Site selection does more for a night's sleep than any piece of gear. Five checks take about two minutes and prevent the most common problems: waking in a puddle, waking cold, waking to a flapping tent, or not waking at all because a dead branch came down.
- 1
Use established sites where they exist
On established trails, camping where others have already camped concentrates impact rather than spreading it. Creating a new site in pristine terrain does more damage than using a worn one. Where dispersed camping is permitted, choose durable surfaces — rock, gravel, dry grass — and camp at least 200 feet from water.
Leave No TraceDurable surfaces and site selectionRead Guide → - 2
Look up before anything else
Dead branches and leaning dead trees kill campers. Scan the canopy directly above your intended spot for dead limbs, hanging broken branches, and standing dead trees within falling distance. This takes fifteen seconds and it is the check with the highest consequences.
- 3
Read the drainage
Avoid depressions, obvious runoff channels, and the flat ground at the bottom of a slope. Look for water-worn channels, debris lines, and flattened vegetation that indicate where water goes in rain. Slightly convex ground sheds water; a hollow collects it.
- 4
Avoid the coldest spots
Cold air sinks and pools in valley bottoms, hollows, and beside water, which can be several degrees colder than ground twenty feet higher. A slight rise or a bench above a valley floor is meaningfully warmer, and beside a lake or river is usually the coldest and dampest option available.
- 5
Balance wind exposure
Total shelter means condensation and insects; total exposure means a flapping tent and heat loss. A partly sheltered spot with some airflow is ideal. Orient the tent with the smallest profile into the prevailing wind and the door away from it.
- 6
Check the ground and the surroundings
Clear stones and sticks rather than digging or trenching. Confirm your stakes will hold — sand and thin soil over rock will not. Avoid game trails, and note where water is for the morning so you are not searching in the dark.
Tent setup tipsPitching well once the site is chosenRead Guide →
The Five-Check Routine
| Check | Looking for | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead | Dead limbs, leaning trees | 15 seconds |
| Drainage | Hollows, runoff channels | 30 seconds |
| Cold air | Valley bottoms, water's edge | 15 seconds |
| Wind | Exposure versus stagnation | 30 seconds |
| Ground | Stakes will hold, stones cleared | 1 minute |