5 simple camping safety tips

Campsites are generally pretty safe, but there a few things you can do to ensure your safety.

These five tips will help you protect yourself so you can have a safe and worry-free camping experience.

Most of the time, camping will be a fun adventure and a good opportunity to bond with friends and escape the hectic city life for a little while. It is very rare, but in some cases people can run into different types of trouble when camping.

It’s never a good idea to go camping alone. Travelling with friends is the single most effective way for you to stay safe. You never want to find yourself in trouble and far from home with nobody else in sight to help you.

• Sometimes you may not even have cell phone reception in the area of your campsite. With friends around, you can help and protect each other from the dangers that you could encounter on your camping trip.

Before you decide on a campsite, you should always do a little bit of research before you get there.

• If it’s hunting season and you’re camping on designated hunting grounds, you are putting yourself at risk.
• Even if you’re not on hunting grounds, it’s a good idea to wear reflective gear just in case someone decided to go hunting illegally in your territory.

A first aid kit is essential for any type of camping trip. If you or someone you are camping with gets hurt, you will probably be pretty far from the nearest hospital or walk-in clinic.

• Check your kit before you leave to make sure you have everything you need and that you are well-stocked with first aid supplies for you and your friends.

Bears are unpredictable and it can be scary running into them in the wild. You may have heard that playing dead and banging pots and pans will do the trick, but you should never rely on that.

• Bears can attack you if they feel threatened and it’s a good idea to protect yourself with can of bear spray to scare them away if you encounter them.
• You can find bear spray at your local adventure store for a fairly reasonable price.

Everyone wants to have fun on a camping trip, and by taking some precautions ahead of time you'll have a great time and stay safe.