Camping near water is better than camping away from it, with one caveat: humidity, dew, and the inevitable splash on the way in mean gear never fully dries out. The fix is not more gear. It is compartmentalizing what must stay dry.
Pack in three zones
- Must stay dry: sleeping bag, base layers, electronics, first aid, matches. These go in a sealed dry bag, not a duffel with a rain cover.
- Will get wet, and that is fine: towels, swimwear, water shoes, mats. Give these their own bag so they never touch zone one.
- Bulky and weatherproof already: the water mat, chairs, the cooler.
The tent floor is the sneaky one
Most 'my tent leaked' stories are groundwater wicking up through the floor, not rain coming through the fly. Pitch on the high side of your site, use a footprint that does not extend past the tent edge, and never leave a stuff sack sitting directly on grass overnight.
Dry out on purpose
Build a five-minute pack-up habit: everything wet goes on a line or over a warm rock in the morning sun before it goes in the vehicle. Damp foam and damp fabric stored together for a week is how gear starts to smell permanently.
Coming home
Unpack the same day. Rinse anything that touched lake or salt water, dry it fully, and store foam products out of sunlight in a weatherproof bag. Gear that gets put away properly is gear that is ready next weekend.
