Winter Camping in the Snow – Quick Trips Guide

Activity: Winter Camping

Best Location: Routt or Medicine Bow National Forest

Cost: Free or very little (Equipment Only)

Call me crazy, but I enjoy camping even when winter rolls around and the ground is covered in snow! Seeing as it is that time of year, I thought it would be a good time to give some tips and locations to go for a weekend of fun. Staying inside all winter is just no fun, but you don't have to do that.

Inevitably when many people think about winter camping, their first thought is "wow that seems cold!" In all reality, if you do things the right way it is not much different than normal camping, but you will need to take a few extra things on your trip to make it happen. Read on for what you will need.

Getting to Your Campsite:

The first essential to ensure that everyone on the trip takes along is a pair of snow shoes and waterproof boots. If you are like me, camping close to a road or in the middle of a bunch of other people can ruin the experience. Taking the snow shoes will allow you to easilly get into the back country a ways so that you can relax and enjoy your trip. The waterproof boots are also essential, because you will be cold if your feet get wet. This pretty much covers getting in to your camp site, but you will want to allow plenty of time as snowshoeing takes a while. However just going showshoeing is part of what makes the experience great fun!

Setting Up Your Camp:

Setting up your tent correctly is the essential part to not being cold when camping in the winter. When chosing the right spot to setup your tent, consider which way the wind is blowing and try to use the trees as a wind block. The important thing to keep in mind when you get the tent out is that the most important place to insulate is the tent floor, because if you are camping on snow most of the cold will be coming from below you. While this isn't a must, covering the snow where the tent will sit using pine branches does help to insulate things. Once you have the tent set up, you will want to have brought at least three blankets that can cover the whole area of the tent's floor. Put the heaviest blanket you have down on the tent floor first, then your Thermarest or pad on top of that. Next use another blanket to cover the pads. This is the point where your sleeping bags come in; make sure that you have a sleeping bag rated at at least zero degrees to stay warm! The last blanket goes on top of the sleeping bags to seal everything up in warmth. Set things up like this and you can stay nice and warm without a problem. The last tip is to put the clothes you are going to put on the next morning in the end of your sleeping bag so they stay warm.

Where to Go:

In all reality, Laramie is surround by so much public land that there are a plethora of places to camp. Of course the Routt or Medicine Bow National Forests are obvious choices. Just head out to the mounatins or up the summit and snowshoe in when the snow gets to deep to drive through. You shouldn't have to worry about too many people being around no matter where you go. 

That pretty much wraps things up as far as tips on winter camping go. Give it a shot and hopefully you will find that it can be a really enjoyable time. Best of all, if you have the basic camping gear mentioned, this is an activity you and family or friends can enjoy without paying much. Even if you don't have the gear, it can be rented around town at a reasonable price. If you are looking for something to do then next day you already have a pair of snow shoes with you so take a hike or bring a sled with you for even more fun. Feel free to fire away with any questions you might have in the comments section below!