Spring is in full swing - the birds are chirping, snow is melting, and adventurers are dusting off their car camping platform as they prepare for the season!
At Hele Outdoors, we make a vehicle sleeping platform that fits in almost any SUV/Truck/Van on the road. It's loved by hundreds of customers in a wide range of vehicles.
We’ve spent hundreds of hours car camping on our sleeping platform across the country and in a wide range of seasons.
One thing we learned about Spring is that not all states are quite as ripe for car camping as others.
Colorado for example is home to the beautiful Rockies, but if you go camping too early in the season you’ll likely be met with cold nights and frozen water totes if left outside.
The good news - you are car camping! Half the fun is the adventure to your location, and below we’ve listed our top 3 car camping locations worth visiting in Spring:
1. Moab, Utah
Moab is surrounded by some of the most beautiful national parks in the nation - Arches & Canyon Lands - plus a wide range of off roading trails that are suitable for beginners to experts.
The summers in this location can get pretty hot, so planning a trip in Spring or Fall is ideal.
Spring temperature can range anywhere from 85 at the high and 35 at the low.
It’s an awesome place to go car camping, especially if you appreciate dispersed campsites that give you a true sense of freedom.
A few Springs ago, we did a trip through the White Rim Trail - I’d highly recommend it to anyone with a high clearance vehicle.
Make sure to pack safety/recovery gear as the trail takes you far from civilization. We took 2 days to do the full trail and only saw 3 other vehicles along the way.
If you need a better way to manage the storage of your gear or supplies in your vehicle - make sure you are elevating your sleeping platform!
The Hele Box car camping platform is a system that will work in just about any vehicle, making it the perfect choice for someone who doesn’t want to build their own sleeping platform or needs a platform that can fit multiple vehicles.
2. Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree is another stunning desert landscape that provides its own unique flare.
Temperatures are moderate in Spring, and just like Moab, things heat up in the summer.
The Hidden Valley, Keys View, and Jumbo Rocks are a few notable sites worth seeing.
Fun fact: Joshua trees, despite their name, are actually a species of yucca, not trees. They’re named after a biblical figure Joshua by settlers who felt the direction of the limbs guided them
3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina
We haven’t made it to this national park yet - but it’s at the top of our list for a visit in Spring/Fall.
This mountain range doesn’t peak much higher than 6,000ft and with its geographical positioning on the southeastern section of the US, it warms up much faster than other US mountain ranges.
The Smoky’s are in vegetation and wildlife, making it an awesome park to spot wildlife(deer, black bears) and visit epic sites like Laurel Falls.
The Smoky Mountains get their name from the hazy blue mist that naturally occurs over the valleys.
It’s also a great place to visit in Fall thanks to its lush forests with vibrant foliage.
If you are just getting started in your car camping journey and want more advice on sleeping platforms, what to pack, or how to find dispersed campsites - take a browse through our Car Camping Guide.
Safe travels!
1 comment
could you let me know when the duo becomes available?