While few national parks allow for free camping, many national parks are bordered by national forest or grasslands. Drive a few minutes out of the park, pull into a quiet spot in the national forest, and enjoy the solitude. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.
Mesh panels offer ample ventilation, and a mesh drain in the shower allows quick water evacuation. If the Mineral King 3 is out of stock, or if you’d like a slightly larger tent, we recommend the Marmot Tungsten 4. The Tungsten 4 shares many of the Mineral King 3’s best features, and provides 10 square feet of additional living space as well ozark trail canopy tent as excellent weather protection—as long as you set it up properly. Like our top pick, the Tungsten 4 is a sturdy, two-door dome-style tent that can be deployed in about 5 minutes. It uses high-quality materials such as aluminum poles, breathable mesh, and water-resistant polyester fabric, and it comes with a full fly and a footprint.
Great on both touring 4×4 setups and camper trailers, our Shower Tent is ideal for those looking for a bit of extra luxury while out on the road. Useful as both a shower room and as a toilet or changing space, it can be adjusted in size so that it suits the height of your vehicle perfectly. The tent comes with everything you need to get it setup, as well as a removable floor with drain, and a velcro roof piece. A Walmart in one town may allow overnight parking, but the next town over will not. Be sure to read all posted signage and, if it is a business and they are open, go inside and ask permission from the manager.
Finding a small, light tent is the logical approach when you’re backpacking. But with car camping—the industry term for what most people consider just camping—you’ll likely be parking next to your campsite and unloading. If you won’t be carrying your tent more than a couple hundred feet, more space means more comfort (as well as more room for your stuff).
The Base Camp also offers more privacy compared with our other picks—with or without the rain fly. The Wawona 6 is more complex to set up than a classic dome-style tent like the Wireless 6, but not by much. We recommend doing it with two people, ozark trail shower tent but one person can manage in about 15 minutes. As with any free-standing tent, with this one you stake out the four corners, and then you feed the two main tent poles through the Wawona’s fabric sleeves, which go halfway down the tent’s body.
If you can afford to spend more on a family tent, we recommend The North Face Wawona 6. Everyone who tested this tent loved it, and it’s not hard to understand why. With plenty of interior space, near-vertical walls, and a gigantic vestibule that could accommodate a golf cart, the Wawona feels more like a tiny home than a tent. One night during testing, for example, clouds loomed in the distance with clear skies overhead. After we pitched the tent, the Mineral King 3’s adaptable fly let us leave half the mesh dome uncovered.