While winter camping can be an exhilarating experience, it’s important to do a little extra planning. These steps will help you reduce your exposure to illness and unpleasant conditions. To begin, be sure you choose a campsite that’s on flat land. Camping at the base of a hill or at the peak of a hill exposes you to too much wind. You’ll be better protected on flat land where the snow has been compacted.

Keep Warm

The first rule of successful winter camping is to stay dry and warm as much as possible. You should bring enough clothing to wear multiple layers each day of your camping trip. Bring along extra blankets to help you stay warm as you sleep. If your clothes do get wet, hang them to dry in your tent overnight. It’s also important to keep your phone and other electronics close to you as you sleep. The colder temperature will cause the batteries to drain faster, but your body heat can help mitigate that energy loss.

Don’t Forget the Instant Coffee

Even if you’re not a big coffee drinker, wintertime camping may change your opinion of instant coffee. It will never taste better than the morning after sleeping in your tent and keeping warm amid frigid temperatures. If you don’t have a propane stove, you can bring water to a boil over an open campfire. The promise of hot coffee in the morning will give you the motivation to leave your tent to start the day.

Make Tent Living Easier

There are a couple of things you’ll need to make living and sleeping in a tent more bearable. For instance, be sure to get a good mattress pad. In addition to making it more comfortable to sleep on the ground, the pad will provide an extra layer of insulation against the cold. You should also invest in a urine bottle or bedpan. Having a receptacle for urine can keep you from venturing out in the cold in the middle of the night.

Finally, don’t forget to bring some type of entertainment. Bring along a book, board games, or another activity that doesn’t require access to electricity. If you find yourself confined to your tent during unpleasant weather, you’ll want to have something to occupy your time. You can go hiking or hunting when the weather clears and the air isn’t as frigid.