By Joe Mosby

With a little forethought and a check of weather forecasts, a camping trip this time of the year can be enjoyable right along with being unique  — something different.

There is no real reason to limit camping to summer or even to spring, summer and fall. One favorable factor in winter camping is you won’t have trouble finding a site, but keep in mind that some campgrounds are closed or sections of some of them are closed in the low-use period.

Let’s narrow the focus here on what can be a broad topic. Snow and ice camping? No, that’s out, at least to nearly all of us. We’re looking at 30- to 50-degree weather for our winter camping. And let’s look at tent camping, not vehicle or trailer camping, which need no special considerations beyond checking to see if the heater is working.

Let’s assume you are friends with your tent, meaning you’ve set it up and taking it down a few times. Most tents these days have floors, but take along a piece of carpet for a door mat. Winter camping often means muddy shoes. Wipe them off on the carpet just outside the tent door.

You may sleep on a cot in warm weather outings, but a drawback is cold air circulates under a cot. A sleeping bag on a pad on the ground may be a better choice for winter campers. Be sure there is at least one layer between your sleeping bag and the ground, and two layers are preferable. Example: Tarp, foam pad, sleeping bag. A handful of newspapers can be used instead of the tarp. So can a couple of plastic trash bags. If your sleeping bag isn’t the cold weather type, fold a fleece throw or a light blanket inside the bag. This will make it much warmer on a cold night.

Still prefer a cot? Cover it with a blanket that drapes to the floor. Then put your bedding or sleeping bag on top of this blanket.

Sleep in something warm but not the clothes you’ve worn all day. A sweatshirt and pair of sweat pants make good chilly weather sleepwear. Wear a pair of socks and a stocking cap or toboggan. Again, don’t use the same socks you’ve worn during the day. The sweats, socks and knit cap will mean a decent night’s sleep even on cold, not just chilly, nights.

We will get some argument on this point, but don’t use a heater inside a tent. The possible disadvantages outweigh the advantages. There is danger with fire inside a tent. There is danger with carbon monoxide. Heat produces condensation, moisture, inside a tent. A wet drip on you and your clothing during the night isn’t pleasant.

If your tent is equipped with a rain fly, use it even if the night is clear. It is an extra layer between you and the cold air above the tent.

Keep a flashlight inside the tent, one that you checked the batteries before leaving home. Battery-operated lanterns are fine, too, but propane or gasoline lanterns in a tent fall into the same category as heaters.

Winter camping means a campfire. Give some thought to starting that fire without undue hassle. A butane fireplace lighter is extremely handy, and it’s much more reliable than matches in damp conditions. Save the lint from your clothes dryer at home and store in a zipper-type bag for camping trips. Lint is excellent for starting fires and so are newspapers.

Cover your supply of firewood with a tarp or a plastic trash bag. Just the moisture from dew can make wood slow to burn.

Get things ready for the next morning before you go to bed.

It’ll be cold when you have to dress, so have underwear, shirt and pants close at hand. Have the coffee pot ready to go on the fire or stove. But keep the food items inside your vehicle, not in your tent. There are bears that nose around a good many camping places in Arkansas.

Take some extras on this winter camping trip — extra blanket or two, one more change of clothes than you think you’ll need. Things have a way of getting damp or wet, and dry clothes are a must when it’s chilly.

You may have a favorite state park, a familiar Corps of Engineers campground of other spot for a winter camping trip. You may choose to go somewhere new.

Save a possible problem or disappointment by making a phone call before leaving home. See if that destination is open. Sometimes a campground is open in winter, but its bathhouses and water supply are closed.
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Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas’ best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com.