Winter Camping Checklist: Sleep Warm, Stay Dry and Know When to Pack Up

Winter camping goes wrong from the bottom up: cold ground, a bag rated for the wrong number, and damp clothes you then have to sleep in. This checklist is for car campers and backpackers heading out below freezing, and each line links to the guide with the ratings behind it. Where we have not published a guide yet, we say what to check.

How we chose: we did not test this gear; each pick comes from one of our own guides, which compare makers' listings and spec sheets, and each was sold by Amazon.com or the brand's own store and in stock on September 29, 2026.

Before you leave home

• Read the forecast low and the wind, not just the high. The NWS wind chill chart says that at 0°F and a 15 mph wind, the wind chill is -19°F and exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.
• Pick the sleeping bag by its ISO or EN Comfort figure, not the number in its name. Our sleeping bag temperature ratings guide explains Comfort, Limit and why the name is usually the Limit.
• Check the pad's ASTM R-value. Our sleeping pad R-value guide says REI puts pads for extremely cold weather at R 5.5 or higher, and that stacked pads add.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, and carry a way to reach them.

The sleep system

• A pad stack of R 5.5 or more. An R 7.3 air pad over a foam pad is the backpacking answer; a thick self-inflating pad works from a car.
• A sleeping bag with a Comfort rating at or below the expected low. If yours falls short, wear the camp jacket inside it.
• A tent pitched out of the wind, with the door downwind and guylines out. See our tent stakes and guylines guide for snow anchors.
• A footprint if you pitch on frozen ground or rock: our tent footprints guide explains which size to buy.
• In a rooftop tent, a spacer-mesh mat under the mattress: cold nights are when condensation forms there. Our anti-condensation mats guide covers fit by tent.

What to wear

• A merino or synthetic base layer, never cotton. Our merino vs synthetic base layers guide compares fabric weights.
• A second, dry base layer that stays in a stuff sack for sleeping.
• A big insulated jacket for camp. Our down vs synthetic insulated jackets guide makes down the pick for dry cold and synthetic for wet.
• Waterproof shell pants over your layers for snow: see rain pants for hiking.
• How the layers fit together is in our layering guide for cold-weather hiking.

The CDC's winter weather advice is to wear several layers of loose-fitting clothing, and it warns that hypothermia can happen above 40°F when a person is chilled by rain, sweat or cold water. Sweat is the winter camper's problem: vent or strip a layer before you climb.

Hands, feet and head

• Mittens for camp, with liner gloves inside for fiddly jobs. Our mittens and gloves for extreme cold guide explains why mittens are warmer.
• Hand warmers, disposable or rechargeable: our hand warmers guide lists the hours each maker states.
• A warm hat and a balaclava or neck gaiter for wind on the face: our balaclavas and neck gaiters guide compares merino and fleece.
• Dry socks for sleeping, kept with the sleep clothes, and toe warmers for cold boots: see toe, foot and body warmers.
• Insulated boots or camp booties for standing around camp.

The CDC's frostbite page says redness or pain in any skin area may be the first sign. Check each other's faces, noses and ears.

Kitchen, water and power

• Cook outside the tent. The CDC's carbon monoxide page says "Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors," and a tent counts.
• Keep the fuel canister warm: in the sleeping bag at night, in a jacket pocket before cooking. Before you wrap a stove against the wind, read our camp stove windscreens guide: MSR and Jetboil forbid windscreens on stoves that screw onto the canister.
• Sleep with tomorrow's water in an insulated bottle inside the tent, so you are not melting snow before breakfast.
• For car camping, a sealed box keeps food and stove together: camp kitchen storage boxes.
• A power station for phones, lights and a heated blanket, charged in the car. LiFePO4 units are rated to charge only above freezing; Jackery's Explorer 1000 v2 spec sheet gives 32 to 113°F for charging and 14 to 113°F for use. Our portable power stations guide compares the makers' cold limits.

Getting there and back

• A shovel and traction aids for the drive in. Our recovery traction boards guide covers what the makers say about snow and cold.
• Blankets, water and food in the car in case the road closes behind you.
• Window shades if you will sleep in the car: car camping window screens and shades.
• Clear the tailpipe before you start the engine. The CDC's snow and tailpipes notice warns that if it is blocked, carbon monoxide "can build up quickly inside your vehicle, poisoning anyone inside."

When to pack up

Go home, or at least to the car, when someone is shivering hard, fumbling, confused or unusually sleepy. Those are the adult signs of hypothermia on the CDC's winter weather page. The CDC says to remove wet clothing and warm the center of the body first (chest, neck, head and groin), with skin-to-skin contact under dry blankets if that is what you have, and warm, non-alcoholic drinks. If their temperature is below 95°F, it says to get medical attention immediately.

Related: rainy camping trip checklist for wet, above-freezing trips.

Frequently Asked Questions

WildProofLab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.