First Time Camping Solo? These 5 things matter most

So you're thinking about your first solo camping trip. It's exciting, right? But it can also be pretty overwhelming. I've done a lot of camping videos on this channel, but I've never done one where I brought together the five things that I think matter most for rookie campers or newbie campers to figure out before they go. And it doesn't matter whether you're traveling in your car, if you'll be staying in an SUV, in an RV, in a camper van, or in a tent. All of these apply. Hey, I'm Bing from Wondering Travel, and Lexi, my golden, and I have been camping across America for a lot of years now, and we love camping in all its forms. It is my passion and my mission to equip and inspire women like you to travel and camp on your own. So if you're ready, let's start with where to camp because there are so many more options than you probably even realize. And if you're bringing your dog, I have a few extra things to share with you at the end, so stick around. There are so many options when you are considering, especially in the beginning, where you want to camp. We're not going to talk about geography so much here as just the types of campgrounds. And there are some that are more prevalent in different parts of the country than others. This is going to be a quick overview and then I also have a video that I've done in the past that I will put the link to here if you want more chapter and verse for each one of these. So if this is truly your first solo camping adventure then I think it's helpful to have as a goal something that makes you feel confident and comfortable. So let's talk about the ones just real briefly that you're more likely to want to start with and the ones that I still use with great regularity and my favorite two are state parks and national forests. So let's start with state parks. Every state has state parks. There is a fee of course. They have a good bit of supervision. Usually you can make a reservation ahead of time. Every state has their own website for all of that. You can get a ton of information up front. Pay up front and you'll know what the amenities are and all of that. I love state parks because most cases you have neighbors that are close by but not on top of you. You feel like you've got hiking trails around or a lake. Usually there's a specific purpose for that state park being there in the first place. Very often it is a body of water or some sort of hiking. There are lots to choose from. National Park. is going to be quite a bit more expensive. You're going there because of the destination. Those have extensive resources online and no trouble finding all the things you need there. My very favorite though is National Forest Campgrounds. They're inexpensive, they are definitely more in the wilderness typically but they still have a host, they still have toilets. And there's always something beautiful in the surroundings. You can look those up as well online, and I'm going to give you some resources as well in the description. There are public and private campgrounds, think like KOA and Jellystone Parks, that are sometimes more family-oriented, very busy places. And then there's of course RV parks, which... Usually don't take tent campers who have you know laundry and you have showers and you have a bunch of amenities there Again, check out my video how I find amazing campsites and that will give you a lot more information on all of them The goal is to figure out what makes you feel comfortable and what your priorities are Are you just looking for places to stay on a long road trip or you're just kind of overnight as you go? Or are you looking for a destination all of those things need to be taken into account? As you figure out what will give you the most fun and the most peace and the most rest and as much adventure as you'd like to have along the way. When I ask women what if anything is really holding them back from giving solo camping and solo road tripping a try, the answer that I get most often is that they're worried about staying safe. I get that and it's actually something that I help women work through all the time. In fact this is kind of my sweet spot. Most often I do find that women have concerns about their own personal physical safety but they also just feel very uncertain about situations that they've never been in before and knowing how they will handle themselves and if they're doing it right. The secret is absolutely taking the unknown part out of the equation. We fear what we haven't experienced. We fear what we imagine to be true and in short we are just afraid of what we don't know. So how do you do that? In a word it just means being proactive and I don't mean to make light of it because I do think if you think through your concerns ahead of time and then you also decide what are the things that you need to overcome that fear or concern, what you would do in that situation and how you would handle it, then you are miles ahead. Safety concerns are almost always rooted in fear. They come from a place of fear. So my approach with women is to bring up all of those fears and concerns as we're going through the planning. I've spent years talking about and writing about this and with good reason. So with some clear guidance and if you take the time to really plan and be proactive then the result is going to be confidence and that's what makes for a fabulous experience without all the stress and all the worry. So whether you're afraid of your car breaking down, of getting lost, of losing your keys or your phone or just being put in a really uncomfortable situation, You can manage all these things in great measure before you ever leave. No kidding, I could talk for days on this topic. There are two very real resources that I can point you to if you'd like to know more, and the first one is a free downloadable guide called the Super Simple Guide to Road Trip Safety. Totally free download and it hits all the high points. The other one will give you a little more information. It's a free online workshop and it is called From Fear to Freedom. I'm going to put both links, you've probably already seen them here, and they'll also be below for you as well. Take your pick or choose both. They will put you on the road to both peace and confidence and fun. And speaking of being proactive, this next category is one that I believe will also bring you some peace. So as we've already said, there are so many different kinds of campgrounds and with that comes so many different choices and understanding of amenities, check-in processes, costs and all of that. And honestly, in the beginning, I felt like it was a lot for me because I didn't know anything about camping on my own. But once you figure out the first part that we've already talked about, the kind of camping situation, the kind of campground that you want to stay in, then the next thing is to find out more info about the details of those places. These would be things like how do you make a reservation? Can you make a reservation? What kind of bathrooms do they have? Are they vault toilets or flush toilets? How close are these to the actual sites? Are there full-blown bathrooms and showers? What's the check-in process? Do you pay when you get there? Do they only take cash? How much does it cost? Also, things like, is there a host? That one is important to me. I like to know campgrounds that have hosts. Or is there somebody, some staff that might be on site while you're there, if that matters to you? Thank you. Do they sell firewood? Are the sites electric? Do you need that? If so, does it cost more? What about water? Those are some other things that you probably wanna find out. There are just so many questions, especially in the beginning when you just really don't know what you don't know. Look into the campgrounds once you've made your decisions and see what the amenities are. And then arriving. You want to arrive in clear, plain daylight, if at all possible. You want to be able to drive around the campsite, the whole entire campground. Check it out. See what's what. That is one of the most important things you can do for your safety, for your peace of mind. If I have a reservation, then I always go to the site. Scope it out. Make sure it's what I thought it was going to be. I guarantee you it's going to be different because it always is. And if you find that it's just not right and you need a different one and they're available, then scope out and see what else might be around. You can always go back to the host or to the support people at the gate, if it's a state park for example, and they'll no doubt be able to tell you what's available and you can go check it out for yourself. I can't express enough. how okay it is to do that and that you don't want to be camping in a place that makes you feel uncomfortable. I've left entire campgrounds before because I got there with a reservation and it just felt wrong and I just left. That's okay. I lost 20 bucks and I don't care. I wasn't going to stay there that night. I did my due diligence online and it wasn't good enough so give yourself the freedom to leave and also to change sites once you get there if it's not quite right. Now if you arrive and you don't have a reservation and there's a host or an attendant or whatever ask them what's available and again they'll tell you and you can go around and kind of go shopping. I really enjoy that part of the process where I can pick out my campsite. And please be nice. Be super kind to these people. They have kind of rough jobs sometimes and people are often not kind to them. So be nice and ask them, you know, where would you stay? What are your recommendations? What do you think the best sites are? And usually they will tell you for sure. They enjoy selling their campground during the summer and telling people what they love about it and the best places to stay. Some other things that if you didn't know, or maybe this is a stop that you weren't planning to make, which very often is my situation, I'm just driving and I found a place and I want to stay. I also want to know things like how much is the firewood and where do I get it? Because there's nothing worse than being in an RV, for example, or some sort of site that you set up where your vehicle isn't easily moved. And you realize you don't have firewood, and the firewood is half a mile away. So you either have to hoof it, or you have to figure out some way to... disentangle your vehicle from your setup and go get it. That's no fun at all. Also things like, are there quiet hours? If you have a generator or other people around you do, you might want to know that. I have stayed in campgrounds before where I'm tent camping. My neighbors have a generator that's super loud and it doesn't have to go off until 11 p.m. and I really found that unpleasant. And if you're a hiker, you want to know... How close the trails are. And very often in campgrounds, trails might go right through your campsite. So you need to decide if you're okay with that or not. All of this sets you up for a peaceful and fun experience without stress. As you can tell, it's all about thinking things through in advance. This brings me to a bit of a caution for you all, and that is that I don't want you to forget about the wonder, about why you're doing this in the first place. This of course is my favorite, this is my soapbox, this is my entire business. There's wonder around the bend. Wondering travel, you can see a theme, and for good reason. All of this solo travel, the purpose of it very often is to find a place of peace, to find And create and enjoy and open your mind to spend time looking out instead of looking in to relaxing. You've done it. You got there. So relax. Sit down. Read a book. Take a hike. Pour a glass of wine or tea or whatever, watch the stars, listen to the birds, whatever it is that makes you happy. Enjoy it all, soak it all in, because that's why you're there in the first place. Wonder is at the heart of all of this, right? And so much so that I wrote a book about it. There's Wonder Around the Bend, an inspiring guide for solo road tripping. If that's something you'd like to know more about, here's the link for that too. It is a wonder-filled guide of... How to road trip, but it is also about the joys and the whys of solo travel. So for me a huge part of the wonder is sharing the road and the campground with this girl right here. This is Lexi the Golden. So I promised at the beginning to tell you that if your dog is coming along with you then there are definitely a few things that you should also be thinking through. You're figuring out a new experience for you but it's also a new experience for them. A little preparation can definitely help both of you settle in and just really enjoy being there together. So one thing to consider, for sure, is to make sure that the campgrounds that you're choosing to stay in are dog-friendly. Most are, but I have found some that aren't, or some where part of the campground is dog-friendly, and then the other part is not. Also, is there any extra cost that is incurred? Again, rarely, but I have seen it. And if you have an active dog, then you want to consider what trails might be available, or if you have a swimmer, like I do, Then what is the water situation? Is there a stream? Is there an ocean? Is there a lake? Because that is the most important thing to this girl right here. It also means a lot more mess, so you wanna consider how you're gonna keep things clean, but we'll save that for another day. The last big consideration is their food. You don't want to leave things sitting out, for example, for bears and for other critters with great sense of smell. Lexi has been eating a raw diet her whole life, so that can kind of get to be a lot on the road. We love that BJ's raw dog food now has a freeze-dried version, which is perfect for being on the road. Same food, less mess, and my healthy eight-year-old It still acts like a puppy most of the time. If you'd like to give it a try, then you can get 25% off your first order by using my link, which is here, as well as in the description below. BJ's Raw Pet Food sponsors some of my videos on this channel, but they also sponsor the Heartland Collective Co. And that means that they've provided this awesome van for us to travel across the country, visiting farms, telling the stories of the farms, and helping Americans rediscover the American farm. I hope you'll check it out. So you don't have to figure out everything before you take your first solo camping trip. What would be the fun in that? Honestly, I think if you do enough planning and preparation that makes you comfortable, you find a place or two or three that feel manageable to you as you get started. And then just a willingness to learn. And also be surprised as you go, and you're going to be great. And if you'd like more help with any of the specific topics that we talked about today, I've done a video on every single one of them. I put all of my camping videos here in this playlist for you, so please check that out. Find the ones that apply to you, and grab some popcorn, and just watch away. I hope that Lexi and I will see you on the road.