Camping in the rain: how to stay dry and keep morale up

The rain has arrived and you are already pitched up. Good news: a wet camping trip is mostly a matter of discipline, not luck. Keep one dry zone and one wet zone, never let soaking kit into your sleeping area, and stay warm and fed, and a rainy weekend becomes a cosy one rather than a miserable one.

This is the at-camp guide: how to live in the rain once it is falling, not what to pack before you leave. If you are still at home sorting your kit list, start with our sibling guide to preparing and packing for rain. For the bigger picture of when to expect this, see camping in British weather, season by season.

It is the wet-weather guide from Camping Sites in Britain, where you can find and compare campsites, caravan parks and glamping across the UK.

Pitch and live in two zones: wet porch, dry inner

The single rule that keeps a rainy trip bearable is separating wet from dry. Treat the porch or vestibule as your wet zone and the inner tent as your dry sanctuary, and defend the line between them.

Rig a tarp over the door before you settle in. A tarp pitched at a slight angle over the entrance gives you a dry porch to cook under, take boots off in and stand out of the rain without letting it into the tent. Angle it so water runs off to one side, well away from the doorway, and pitch it high enough to cook safely under with a stove kept clear of the fabric. This dry porch is the difference between a cheerful trip and a damp one.

Do not touch the inside of the flysheet. When the outer fabric is wet, any point you press from inside breaks the surface tension and draws water straight through to the drip on you. Keep bags, sleeping mats and elbows off the flysheet, and if the inner tent is sagging against the outer, retension the guylines rather than pushing the fabric back.

Manage condensation with ventilation

Most "leaks" on a wet night are actually condensation, and the fix is airflow. Breathing, wet kit and cooking all release moisture that condenses on the cold inner face of the flysheet, so a sealed-up tent gets wetter inside, not drier.

Open the vents at both ends, crack the door zip an inch under the tarp, and never cook inside the inner tent. A little breeze through the tent carries the damp air out before it settles on your sleeping bag. If you wake to droplets overhead, it is condensation, so ventilate rather than sealing everything tighter.

Boot and wet-gear discipline

Wet boots and waterproofs live in the porch, full stop. The fastest way to soak your dry zone is to crawl into the inner still wearing dripping kit, so build a hard habit of shedding it at the threshold.

Take waterproof jacket and trousers off in the porch and hang them there. Leave boots in the wet zone, upside down or on a groundsheet offcut so they do not fill overnight. Keep a dry pair of camp shoes or thick socks just inside the inner so you never step from tent to porch barefoot. Everyone in the group follows the same drill and the inner stays dry all weekend.

Drying kit without soaking your bed

You can dry small items at camp, but never bring soaking kit into the sleeping area to do it. Damp released indoors ends up in your sleeping bag, and a wet bag is what turns a cold night dangerous.

• Rig a short line under the tarp or across the porch and peg damp socks, gloves and base layers there, out of the rain but in the moving air.
• Use a microfibre towel to wring the worst out of anything before it goes on the line. It holds far more water than cotton and wrings out almost dry, so a quick mop of the tent floor or a wet head is easy to deal with.
• Use body heat for the last mile on small items. Damp socks or a hat tucked inside a dry layer overnight (not against wet skin) will be wearable by morning.
• Keep genuinely soaking kit in a dry bag or bin liner in the porch, sealed away from everything dry, and deal with it properly when the rain eases or you get home.

Keep warm, and know the early signs of hypothermia

Cold and wet together are what catch campers out, so treat warmth as the priority once you are damp. The principle is simple: get warm, get dry, get fed. Change out of wet clothes the moment you can, add insulating layers, and eat and drink something warm and sugary to give your body fuel to make heat.

Learn the early signs of hypothermia so you catch it before it becomes serious. The NHS lists shivering, pale, cold and dry skin, slurred speech, slow breathing, and tiredness or confusion as warning signs (see the NHS guide to hypothermia). If someone shows these, move them to shelter, remove wet clothing, wrap them in dry blankets or a sleeping bag, and give a warm non-alcoholic drink and sugary food if they are fully conscious.

Do not use a hot water bottle or hot bath to rewarm someone, do not rub their arms or legs, and do not give them alcohol, as all of these can make things worse. Warm them gradually, keep them awake and talking, and call 999 if they do not improve or are badly affected. For staying warm through the night specifically, our guide to how to stay warm at night goes deeper on sleeping systems.

Keep morale up: rainy-day activities

The weather is out of your hands, so the trip lives or dies on attitude. A tarp, a warm drink and a plan for the wet hours turn a washout into one of those trips you actually remember.

Pack a deck of cards or a compact board game and you have an afternoon sorted under the tarp. A good book, a flask of tea and the sound of rain on the flysheet is genuinely one of camping's quiet pleasures. If cabin fever sets in, put the waterproofs on and walk to the nearest pub for lunch, or take a proper wet-weather walk, because getting out in it beats staring at the tent wall. Kids especially do better with a puddle mission than with an enforced sit-still. Embrace it rather than fight it and the rain stops being the enemy.

Safety when the weather turns serious

Heavy or prolonged rain is a genuine hazard, not just an inconvenience, and the biggest risks are flooding and lightning. Read the ground and the sky, and be ready to move.

Avoid pitching on low ground, in dips or on dry riverbeds and gravel bars, because water collects there and rivers rise fast after upland rain, sometimes when it is not even raining where you are. If a nearby river or stream is climbing, or ground water is pooling around the tent, pack up and move to higher ground before it becomes urgent. In a thunderstorm, get off exposed high ground and away from isolated trees, and shelter in a hard-topped vehicle or building rather than the tent, which offers no protection from lightning. A campsite with good drainage and a warden keeping an eye on conditions is worth a lot in bad weather, and you can find one on our directory of campsites across Britain. In hot spells the opposite problem applies, and our guide to keeping your tent cool covers that.

Frequently asked questions

Why does water come through my tent when I touch it?

Touching the inside of a wet flysheet breaks the surface tension holding water on the outer fabric and draws it through to where you pressed. Keep bags, mats and elbows off the flysheet, and retension sagging guylines rather than pushing the fabric back.

How do I stop condensation in my tent when it rains?

Ventilate. Most damp inside a tent on a wet night is condensation, not a leak. Open the vents at both ends, crack the door under a tarp, and never cook inside the inner. Moving air carries the moisture out before it settles on your kit.

Can I cook under a tarp in the rain?

Yes, and it is the best way to cook in wet weather. Pitch the tarp high and at an angle so water runs off to one side, keep the stove well clear of the fabric, and never cook inside the inner tent or a closed porch because of carbon monoxide risk.

How do I dry wet clothes while camping in the rain?

Rig a line under the tarp or in the porch, wring items out with a microfibre towel first, and use body heat overnight for small things like socks. Never bring soaking kit into the sleeping area, as the moisture ends up in your sleeping bag.

Is it safe to camp during heavy rain?

Usually, if you pitch on well-drained high ground and avoid dips, riverbanks and dry watercourses that can flood. Rivers rise fast after upland rain. Move to higher ground if water pools around your tent, and shelter in a building or car during lightning.

What are the early signs of hypothermia?

Shivering, pale, cold and dry skin, slurred speech, slow breathing, and tiredness or confusion, according to the NHS. Get the person warm, dry and fed, wrap them in dry layers, give warm sugary drinks if conscious, and call 999 if they do not improve.

The short version

Keep a wet porch and a dry inner, never touch the flysheet or bring soaking kit to bed, and stay warm, dry and fed. Read the ground for flooding, get off high ground in a storm, and keep the games and the flask handy for morale. Do that and the rain is just weather. Find a well-drained pitch on our campsite directory, or read up on camping in British weather, season by season.