Explore Magazine

Hiking, Camping, Paddling, Cycling, Adventure — Canada's best source for Inspiring Outdoor Experiences.

SUBSCRIBE

Hate Camping? Here’s How You Can Learn to Love It by Summer

Sinead Mulhern

June 6, 2026

View from inside an orange tent showing hills, trees, and a blue sky through the tent opening.

Photo by Sinead Mulhern

I have a love-hate relationship with camping. I love the idea of it. Before each trip, I idealize it in my mind: time in nature, no cell service, crisp mornings when unzipping my tent to reveal mountain views and a still lake just after sunrise. I think about crackling campfires, scrumptious s’mores and stargazing under cozy layers. Perfect. The reality often does looks like this… plus a few less-than-ideal details. Like freezing nights or incessant tossing and turning against the cold, hard gro...

explore 45years

You're one step away from the full story.

Try ExploreNOW free for 7 days — then $9/month. Cancel anytime.

ExploreNOW members get:
- exclusive long-reads every Saturday
- monthly deep-dives
- member-only contests
- 15% off at the Explore Gear Shop
- exclusive partner discounts

Start My Free Trial

"If you’re learning to love camping by summer, I can offer advice gained from experience."

The Newsletter for Canadians Who Actually Go Outside

Join over 70,000 readers getting trail conditions, gear analysis and industry news—written by the team behind Canada’s longest-running outdoor magazine.

By providing us your email, you will be signed up to receive emails from Explore and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

READ MORE: Adventure, Camping, Summer

Sinead Mulhern

Sinead Mulhern is a freelance writer based in Ecuador. She writes about travel and outdoor adventure with her work being featured in The Toronto Star, enRoute Magazine, The Daily Beast, G Adventures and others. When not at her desk writing, she's running or hiking at altitude or exploring in Ecuador.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

hiking139202max Explore Magazine

Adventure, Gear, Summer

Summer Gear Guide: The Best Outdoor Adventure Gear for 2026

Hand-picked, tested and reviewed by the explore magazine team, here are the 13 best items for getting outdoors this summer season.

Person in a brown jacket and gray knit hat sits on a wooden park bench, with evergreen trees and snow-capped mountains in the cloudy landscape behind.

Adventure, Alberta, Summer

This Is the Best Thing I Did in the Rockies—and It’s Not What You Expect

Since then, my relationship with the Rockies has changed.

Paddleboarders glide on a glacial lake with blue ice, fringed by towering mountains and a cloudy sky in the background.

Adventure, Partner Content, Summer, Water sports

Finding His Line: Jimmy Martinello on Adventure, Family and Knowing When to Turn Back

Kids don’t float. That’s why this PFD from iconic Canadian brand Mustang Survival is a summer must-have for my family.

Two people on paddleboards glide across a calm turquoise lake, with a tree-lined shore and tall mountains in the background.

Adventure, Canadian, Editors’ Picks, Inclusivity, Summer

The Truth About Experiencing a Canadian Summer as a Third Culture Adult

As a third culture adult—British, Indian and Canadian—I’ve come to realize that summer here isn’t something I inherited.

Two people wearing life jackets and helmets push a yellow kayak through rocky rapids along a forested riverbank.

Adventure, Canoeing, Summer

The Way of the Wolf: Fat, Fast and Feral—A Recipe for a Successful Epic Canoe Expedition

In following the mantra of being ‘fat, fast, and feral,’ your dreams of completing an Epic canoe journey through the Arctic will become reality.