Newbie Camp Setup Guide Part 2

So once you have a shade shelter, a place to sleep that I cover in part one and my tent buying guide – the next thing is your living area, camp kitchen, and food. There are several challenges of keeping food cold, cooking your food, having a place to prepare your food and these are my suggestions for the best festival camp kitchen.

If you hate bugs and don’t like them biting you or in your food, I suggest upon arriving to your site, a back yard bug bomb and some kind of outdoor rug or ground cover. This will send all the spiders, misquotes, fleas and ticks next door. We did this one year at FireFly and it saved us.

Then set up your camp shade, tent and get ready to festival! Definitely the more tapestries and shade cloths you hang will create privacy and help to define your space. The best place to usually find these are at festivals made by festival vendors, but I found a few cool ones on Amazon that are not hand made but still will create shade and look cool.

Under my pop-up canopy, I like to set up a kitchen area sort-of in the middle (in case it rains) with a portable table. There are all kinds of options when it comes to kitchen camp setups, and these can range in price and extravagance. I’ve seen a few of the really fancy ones that require a lot of effort to set up. (Check out my Youtube video: 10 Best Pop Up Canopy Tents 2019)

In my previous post I mentioned my bin, not only is it a dry, clean place to store stuff, but it also becomes a table and some times my only cooking surface. I also like to take this folding table. it has handles, is light and easy to set up. It is six-feet long and is perfect to set up the Coleman stove and have room for a prep area. I usually store my cooler and my bin with my food and cook gear underneath. Add a pop-up hamper for a trash can and the kitchen is open.

First and foremost when I am car camping I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Coleman stove. This two-burner is the same classic stove my Dad used at our camp trips as a kid and the construction and durability of these have not changed over the years. It runs on the smaller propane canisters or you can get an adaptor to connect them to bigger tanks. This little compact stove is perfect for making coffee and cooking eggs and bacon in the morning or frying up some burgers or grilled cheese. It is super easy to operate, to clean and the fuel is not that expensive. I actually bought a 4-pack of fuel and it lasted for several years of camping and festivals.

One thing I have learned from my camping and backpacking trips always has an alternative way to cook your food, just in case. So I like to also like to use my Jetfboil Flash Camping Stove for anything that requires boiling water. It is great when I want a quick cup of coffee or tea – it boils water in 100 seconds saving time and fuel. I usually use it to make hot chocolate, instant coffee, oatmeal, or noodles. It is really perfect for those packaged camp meals. I never leave home without it when I am on a trail or car camping and it is super lightweight. The fuel for these little guys also really lasts.

For the rest of my kitchen set-up, I like to bring a couple of those 2.5-gallon jugs with the spouts and a regular gallon or two. I bought a cheap oil pan at the discount store that I use as a dishpan and I have a small 10-piece cookware mess kit. I always fill up my Coleman 5-Gallon Solar Shower and use the hot water to wash dishes or myself.

For the living area of my camp, I always bring at least one chair. Personally, I find those regular folding chairs really uncomfortable. This is the most comfortable folding chair that I have found that is under $50 and has an ok weight. Not necessarily a backpacking chair, but I really prefer this construction to those polyester/metal frames folding chairs that are so common. The seat is more sturdy and has more support. Then add a folding table, a few Luci lights and these LED lights to set the mood and now we are seriously festival GLAMPING!

Preparing now and starting to gather all the items that you will need to be comfortable just takes a little planning. I created a downloadable/printable PDF Camp Planning Checklist for everyone as you are getting your gear together. Less is more so don’t overpack – I try to fit most of my essential gear into one bin.

Top 10 Must-Have Festival Gear From Amazon:

#1 Jetboil Flash Camping Stove Cooking System

#2 Coleman Classic Propane Stove

#3 Luci Outdoor 2.0 – Inflatable Solar Light

#4 Coleman 5-Gallon Solar Shower

#5 WELLAX Ultralight Air Sleeping Pad

#6 Waterproof Portable Solar Power Bank

#7 BEARZ Waterproof Blanket Pocket Blanket

#8 Hydration Backpack Pack With 2L Water Bladder

#9 ULTRA COOL 1.5 Liter Personal Water Mister Spray Bottle

#10 Gold Bond Chafing Defense Anti-Friction

Stay turned Part 3 will include some of my favorite festival snack ideas, food prep suggestions, and recipes. I am also working on an Insiders Guide so be sure to like my page on FB, Instagram, and subscribe to my YouTube for festival updates, new blogs and more music festival gear tips!

Cheers!

~Wren

Newbie Camp Setup Guide Part 2