How to Plan Your First Backpacking Trip

Planning your first backpacking trip is straightforward if you work backward from your target date. Without a timeline, you'll miss permit deadlines, lose campsite reservations to others, and end up stressed the night before departure. A simple framework keeps you organized and actually lets you enjoy the anticipation.

3-4 Months Before

This is where you do the foundational research. Pick your destination and trip length—first trips should be one to two nights over a weekend. Look for areas with good beginner trails, established campsites, and reliable water sources.

Check if the area requires permits or has campsite reservations. National parks, wilderness areas, and popular state parks often book out months in advance. Some use first-come, first-served systems. Others use lottery systems. Find out which and mark calendar reminders.

Research the specific trails you're considering. Read recent reviews on AllTrails or regional hiking sites. Distance, elevation gain, water availability, and crowd levels matter. A 5-mile trail with 2,000 feet of elevation gain isn't a beginner walk. Neither is a 10-mile flat trail if you haven't trained. Be honest about fitness level.

6-8 Weeks Before

Book your campsite or confirm permit information. If your area uses a lottery, enter it. If it's first-come, set a phone reminder for the exact booking window and book immediately when it opens. Have two or three backup dates ready in case your first choice fills.

Start gathering or buying gear if you don't have it. Order online if needed—avoid last-minute expeditions to REI with shipping deadlines. Test anything you're borrowing. A friend's tent you've never used is not something to discover has issues on your first trip.

Plan your actual route in detail. Mark water sources on a map or download offline maps to your phone. Know the exact trailhead, parking situation, and how early you need to arrive to get a spot. Check if parking fills up on weekends.

2-3 Weeks Before

Confirm all details with people going with you—meeting time, logistics, and expectations. If someone has never backpacked, be clear about what the trip involves: you'll be tired, sleep will be uncomfortable, everything takes longer than normal.

Check the weather forecast starting this week. You won't know the exact conditions until closer to the date, but this gives you the general pattern for your season and region. If you're going to alpine elevation in summer, watch for afternoon thunderstorms. Spring trips in the desert might see cold nights. Adjust your gear list accordingly.

Verify your permits or reservations are confirmed. Call or check online. Confirmation emails get lost. You don't want to arrive at a trailhead to discover your spot doesn't exist.

10 Days Before

Finalize your food and fuel. Simple meals work: instant oatmeal and energy bars for breakfast, trail mix and jerky for lunch, freeze-dried meals or instant rice for dinner. Count calories. A 20-mile backpacking trip burns 3,500-4,500 calories. Underfueling leads to bonking hard and misery.

Get a detailed weather forecast three to five days out. Once it's this close, the forecast stabilizes. Adjust your gear: Is rain likely? Do nights drop below freezing? Are you going high elevation with altitude impacts?

Test all your gear if you haven't already. Set up your tent in your yard. Test your stove and cook a meal. Fill your water filter and see if it actually works. Run through your headlamp. Don't learn your gear doesn't work at the trailhead.

3-5 Days Before

Pack everything and do a shake-down. Put your pack together completely. Pick it up and walk around. Does it feel balanced? Is anything digging in? Can you actually carry this distance?

Weigh your pack with all food and water. Most beginners aim for 20-25 lbs base weight. With food and water for two days, expect 30-35 lbs total. If it's over 40 lbs, cut things. Creature comforts matter less than your knees and back surviving the trip.

Check vehicle logistics. Do you have gas? Are you carpooling and need to coordinate pickup times? Is the trailhead two hours away or four? Account for sleep if you're driving early morning.

Night Before

Pack your backpack completely and set it by the door. Lay out clothes and anything you'll need for the morning drive. Set alarms and give yourself a buffer. If you need to leave at 6 AM, wake at 5:15.

Get good sleep. You'll be tired enough on the trail without starting exhausted.

Key Decisions

Where Should You Go?

Pick a location within 3-4 hours of home if possible. You'll spend less time driving and have backup options if something goes wrong. Avoid extreme environments for your first trip—no desert solo, no glacier crossings, no high altitude requiring acclimatization.

Choose somewhere with established trails and campsites. This removes navigation stress and site-finding stress. A well-marked trail with a designated campground is your friend on trip one.

How Many Days?

One night, two days is ideal. You experience everything about backpacking without committing to five days of discomfort if it's not for you. The logistics are simpler. You can figure out what gear actually works without being stuck with wrong choices for a week.

Solo or Group?

For your first trip, bring one other person. Solo is confidence-building but risky if something goes wrong with no one there. Groups of 4+ get logistically messy—coordinating schedules, site availability drops, and communication breaks down. One friend is ideal. You have company, help if you need it, and flexibility.

What Season?

Late spring through early fall offers the widest margin for error. You don't need specialized winter gear. Weather patterns are more forgiving. Winter and shoulder seasons work, but they demand more experience with weather, water availability, and gear limitations. Start in summer or early fall.

Things That Go Wrong

Permit or reservation confirmation fails. Call the agency managing the area directly. Confirm by phone, not just email. Have a backup destination ready.

Weather turns worse than forecast. You packed for the worst case, right? Check the forecast two days out and finalize your decision. If conditions look genuinely dangerous, postpone. A trip canceled is better than an emergency evacuation.

Someone backs out. Know your group's commitment level. A day before departure is not the time to find out. Confirm interest frequently as the trip approaches.

You packed wrong and the pack is too heavy. You tested it. If you underestimated and it's genuinely unmanageable, drop non-essentials at the trailhead. A lighter pack is worth dumping snacks or the nice camp stove you brought.

The Day Before Strategy

Plan what time you'll arrive at the trailhead. Work backward: if you want to reach camp by 4 PM and your hike is 6 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation gain, you need about five hours plus a lunch break. Leave at 9 AM. Account for traffic. Build in a 15-minute buffer to find parking.

Fill water before the trailhead if possible. Many trailheads have no water. Bring extra or know exactly where the first reliable source is on your route. Don't start a hike without water.

Tell someone who's not going where you'll be and when you expect to return. Text them when you're back safely. It's the responsible move even for established trails.

Final Checklist

• Permit or campsite reservation confirmed
• Gear tested and functioning
• Food and fuel planned and purchased
• Pack weight verified (under 35 lbs with food and water)
• Route researched with water sources marked
• Vehicle fueled and time-tested to trailhead
• Weather forecast checked
• Someone knows where you're going and when you return
• Headlamp batteries charged
• Phone fully charged (even though you won't have service)

Proper planning removes the chaos from your first trip and lets you focus on enjoying it. You'll sleep fine, your stove will work, and you'll get back to civilization without drama. That's when backpacking actually gets fun—not on trip one, but on trip two when you know what to expect and can focus on the experience instead of logistics.