My childhood memories of camping are far from pleasant. Until last summer, the word “camping” reminded me of swatting at pesky mosquitoes, sweating profusely in a too-small tent and surviving off hotdogs — and I hate hotdogs.
It wasn’t until my sister and our boyfriends spent a weekend at Raccoon Lake in Indiana that my whole worldview flipped upside down. I discovered that I am, in fact, a lover of camping. Here’s why.
Disconnection with my phone
After listening to Emma Chamberlain’s podcast episode on her “dopamine detox," I decided to leave my phone at home and spend the weekend away from the internet. Although we only spent a couple days at the campsite, I left feeling so much calmer and mentally refreshed. I was able to fully appreciate the blues of the lake and the greens of the trees without worrying about getting the perfect, aesthetically pleasing picture of everything for social media or wondering what my friends were posting on Instagram.
I know that ditching your phone on vacation isn’t very practical, but a short camping trip is the best opportunity to do so. There aren’t any flight tickets or hotel bookings that demand you to keep your phone attached, and a camping trip can be as short as a day so you don’t miss out on too much work or school-related messages.
Connection with nature
With just a tent and a campfire in the woods, camping allows you to be completely immersed in nature. I think connection with nature goes hand in hand with being disconnected from a phone, because the distraction of social media is gone.
Camping also forces you to learn valuable outdoor skills, such as starting a fire, pitching a tent, preparing food and staying safe from animals. A lesson that our weekend trip taught me is the importance of properly storing your food overnight, because we woke up to find a crime scene: raccoons had ravaged through everything we’d failed to secure. Not even the plastic from the marshmallow bag was spared.
Fortunately, I learned from that experience, and I know how to be more prepared for my next camping trip.
Activities
Another thing I love about camping is the variety of activities available and the benefits they provide. On the trip, I spent all day paddleboarding and swimming in the lake, soaking up the sun and spent the evenings walking through the woods.
Swimming and walking are both beneficial forms of exercise that are easy on the joints and can strengthen the heart, while getting in sunlight can boost your mood and immune system. Combined, these activities can help guarantee an excellent summer day spent outdoors.
Other activities you can do while camping can include horseback riding, fishing, hiking, archery, bird watching and more.
Affordability
Compared to most other vacations, camping is far more affordable. While hotel rooms or Airbnb’s can cost hundreds per night, Indiana camping fees for primitive sites are only $12 per day. Entry to hiking trails and lakes is also free.
If you’re on a budget, you can purchase affordable foods to cook over the fire, such as hotdogs or ramen. Homemade trail mix and deli sandwiches are more affordable options as well. You can also opt for bringing premade meals to save time and energy at the campsite.
Accessibility
As well as being much more affordable than other kinds of vacations, campgrounds are also widely accessible. In Indiana, there are 24 state parks that hold nearly 8,000 campsites.
At many campgrounds, there are varying levels of difficulty in hiking trails, ranging from easy to extremely difficult, which ensures that no matter your experience level, you can enjoy what the parks have to offer. Other benefits of most campgrounds include easy access to parking and navigation, restrooms, paved paths and picnic tables.
If you are hesitant about a camping trip or have had a negative experience, I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and take another shot at camping, as I did. A year ago, I would have never been interested in going on a camping trip, and now I’m planning my next one.
For more information on Indiana campgrounds, visit the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
