Grab the bug spray, tents and water bottles, camping season has officially begun. Of course in order to get through just one night of roughing it, you will need plenty of supplies and essentials. One of the most important items you will need aside from food and water is light. The woods can get pretty dark and secluded, so you’ll want to keep some illumination with you at all times while camping. Here are a few lighting ideas for your next camping adventure.

Flashlights 

One of the most useful tools to take on your camping trip is a flashlight. Flashlights are helpful for a number of reasons. They provide you with a steady beam of light so that you can see from a further distance. This is especially helpful when you need a more precise and narrowed angle of light. Another reason flashlights are helpful is they can be used as a form of task lighting when working on specific undertakings outdoors, such as searching for wood to start a fire, cooking, reading at night, or even night time walking or hiking. A few of the deciding factors you will want to pay attention to when selecting a flashlight are runtime, light output and durability. A less expensive flashlight, such as a typical incandescent, may not be as durable to elements such as water, and the light output or brightness may also be less intense. While camping, you’re probably going to want to get the most out of your flashlight. Consider choosing an LED flashlight. Not only do they last longer, meaning you will get more lumen life out of your LED flashlight, but they are often easier to adjust, and more impact and water resistant. For example, if it begins to rain or you drop your flashlight on the concrete during an evening hike you want to ensure that it is still capable of working.

Lanterns 

Toasting s’mores, roasting hot dogs and telling spooky ghost stories around the beautiful glow of a campfire are some of the best activities to do while camping. Of course, it’s not exactly the safest thing in the world to leave your fire going before you head in for the night. To maintain illumination while camping, consider getting a lantern. Battery operated lanterns are safer than candles and campfires, because you won’t have to worry about a massive fire breaking out while you’re resting in your tent. Unlike flashlights which are mainly used for spotlights, lanterns provide you with overall illumination.  Another plus to using lanterns is, they are portable, allowing you to take them wherever you need to while camping, even hanging them inside your tent for overhead lighting When choosing a lantern, consider going for an energy-efficient LED powered lantern. Some LED lanterns can run as long as 40 hours and even have a 90 hour battery life.

Battery Operated Christmas Lights 

If you’re interested in taking a more decorative approach to your tent lighting, then consider creating your own lamp. Using a string of battery powered Christmas lights add them to a glass mason jar to create an ambient glow that lights up your tent. Battery operated LED Christmas lights can also be used for other things while camping. For example, get really creative and use a strand to decorate the outside or inside of your tent for additional lighting.  You can also hang the lights around the opening of your tent.

Who doesn’t enjoy starting up a bonfire while camping? Unfortunately, when the camping grounds are too dry, you’re not always permitted to start a fire. That doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy an amazing campfire glow. Using a string of battery operated lights, either warm white or pure white, wrap the strings into a circle. Now, gather medium to large sized rocks, and place them around the string of lights. Next, grab a few medium sized, short sticks and place them upwards between the rocks and lights. Add a few more rocks to make sure the sticks are sturdy then flip the on/off switch to your string lights and watch your false flamed campfire come alive.

Glow Sticks 

When camping, glow sticks are a must. Not only are they easy to use and portable, but glow sticks are also inexpensive.  They can be used for a variety of things while camping. For example, drop glow sticks on the ground so that you can find your way back to camping grounds easier. Use a few glow sticks to mark off poisonous bushes and trees for yourself and other campers.  Bringing your pooch along, make sure he doesn’t get lost and wrap a glow stick around his collar. If you plan on going fishing, they can be used to attract fish as a lure. Of course, one of the best things about camping is playing games. Play a few games of glow in the dark kickball, glow in the dark bowling and who doesn’t love showing their skills during a ring toss?

Now that you have all of your lights together for your camping trip, the only thing left to do is pack all your other essentials, pitch a tent, get the fire kindling and enjoy nature, bugs included. What types of lights do you enjoy using on your camping trips? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. As always, drop us a line on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Instagram!