How Much Does It Cost to Go Camping

Ask some people and they’ll say camping is free. Ask others and they’ll say that camping costs a fortune.

So what’s the answer? How much does it really cost to go camping? Going camping in a state or national park will usually run between $15.00 and $30.00 a night. Camping in the wilderness on government-owned land can be done free of charge.

These prices don’t include the costs of camping gear though which can range from very little money spent to thousands of dollars spent. Luckily, these costs are mostly within your control so you can choose how much or how little you decide to spend on camping gear.

In the rest of this post, I’ll go over a few different examples that you can use to see how much it will actually cost you based on your particular situation. Read through the whole post or use the table of contents and skip down to read only the examples that you think might apply to you.

Table of Contents

The Cost of a Single Person Car Camping at a State or National Park

If you’re just starting out camping on your own, one of the best places to go is a state or national park. There you can learn about camping and you can learn to use your gear within the safety of a government-run park.

But what gear do you need and how much will it cost? Here is what I’d recommend you get.

Tent
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Cot
Cooler
Gas Camping Grill

I’d recommend you get a medium-size tent that can be erected with minimal setup. You can buy something as small as a 1-person backpacking tent but you won’t save much money and you’ll have much less room.

A medium sized tent will give you enough room to comfortably get dressed in which is nice. You’ll also have enough room to bring your gear into the tent as well. If it ends up raining, you’ll be especially happy that you decided to buy a bigger tent than you actually need as you’ll end up spending a lot of time in it.

If you’re on a tight budget, just buy a sleeping bag rated for the weather you’re sleeping in. If you have more to spend, consider buying something like the army sleep system. This way you’ll have more options in the future.

For more information on choosing a sleeping bag, see my detailed post titled, “How to Choose a Sleeping Bag – Everything You’ll Ever Need to Know“.

Don’t put your sleeping bag on the ground. You’ll just end up uncomfortable, cold, and possibly even wet. Get a sleeping cot and you can use it as a bench as well as a bed. This will eliminate the need to bring a camp chair or camping stool. Although if you already have a folding chair, feel free to bring that as well.

The added bonus of having a camping cot is that you’ll have a spare bed to use in your home as well as the homes of other people. Why sleep on somebody’s old couch when you now own a perfectly good folding cot?

You’ll also want to bring a cooler with you for cold drinks and food. If you already own a cooler, just bring along the one you have. If not, consider buying a marine cooler. These are usually a little more expensive but they are much more efficient at keeping ice so you’ll save money in the long run.

While you might be able to cook your food over a fire, you might not. Often-times fires are banned even at campsites with fire rings. This can be during times of drought and it can also be on days when the wind gusts are high so you never know when you might be prohibited from starting a campfire.

Bring a portable gas stove and you’ll be able to cook your food either way. These stoves don’t cost much and you’ll end up with a nice backup cooking supply that you can use at home during power outages.

The rest of the items you’ll need, you probably already have at your house. For example, you can bring pots, pans, cups, and utensils from your house. This brings the cost of car camping down in comparison to wilderness camping where you may need to buy camping specific kitchen gear.

So what will all of this cost you?

Gear

4 Person Tent – $80.00

Sleeping Bag – $45.00

Cot – $55.00

Marine Cooler – $50.00

Gas Camping Grill – $45.00

Total Cost of Gear – $275.00

Campsite Fees

$22.50 a night

Total cost for one night of camping.

$297.50

This sounds like a lot but you have to remember that once you’ve acquired your gear, you won’t have to buy it again. With each passing night of camping, the costs will go down. Here are some examples.

Cost of a weekend of camping. – $171.25 a night.

Cost of a week of camping. – $61.78 a night.

Camping one week a year for the next five years. – $30.36 a night.

The Cost of a Single Person Camping in the Wilderness

Camping in the wilderness can sometimes have a higher initial cost than car camping at a park but this will depend on how light you need your gear to be. Also, this type of camping usually doesn’t have a nightly cost associated with it so you may end up saving money in the long run.

Here is what I’d recommend you buy.

Tent
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
Backpack
Alcohol Stove
Camping Cup
Hydration Bladder
Dehydrated Food

Depending on how far you’ll be backpacking, I’d recommend going out with a one or two person tent. I personally prefer the extra comfort and space of a two-person tent so I don’t mind carrying the extra weight but your personal preference might vary.

Here is a write-up of the two-person tent that I use for backpacking and canoe camping. https://www.carandtent.com/eureka-sunriver-2-person-tent-review/

You’ll also need a sleeping bag so just choose one that meets your weather requirements as well as your backpack. You won’t have room for a cot so get a sleeping pad instead. This will help you cut down on weight and space inside your backpack.

I recommend that you bring dehydrated food to eat so that you don’t have to bring a lot of gear to cook with. Instead, just bring a small alcohol stove and a camping cup to heat up water for your dehydrated food. You can use this same cup to make instant coffee or tea.

A hydration bladder will help you carry all of this water and give you access to it while you’re hiking to your campsite. These bladders used to be quite expensive, but you can get them for less than $20.00 these days.

Gear Costs

Tent – $80.00

Sleeping Bag – $45.00

Sleeping Pad – $30.00

Backpack – $50.00

Alcohol Stove – $15.00

Camping Cup – $15.00

Hydration Bladder – $20.00

The total cost of gear. – $255.00

Food Costs

Dehydrated Food – $12.00 a day

Total cost for one night of camping in the wilderness. – $267.00

Cost of a weekend of camping. – $139.50 a night.

Cost of a week of camping. – $48.42 a night.

Camping one week a year for the next five years. – $19.29 a night.

Couples Camping at a State or National Park Costs

The great thing about couples camping is that you get to share some of your gear. This means that while the total cost to go camping as a couple may be a little higher, it will usually be lower on a per person basis.

For example, you’ll only need to buy one tent and it really doesn’t have to be any bigger than the tent you’d buy for one person to go car camping. Also, you don’t have to buy twice as many cooking stoves and lanterns either.

On top of all of this, campgrounds will almost always charge per campsite rather than per person so you’ll pay the same for your campsite regardless of whether or not it is just you or you and your significant other.

Here is what I’d recommend you get before going couples camping.

Tent
2 Sleeping Bags
1 Large Sleeping Pad
Cooler
Gas Camping Grill

If you read the section on single-person camping in a state park, you’ll notice that there are only two real differences. The first one is that you’ll want to get two sleeping bags instead of just one. Sure, you can buy a double sleeping bag that will fit two people but this will probably lead to both of you getting a bad night’s sleep. Also, if either of you ever go camping by yourselves, you’ll end up having to own and store three sleeping bags instead of just two.

The second change I’d recommend is that you go with a large sleeping pad rather than a cot. A sleeping pad will be more comfortable for two people than an air mattress or cot will be and you won’t have to deal with the noises that cots and air mattresses make each time someone moves.

Here is the price breakdown for couples camping at a state park.

Gear

4 Person Tent – $80.00

Sleeping Bag x 2 – $90.00

Large Sleeping Pad- $50.00

Marine Cooler – $50.00

Gas Camping Grill – $45.00

Total Cost of Gear – $315.00

Campsite Fees

$22.50 a night

Total cost for one night of camping.

$337.50

As you can see, a night of camping ends up only costing you $40.00 more as a couple than it did when you went alone. The difference will get even smaller as you add additional days to your camping trips.

Cost of a weekend of camping. – $180.00 a night.

Cost of a week of camping. – $67.50 a night.

Camping one week a year for the next five years. – $31.50 a night.

Couples Camping in the Wilderness Costs

Couples camping in the wilderness won’t get the same campsite cost savings but there will be some gear redundancy that can be eliminated. In the end, you’ll see that you’ll be able to save a little money on a per person basis. Also, you won’t have to carry as much gear since you’ll have two people to carry everything.

Here is what I recommend couples bring when wilderness camping.

Light-weight 3 Person Tent
2 Sleeping Bags
2 Sleeping Pads
2 Backpacks
Alcohol Stove
2 Camping Cups
2 Hydration Bladders
Dehydrated Food for Two

You could get away with bringing only a 2 person tent but I prefer the extra space that a 3 person tent has to offer. Also, if you make the right tent purchase, you’ll probably only be adding another pound to your setup and you’ll make up for that because you’re only carrying one tent instead of two and you have two people to carry it.

How you choose to split up the weight is up to you but I prefer to keep the tent in just one backpack. Some couples like to break the tent up but that really doesn’t make much sense and it increases the chances that you’ll lose a few parts of your tent. The only time I’d recommend you separate your tent into two parts is if the tent consists of two equal parts so you both get a piece of protective material.

Gear Costs

Tent – $100.00

Sleeping Bag x 2 – $90.00

Sleeping Pad x 2 – $60.00

Backpack x 2 – $100.00

Alcohol Stove – $15.00

Camping Cup x 2 – $30.00

Hydration Bladder x 2 – $40.00

The total cost of gear. – $335.00

Food Costs

Dehydrated Food – $24.00 a day

Total cost for one night of camping in the wilderness. – $359.00

Cost of a weekend of camping. – $191.50 a night.

Cost of a week of camping. – $71.86 a night.

Camping one week a year for the next five years. – $33.57 a night.

As you can see, the cost of wilderness couple’s camping is just more expensive than all of the others so far. The reason for this is that you have a higher initial cost for gear. You need two of many of the items on the list and the cost of staying at a state park is exceeded by the cost of buying dehydrated food.

On the plus side, you’ll both have backpacks that you can use for other purposes and you’ll both have hydration bladders for hiking, biking, and working out in the heat.

Family Car Camping at a State or National Park Costs

Family car camping is one of the least expensive trips you can take with your family. A family of four will pay the same campsite fee as a single person and their tent won’t even have to be that much larger.

On top of this, there are many other reasons why camping is good for families. Discover some of these reasons on our post titled, “10 Reasons Why Camping is Good for Families“.

Here is the gear I’d recommend you start with.

Large 2-Room Tent
4 Sleeping Bags
3 Sleeping Cots
2 Coolers
4-Burner Gas Camping Grill

A large two-room tent with a room divider will give you the option to separate yourself from the children or not. These tents are a bit larger and harder to set up but hopefully, you’ll have plenty of help getting it erected.

You’ll each need sleeping bags and cots. Since you’ll have a nice big tent to set up in, you can splurge and get a nice big camping cot for you and your significant other.

With four people, you’ll have a lot more food to bring out with you and you’ll have more you need to cook. I’d recommend getting two coolers instead of one giant one. This will make the coolers easier to move around and you’ll be able to separate your food from your drinks. The benefit of separating them is that your food won’t go bad because your kids ended up opening and closing the drink cooler too many times.

Here is what everything will cost you.

Gear

2-Room Tent – $250.00

Sleeping Bag x 4 – $180.00

1 Large Cot – $125.00

2 Cots for the Kids – $110.00

Marine Cooler x 2 – $100.00

Gas Camping Grill Plus Large Propane Tank – $150.00

Total Cost of Gear – $915.00

Campsite Fees

$22.50 a night

Total cost for one night of camping.

$937.50

Yes, that is one expensive night! I certainly wouldn’t recommend that you buy all of this gear just to go to a state park for one night with your family. However, you’ll see that these numbers drop quickly and you have to remember that four people get the benefits of these costs.

Cost of a weekend of camping. – $480.00 a night.

Cost of a week of camping. – $153.21 a night.

Camping one week a year for the next five years. – $49.28 a night.

After five years of family camping, you end up at a cost that averages out to $12.32 per person each night. You’d be very hard-pressed to find another form of vacation that costs less than this.

Family Camping in the Wilderness Costs

Personally, I don’t think I’d want to go wilderness camping as a family but I could see how many people could enjoy it. The costs of doing so will end up being a little more than the costs of camping in state parks but they’ll still end up being cheap at the five-year mark.

Here is what you’ll need.

Gear Costs

2 Tents – $200.00

Sleeping Bag x 4 – $180.00

Sleeping Pad x 4 – $120.00

Backpack x 4 – $200.00

Alcohol Stove x 2 – $30.00

Camping Cup x 4 – $60.00

Hydration Bladder x 4 – $80.00

The total cost of gear. – $870.00

Food Costs

Dehydrated Food – $48.00 a day

Total cost for one night of camping in the wilderness. – $918.00

$918.00 is a lot of money to spend on a one-night vacation. Of course, you probably aren’t going to be backpacking out into the forest just to spend one night there anyway.

Cost of a weekend of camping. – $483.00 a night.

Cost of a week of camping. – $172.29 a night.

Camping one week a year for the next five years. – $72.86 a night.

As you can see, the costs do drop over time and you end up at about $18.20 a person per night. This also includes food which you would have had to spend money on even if you were at home.

Final Thoughts on the Cost of Camping

If you’ve read through the numbers, it is easy to see that camping can be an incredibly economical way to vacation. However, there is an upfront cost to it and you have to camp for at least a week to bring the overall daily costs down below the costs of simply staying in a hotel for a few nights.

Also, these numbers assumed you’d only be bringing the bare minimum. There is a lot of other camping items that you can buy and purchasing camping gear can quickly become just as addicting as buying gear for any other hobby you’re passionate about.