Chitra and I have been camping together since 1999. Back then I had a three-person, three-season Outbound tent I purchased in first-year university. I only recently had to throw it away because the fly was no longer taunt and waterproof. A good tent lasts a long time, unless your rescue dog runs through the screen door making a huge “Koolaid Man” hole in it (but that’s another story). That tent ended up being our winter tent after we rescued Maya and it just wasn’t large enough for longer trips.

TENTS

Through the years we have had several other tents which had built-in vestibules, which are great for storing items out of the rain and for allowing us to get into the tent in the rain without letting lots of water in, especially with dogs. These larger tents also allowed us to stand up inside, which is a wonderful thing as you get older. We had a Sierra Design tent to go to the east coast for over a month but our most recent tent is made by Eureka. We have also had a few different screen tents and have used a wide variety of tarps and tarp setups, depending on the seasons, weather, sites, and equipment we were using.

TARPS

Tarps are fantastic for creating more outdoor space that protects your gear, and protects you from either the hot sun or the rain (and snow). We carry a couple of tarp poles for those sites that don’t have trees inappropriate places or ones that are too sappy. Speaking of tarps, if you’re bringing tarps, you’re going to need rope. When choosing rope, bring enough pieces to at least tie four corners, and possibly a ridgeline. Be sure the rope ties well, doesn’t stretch and that you have a variety of lengths (too long is better than too short). We have used basic poly tarps from Canadian Tire as well as a guide tarp from MEC and our most recent purchase is a large but light Kelty tarp.

TRAILERS

In 2015 and 2016 we borrowed a Boler and a Triple-E for our summer trips, primarily because we wanted our senior dog, Maya, to be more comfortable. We also wanted to see if we were ready for a trailer and if we could camp in smaller trailers that could easily be towed and parked. We learned a lot from those two trailers and Maya definitely enjoyed the luxury of being away from the bugs and dirt of the campsite. In 2017 we found a used Microlite trailer that suited our needs and we have been thoroughly enjoying it since then. I do miss lots of things about tent camping and so we periodically still take the tent out, especially in the winter.

WINTER CAMPING

In 2020 we decided we wanted to start winter camping again so we invested in a four-season tent and an insulated, double sleeping pad. What a difference both of those things made to the comfort of camping in the winter. We do heat the tent, since all winter sites at provincial parks are electric and why suffer if you don’t have to. Winter camping is challenging but so enjoyable when there is snow on the ground and you have very few other campers on the trails or in the campgrounds.

Below you will find a gallery of many, but not all, of our tents, trailers, tarps, and other gear we have used through the years. You’ll also get to see a variety of sites at a large number of provincial parks in Ontario.

Which setup looks the best for you and your camping style?