Winter Camping

Here’s the situation:

It’s winter
It’s a long weekend
There’s a camper van outside on the street

I mean, what would you do?

The answer is… go WINTER CAMPING!

This weekend was our first weekend staying at a campsite in the van. It was also our first time winter camping- ever!

When Erin was younger, she camped with her family in a pop up camper, and also with her girl scout troop. Mo’s camping experience includes staying in a tent in the backyard… before getting scared in the middle of the night and going inside (also when she was younger, if there were questions about that).

We both also have lots of band camp experience. Does that count?

In summary, all of you seasoned campers out there have much more experience than us when it comes to staying at campgrounds. Since neither of us had ever booked a campsite on our own, it felt good to go ahead and do it in the winter when there aren’t many people around. It gave us a chance to explore the territory and figure some things out on our own.

Here’s what we’ve enjoyed about it so far:

Since we’re one camper out of the very few that are out here, we have prime pick of the spots. Looking out your rear windows over a lake and beautiful snow covered trees isn’t so bad!
The seclusion. It’s peaceful and quiet, and we can take walks around the grounds or on nearby trails without really seeing anyone at all. We’re sure we’ll end up meeting lots of people when the grounds are more occupied, but for now during the ongoing pandemic, being able to keep to ourselves is a plus.
We had our Espar D2 Heater installed a few months ago. This thing has been amazing. It’s quiet, runs off of DC power, uses very little fuel (it can run for 24 hours off of 1 gallon of diesel), and it keeps us warm and toasty inside the van when the temps go down.
We’ve been able to plug in and utilize the campsite electricity, unlike our summer trips when we relied entirely on solar power. Getting the extra electricity has been great because we’ve been able to cook warm meals in our electric Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven. (If you have any favorite air fryer recipes or tips, send them our way!!)
Not necessarily a good thing, but when it’s snowy outside, you’re definitely going to trek in water and mud. This has been a good learning experience for us. We’ve not only had to figure out how to handle bringing our wet shoes/boots inside, but have also had to figure out how to deal with Harvey’s show-caked paws. Dog tip: coax him into the shower with treats, then take a hairdryer to him (another plus of having extra electricity!).
The nature is amazing. There’s something to be said for looking out the window in the morning and seeing two deer walk by, or a fresh snowfall on the ground.

Since we’re winter camping experts now, here are our 3 biggest takeaways:

3. Be prepared with warm clothes, lots of blankets, and your favorite hot drinks. A fluffy dog to snuggle with is an added bonus.

2. A good attitude goes a long way. Yes, it might be cold (or rainy, or muddy, etc), but your attitude will steer your experience and your memories.

1. Find the beauty in nature. Lots of us spend most of the winter months indoors. Take a moment to stop and recognize the beauty in the season.

P.S. We bought a new camera! Here are our favorite shots from our first winter camping trip.