Camping Etiquette: What Beginner Campers Need to Know
Camping can be a great activity to do with your family or friends. It allows you to get away from the city noise and enjoy a peaceful time out in nature. But if you've never gone camping before, there are a few things you need to know first.
Leave No Trace Behind
Everyone wants to leave behind as small an ecological footprint as possible when they go camping, especially at the campsite. A lot of the time, the campsite is the only place where you can really do this because it's away from the noise, light, and general chaos of the city.
You're going to try and leave the campsite in the same condition as it was when you first arrived, by not leaving any trash or litter behind. But there are a few things you can do to help prevent this. The best way is to be very careful in your food preparation. Use biodegradable products and never leave any behind. This also goes for any dishware and utensils.
Make sure you dispose of all your food waste by either burying it or packing it out. The campsite area is meant for camping. It's not a dump.
Don't Walk Through Other People's Campsites
A lot of the time people will set up their campsite close to other people's sites. This is fine, but you need to know your place. This means if you're camping in a tent, don't walk on the grass or grassy areas of other sites. Not only is this rude, but it can also cause damage to someone's property. If you are camping in an RV or trailer, then you can obviously walk on the grass, but don't drive any vehicles through the grass.
If you're walking around and accidentally step on someone else's site, by all means, apologise. You're not being rude; you're just making sure they don't have a long walk to get out to their car or drive around their trailer.
Keep Noise Down at Night
Part of the charm of being in nature is that you get to experience the wonderful night noises. Animals are going about their business, crickets are chirping, and there are usually no cars, planes, or people around. This is a refreshing change from what most of us are used to.
But it's important to be respectful of the other campers because you don't want to ruin anyone else's experience. Staying up late by the fire telling stories and telling jokes is great, but if you're too loud for the other campers, you'll end up annoying them and ruining their nights.
Be Respectful of the Wildlife
The outdoors is home to wildlife, and you may get the rare opportunity to get a glimpse of some animals in their natural habitat. But along with the excitement of seeing wildlife, you need to remember that they are still wild, and you cannot try to interact with them. No feeding, no trying to pet, and no trying to capture wild animals.
If you do this, you're tempting them to come closer to you, and you can end up putting yourself in danger. It's also not a good idea to feed the local birds and squirrels. They will get too used to a handout and then become pests when they try and get food from you.
Final Thoughts
Camping in the outdoors is a great way to get back to nature, but you must follow the basic rules of respect and etiquette to keep things nice for everyone. If everyone follows these rules, then you will keep the campsite in good condition for everyone else.
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