Bad weather on a camping holiday can happen to anyone. You go to the Baltic Sea in August and feel like you’re in the far north of Iceland. But you can always make the most of bad weather when you have planned out your camping gear properly.
So now you’ve driven a few hundred kilometers, finally parked the mobile home or set up the tent, explored the area, and then it happened: cloudburst, thunderstorm, downpour.
Bad weather attitude: We make the best of it
First, you must overcome the five stages of processing bad weather on a camping trip: disbelief, anger, misplaced hope for improvement, despair, and sadness. That doesn’t get you any further and doesn’t make the weather better. So you work on your inner attitude first: We’ll make the best of it now.
Life sometimes goes unplanned and there is not one thing you can do about it. The beauty of camping is the flexibility. If you don’t like a place, you just move on. Is the weather forecast predicting better weather for a region not too far away? Then get up, always follow the sun!
Bad weather alternatives for outdoor activities when camping
If moving on is hopeless, then it is important to make the situation as pleasant as possible. You also have alternatives for badminton and relaxing by the lake in bad weather. You can play badminton, for example, in a sports hall, relax and swim in the swimming pool or in the nearby thermal baths. Climbing is now so popular that you will also find bouldering and climbing gyms more often.
Lack of space in bad weather on a camping holiday
Another problem is the lack of space in the caravan or tent. Bad weather can spoil your mood, especially when you are traveling with the family, the children are bored and you step on each other’s toes.
Put up a temporary roof. All you need is a waterproof tarpaulin from the hardware store, branches that you can find in the forest, a sturdy string, and at least 4 medium-heavy stones. Hammer and nails are useful, but you can also build without them.
First, you look for a place between trees that is not in a hollow or depression, otherwise, the water will run exactly where you would like it to dry.
Then you go in search of a branch that is slightly longer than the distance between the trees. You can stick the branch into the forks of the trees so that the branch between them is your first roof beam. If there are no trees available, you can also bury two branches in the ground to make them stable and keep going.
Then the roof (this will be the tarpaulin) should slope downwards from the first roof beam so that the rainwater can run off. You can do this with more branches or a taut cord. Then the tarpaulin is attached to the branch-cord structure and weighed down with the stones at the ends. More stones mean more stability.
Card and board games, books, and painting materials against bad weather during camping holidays
Draw and read in bad weather camping. If it’s raining cats and dogs and you still have a few hours to spare after a day at the pool, you can draw on arts and crafts, games, and books. A Harry Potter reading by mom at the fairy lights is wonderfully cozy – for everyone. Children who like to paint or do handicrafts can also occupy themselves for a few hours and the adults find time for themselves.
Read also: Planning Safely for Your Road Trip During COVID-19
When is bad weather bad weather?
If you have rubber boots, a rain jacket, umbrella, and tobe pants with you (and you definitely should) then a gray day is actually not that bad. You can sail boats on puddles (not the paper ones, but small wooden rafts), watch earthworms and sometimes look for mushrooms, build bridges from trunks over small streams or collect blueberries (careful, always wash up!).