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.