Review: Winter Camping For Beginners

Winter camping is not something I ever saw myself wanting to do. And yet, at some point last year I found myself realizing that I wasn’t prepared to go all winter without camping. After years of long days in ice huts I have to admit to feeling at least somewhat prepared to camp during the winter, but when I saw that Camper Christina was offering a Winter Camping for Beginners course, I jumped at the opportunity to learn more.

If you don’t follow Camper Christina on YouTube or social media, you really should. I love watching the videos from her solo trips and she’s been a big influence on me wanting to do even more camping trips, no matter the time of the year.

Winter Camping for Beginners is hosted on Udemy and was $29.99 CAD when I signed up for it. Even if it had been $40 or $50 I would say it’s a bargain for getting all this information in one place.

The course is video based and broken down into all the topics you need to get started, like the differences between hot camping and cold camping, shelters, how to setup your sleeping area, recommended gear, food, water, and hygiene. The sections are well-organized and each video is short and concise, a real bonus for me because I struggle to stay focused on long videos. With the way it was organized I could easily watch a whole pile of videos at once, or just one or two when I only had a few minutes.

I tend to be a book learner but when it comes to setting up camp I really enjoy seeing the process. Christina does a wonderful job of showing you how to do the things she’s talking about. Yes, you could search out this information of You Tube, but having the videos all in one spot means you don’t miss anything, and the personal stories shared really help you to understand why doing it that way works.

Winter Camping for Beginners is geared towards frontcountry camping – places where you have a campsite and car access, like many campgrounds in provincial parks and some conservation areas. As is emphasized throughout the course, this is the best way to try out winter camping and see if it’s something you want to do more of. I really appreciated Christina’s outlook on renting gear, or buying cheaper options, until you know if this activity is for you.

One of my favourite tips in the course was to use paper plates when winter camping and burn them at the end of the meal. It really beats trying to do dishes in the cold weather. We’ve camped in below freezing temps in the fall several times and cleaning up after meals is such a pain if you don’t get to it quickly!

If you’re thinking about going winter camping, or want to have a more enjoyable winter camping experience than you have in the past, learn from an experienced winter camper and check out this course. I highly recommend it.

Find the course here.

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argosgirl

Sporadic blogger and sometimes podcaster who loves fishing, the outdoors, hanging with her animals, gardening, and reading manga.

Latest posts by argosgirl (see all)

argosgirl

Sporadic blogger and sometimes podcaster who loves fishing, the outdoors, hanging with her animals, gardening, and reading manga.

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2 Responses

  1. John says:

    I’m getting too old these days to participate in any adventures away from the comfort of my own bed, but when I’ve got that itch to camp out vicariously through others, I watch “Lost Lakes” on YouTube…or visit here.

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