Camping is beneficial for both the mind and body. It helps to strengthen your relationship with your family and friends, opens the door to learning new things, and develops essential survival skills. Also, camping connects you with nature which helps you to reduce your stress and increase physical strength. Although backyard camping is not the most adventurous thing to do, it’s convenient, easy, and relaxing. Summer is known mostly as the camping season and probably the best time for outdoor activities.
What Is Backyard Camping?
In simple terms, camping in the backyard of your house is called backyard camping. Turning your backyard into a campsite is safe and easy to do. It’s one of the best options if you want to experience the taste of camping without actually having to go to the campsite. The fun part of backyard camping is that you will get the full experience just like in a campsite, but you will be able to enjoy all the modern amenities in a homely environment like a clean toilet, internet, and cooking utensils.
Backyard Camping Rules
Imagine sleeping under the stars without leaving your home – how cool is that? Turning your backyard into a campsite is simple. You can set up a tent and some camp chairs – and you are ready to go! There are a few things you should maintain while backyard camping. These golden rules will make your backyard camping experience fun and memorable.
Follow Community Rules
Backyard camping simply means pitching a tent in the backyard of your home. This gives you much more control and freedom over the entire event. Nonetheless, even as the property owner, you are subject to a variety of laws.
If you live in a condominium or suburbs, you need to follow the community rules. For example, most closed communities prohibit camping activities at night, especially if you invite friends who don’t live there. You may also need to inform the community officials about the camping activity. Make sure to follow all the rules and regulations to avoid any danger that may arise if any laws are broken.
Avoid Being Noisy
According to the rules, when camping in your backyard, you should refrain from speaking loudly and control the volume of the music. Although music, dancing, and other fun activities are part of camping – that’s why you should do it at a bearable level. Suppose a neighbor has trouble sleeping because of loud noises coming from your backyard. In that case, they can legally complain to the authority about you. You don’t want to get into trouble with the police on a fun night of backyard camping! Also, the possibility of hampering the relationship with the neighbor will come for FREE!
Minimize Indoor Usage
When it comes to backyard camping, some people do not take it very seriously. However, you have to remember – the challenge of surviving by yourself without the aid of modern advancements, is the real adventure of camping. Even though you are very close to the house, you need to step out of your comfort zone. Other than the most essential items like tents, camp chairs, camp mattresses, and sleeping bags, you don’t need to take anything else. The bottom line is – to minimize the use of household utensils or facilities as much as possible.
However, there are special considerations for cases like using the toilet, essential cookware, etc. After all, it’s your backyard!
Camp Kitchen
Maybe you have a pre-built fire pit in your yard because you usually throw parties. So in backyard camping, you can use that for cooking. If you do not have a pre-made firepit in your yard, you can buy a ready-made firepit from the store that you can use for a long time. Moreover, setting up a campfire is not very difficult. In this case, prepare a campfire at a distance of 10-12 feet from the camping ground. Also, follow the campfire safety principles.
Maintain Safety
When camping in a forest or a popular campsite, it is essential to maintain safety in the wild. But since you are doing backyard camping, there are not many safety issues to follow in a familiar environment. However, there are some things to keep in mind such as –
- Keep children away from the fire pit.
- Maintain proper hygiene while cooking.
- Check your camping gear such as tents and chairs, so that no one gets hurt while using them.
- Keep electrical connections of camping lights out of reach of children.
- Don’t forget to put out the firepit after cooking.
- Beware of unruly manners from friends or family members after fathomless alcohol consumption.
Use the Right Camping Gear for Backyard
Choosing what gears to use is entirely your call. Undoubtedly, having the right camping gear will enhance your camping experience. You can start by setting up tents and camping chairs. Then, using a camping mattress, portable dining tables, hammock, and cooler will set up the perfect camping environment.
Keep it Clean
It is your responsibility to keep your yard clean. It is natural to have a dirty landscape after camping in your backyard. So, use a bin bag to keep all the trash together. This will maintain the beauty of your camping environment. When you are done using your campfire, waiting for your coals to cool down before putting them in a bin bag along with your leftover food.
Organize Fun Activities
There are a lot of entertaining activities to do when backyard camping. You can arrange some games such as scavenger hunts, tic-tac-toe, outdoor twister, or bean bag tossing. Also, having a musical session with campfire songs is another great idea that you can follow. As the night goes by, your camping can become more thrilling with ghost stories. However, it is better to tell less frightening stories if you have children.
Beware of Animals
Protecting yourself from bugs or animals is one of the most important parts of backyard camping. Take a good look around your yard before you start camping. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to have a hornet nest or mosquito habitat in your backyard. So make your yard free of all bugs before camping. Also, if this is your first-time backyard camping after shifting your home to a new place, find out if there are any snakes, bears, or raccoons nearby. These animals can endanger our lives, so it is imperative to take precautionary measures.
For newcomers to camping, backyard camping may be the ideal practice if they can maintain the etiquette of actual camping. Also, it’s really fun for people of any age because you get the taste of adventure right out of the house. Among the many camping activities, the experience of enjoying the starry sky right is indescribable. Do keep in mind to maintain the camping discipline. But the most important thing rule to keep in mind while backyard camping is to have FUN!
William Arrovo seeks thrills and laughter in everything he comes across. He is a fun loving person with a zest of exploring the breathtaking places around the globe. He feels content in sharing his experiences of travelling to various countries. He is grateful about enriching himself with a myriad of cultures and rejuvenating his soul while staying outdoors.
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