15 Books to Get You Camping (Even If Only in Your Backyard)

Sure, a lot of us are still stuck in place for the foreseeable future. But anyone with access to a patch of the outdoors—a patio, a roof, a yard—can engage in that most primal of human pastimes: camping. While you count the days until it’s safe to travel to your next national park or far-flung wilderness adventure (and yes, there are books below to help with that too), you can still build up or maintain your skills closer to home. It might even prove a nice change of pace to bivouac, triangulate, and open-flame cook without first lugging a pack for many mosquito-y miles or discovering that your secluded, peaceful site abuts a boozy bacchanalia. To inspire and educate you, we’ve rounded up 15 books that teach you and your family everything from the basics of camping outdoors to more advanced techniques; get you thinking about the best meals, snacks, and cocktails to sustain you while you’re roughing it; and provide historical insight and personal experience from and about outdoor explorers who came before.