If you have have never been camping before, or maybe have purchased new “equipment”, setting up a camp for the first time can be a daunting task. You can avoid unneeded stress and anxiety by making sure you know how to use your gear before your first camping trip at KL Ranch Cliffside. Here are a few tips on practicing at home before you set out on your first camping trip.

Practice Setting Up Your Tent
A trial run of how to put your tent together is always helpful, especially if you will be setting it up by yourself. If you have a yard or outdoor space, practice setting your tent up there. If no, find a place in your home or apartment with plenty of room to practice. Most tents come with instructions of how to set it up; however, we recommend searching YouTube for an informative video. It’s a great resource for video tutorials. You could always have a trial campout in your backyard for a night!

Check Your Batteries at Home
There isn’t anything much worse than pulling out camping equipment, such as a lantern or headlamp, only to realize it’s not working due to batteries being dead (or missing) or barely working due to dying batteries. Test your batteries ahead of time to avoid this unfortunate mistake! If testing lighting devices be sure to wait until night so you can see the true brightness. Turn off all lights and then turn on each lantern or headlamp to check the brightness. If you notice that any are dim replace the current batteries with new ones. It’s always a good idea to pack a couple of extra AA and AAA batteries just in case.

Practice Using Your Camp Stove
If you have never cooked on a portable propane stove we recommend you practice cooking on it ahead of time. Portable propane stoves require hooking up a propane tank and can cook food more quickly than what you may be accustomed to. Remember, most camp stoves do not come with propane tanks. Make sure you have plenty of propane tanks to allow for cooking while on your camping trip on River Road.