13 Tips for Beach Camping in the Rain

Make a little sunshine in your rain with these beach camping tips to help you stay dry during your next trip!

This article details useful tips, helpful products and a few reminders to take so you can stay dry during your next beach camping adventure!

Beach Camping in the Rain

You’ve heard the horror stories from your friends and/or family: “our beach camping trip was all fun and games until…..it rained. Afterwards, everything, and we mean everything was wet. And it stayed wet! For days! How miserable!”

Nothing ruins a trip quite like being wet (when you don’t want to be wet, that is. After all, we are going to the beach). And for me, nothing ruins a trip quite like sleeping while being wet!

Wet clothes, wet sleeping bag and a wet tent are a literal nightmare. It’s happened before. But fortunately, I’m ensuring it’ll never happen again. Here’s how…

Tips for Beach Camping in the Rain: How to Stay Dry

After years of backcountry beach camping, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to help you stay dry during your next adventure! In other words, I got rained on so YOU don’t have to!

1. Set up your tent on high ground.

The first step to solving a problem is preventing it from happening in the first place. Welcome back to campsite selection 101.

Rain tends to flow downward. Also known as gravity. So when selecting your campsite, be sure to set up your tent on the highest ground in the area so the rain won’t flow by you, or puddle under you.

On the beach, this may be a small mound, hill or dune.

2. Camp above the tidal line on the beach.

It may seem obvious, but boy would you be surprised. Just think back to how many beachgoers you’ve seen set up their chairs, towels, and picnics too close to the water only to have the tides change and start washing their stuff away! It happens.

Camping is no different. If you’re camping directly on the beach, make sure you select a campsite above the tidal line. You fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves – don’t let the same waves wake you up as they crash into your tent.

3. Sleep in a hammock with an overhead cover.

NOTE: If you want a little more comfort, we suggest investing in a sleeping pad and a bug net.

4. Don’t forget to put your rain fly on your tent.

Want to lay in your tent and look up at the stars on the beach? Highly suggested! Another suggestion? Remember to put the rain fly on your tent before you fall asleep!

Those sparkling stars you were wishing upon can turn into rain clouds real quick. Literally. Don’t get rained on during the middle of the night. Use your rain fly!

5. Camp under natural tree cover.

Setting up camp under a set of trees is a wise idea to subvert the rain while beach camping. Besides, how cool would it be to camp amongst palm trees and tropical forests?

6. A rain jacket and pants are your best friends.

I get laughed at every time I break out my trusty rain pants. People find it excessive, for some reason. But when all said and done and I’m the only one dry, who’s laughing now?

A good backpacker, and beach camper, always keeps a set of rain gear on them at all times. My favorite are from Columbia! Check out a few options below:

7. Bring a rain cover for your backpack.

It took all of one trip and one big storm on a beach in Texas for me to purchase a dry cover for my backpack. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING got soaked in my backpack – I couldn’t believe I hadn’t owned one until then!

8. You can never own enough dry bags.

As someone who frequently visits the ocean, whether it be on a boat or on a beach camping, dry bags are always a handy item.

Water can, and will, get anywhere and everywhere. Unless, you own a handful of dry bags, of course.

I store documents, books, electronics, clothes and anything else that needs to be dry in all of these. You can even compartmentalize your entire backpack in dry bags, if need be.

9. Use a dry bag backpack.

Or just take it a step further and make your whole backpack one big dry bag! I don’t personally own one of these but I’ve met people who exclusively use them during kayak or beach camping trips.

The only downside is the huge void of space inside. It’s like an endless pit that’s impossible to find whatever it is you need. Again, that may be a good opportunity to compartmentalize with some smaller dry bags.

10. Check the weather.

You laugh. But you’d surprised. Sometimes you’re so eager to go that you completely forgot to even check the weather.

I’ve certainly made this mistake before. *Face palm*

11. Hang an extra tarp over your camp.

I met some dude’s in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee who went full on extreme when it came to handling the rain. One of their solutions? A massive overhead tarp to hang over their entire camp. I loved it.

Since then, I purchased one for myself. Now my tent and all the surrounding outdoor space stays dry during storms! Genius.

Noah’s Tarp by Kelty is the one I use. And honestly, I haven’t had the need to buy any other brand after years of use!

12. Fix the holes in your tent!

A tent repair kit should be on your list of essential beach camping items. A hot ember? An accidental poke of the knife? You never know when a hole might puncture in through your tent!

Be prepared with a tent repair kit or as a side note: it’s 100% proven that duct tape fixes everything.

13. Light a fire!

When the rain finally cedes and all your best efforts to stay dry have failed you may find yourself in a peculiar situation. Your tent is flooded, your sleeping bag is soaked, and your socks squish a little bit when you step. But have no fear.

It’s time to light a fire and salvage what you can! Place your belongings around the fire (but not too close, of course). Or at the very least, you owe it to yourself to put those socks on a stick and roast them over the fire until they’re dry!

Happy Camping!

Beach Camping in the Rain: Final Thoughts

It’s the beach and it’s the outdoors, so obviously, some rain may come down on your parade. Now what happens next is up to you. You have two choices:

1. Let it ruin your trip because of poor planning, lack of necessary gear, or a lack of knowledge. Bummer.
2. Take the tips above seriously, arrive prepared with adequate equipment, and plan your trip ahead.

Attitude, knowledge, preparedness, and a proper set of rain gear can make a bad situation into an incredible experience!

Happy camping, explorers!