I’m so excited to share about our first primitive tipi camping experience. That’s right. Earlier in the year, I wrote about learning to camp with my dad and once he passed, I thought it was something that we would never return to.
Boy, was I wrong. An unfortunate circumstance recently brought my younger brother back from the military for a month. So, one of the things that we decided to do to get our minds off of things was to pack up everything and go camping. But, we also wanted to try something a little different than our typical weekend camping trip.
Not only did we camp at a new park which I will leave undisclosed for now, but we also experimented with primitive tipi camping. And, let me just say, this was not for us.
While we did enjoy the location of the tipi within the park and took some pretty cool photos; we quickly learned that this camping style was not for us.
From our experience, here’s what to expect tipi camping.
Tipis are 16 feet tall and made by the Colorado Yurt Co. Each tipi sleeps up to six people. There is an opening in the top to traditionally allow for the smoke from your fire to exit. Only, fires are not allowed in the tipis within the park which is totally understandable.
The base of your tipi is the ground. However, upon registering and paying you are given a tipi door flap and a tarp covering for the ground.
Keep in mind that the tarp floor covering does not extend the diameter of the tipi, so you will still be on the ground in certain areas. In addition, the tipi does not extend to the ground. This means critters are able to enter through the bottom (and top) of the tipi if they wish.
My advice would be to bring an additional tarp to cover the entire ground and perhaps even pull it up higher to prevent critters from entering from the bottom of the tipi.
If you are used to cabin camping and tent camping like we are, tipi camping may be a bit uncomfortable and a bit too primitive compared to what you are used to.
However, it is definitely worth a one night experience.
They great thing for us is that we brought our tents just in case we didn’t care for the experience. I sure am glad that we did because it gave us a more comfortable way to sleep for the night instead of being attacked by various insects, spiders, and hungry raccoons.
The first night was hilarious!
My brother and oldest son started out sleeping in the tipi while my youngest son and I slept in my brother’s personal tent. About 20 minutes into getting comfortable to get to sleep, I hear them rustling, swatting, moving, etc. The next thing I know they were piling into the tiny tent with us. Hilarious!
Although, that tent is said to be a four person tent, it’s pushing it. But, we made it. All four of us were packed tight like sardines in a can. It probably smelled like that, too. Hahaha!
By the second day, I pitched my own tent for us to have the room that we needed. Once we had our tents pitched, we were able to enjoy the actual camping experience itself.
Overall, we simply learned that this is by far so much rougher than simple tent camping.
Don’t forget to check out how I scored this plaid flannels for National Second Hand Wardrobe Day!
Have you ever camped in a tipi? What was your experience?
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