Set Up a Safe Camp
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What you will learn
- 1Choose flat, slightly raised ground for a camp
- 2Look up and around for dangers before setting up
- 3Explain why a camp never goes in a dry stream bed or right by a river
- 4Lay out the sleeping, cooking, toilet, and water areas in safe places
Mini Lesson
A good camp is not just where you stop walking. It is a spot you choose carefully, with a place for every job: sleeping, cooking, getting water, and going to the toilet. Picking the right spot keeps you dry, warm, and safe all night. A few minutes of looking before you unpack can save you from a soggy, windy, or dangerous night.
🌿 The Wild Way (pick the spot with your eyes first)
- FLAT AND A LITTLE HIGH: pick flat ground that is slightly raised, so rain runs away from you instead of pooling under your tent.
- LOOK UP: check the trees above for dead branches, called widowmakers, that could fall in the wind. Never sleep under them, and never climb or shake a tree to test them.
- NO DRY STREAM BEDS: never camp in a dry stream bed or right beside a river. Rain far away can send a sudden flash flood rushing through.
- AWAY FROM WATER: set camp well back from lakes and streams - about 60 big steps - to stay safe and keep the water clean.
- SHELTER FROM WIND: use a big rock, a slope, or a line of bushes to block the wind, but stay out of hollows where cold air and water collect.
- SET UP BEFORE DARK: arrive early enough to set up and learn where everything is while you can still see.
🗺️ A Place for Every Job
- SLEEPING AREA: tents go on the best flat, raised ground, safe from falling branches.
- COOKING AREA: a spot away from the tents and downwind, so smoke and sparks blow away from where you sleep.
- FOOD STORAGE: keep all food packed up and stored away from the sleeping area, so animals are not drawn to your tent.
- WATER COLLECTION: one easy, safe spot at the edge of the stream or lake where you fill bottles.
- TOILET AREA: even further away from water and from camp than everything else, and downhill from your water spot.
- FIRE SPOT: an adult chooses and sets the fire spot - on bare ground, away from tents and overhanging branches.
This is a grown-up-led lesson. A grown-up chooses the campsite, checks the trees, and is always in charge of the fire spot and any stove. Never camp in a dry stream bed or right by a river - a flood can come with no warning. If you see a dead branch hanging above your tent, tell a grown-up, who will move the tent.
Words to know
campsite
The place you choose to set up your tents and spend the night.
widowmaker
A dead branch or tree that could fall in the wind. Never camp under one.
flash flood
A sudden rush of water, often after rain far away, that can fill a dry stream bed fast.
downwind
The side the wind blows toward. Cook downwind so smoke blows away from the tents.
raised ground
Ground a little higher than the land around it, so rain runs away instead of pooling.
layout
How the sleeping, cooking, food, water, and toilet areas are placed around camp.
🧠 Survivor’s Trick: before you unpack, lie down on the spot where you want to sleep. If you roll, feel lumps, or see dead branches when you look straight up, pick another spot. Your back - and your safety - will thank you.
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