SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 24: Find a Safe Campsite

Choosing where to camp is about more than finding a flat patch of grass with a good view. In order to find a safe campsite, the right spot should keep you sheltered, comfortable and away from any hazards, while giving you enough space to pitch your tent and move around safely.

For this challenge, you’ll assess a potential camping location and explain why it would—or wouldn’t—be a sensible place to spend the night.

Your Challenge

Find a suitable outdoor location and assess whether it would make a safe campsite. You don’t actually need to camp there; the aim is to identify potential hazards, consider the surroundings and justify your decision.

What You’ll Need

• A suitable outdoor location to assess.
• A notebook or phone to record your observations.
• A camera or phone to photograph the location.

Take the Challenge

Visit a location where you have permission to explore, then consider the following points:

• Ground: Is it reasonably level, well drained and free from sharp objects, holes and trip hazards?
• Weather and shelter: Is the site exposed to strong winds, or is there suitable natural shelter? Avoid camping beneath dead branches or damaged trees.
• Water: Is the site safely away from riverbanks, streams and areas that could flood after heavy rain?
• Surroundings: Are there steep drops, unstable slopes, livestock, hazardous plants or other risks nearby?
• Space: Is there enough room to pitch a tent without blocking paths or creating hazards for other people?
• Access: Can you reach the site safely, and could you leave quickly if the weather deteriorated or an emergency occurred?

Think about what might change overnight. A spot that looks fine in sunshine could become waterlogged after rain or dangerously exposed when the wind picks up.

Only assess places where you have permission to be. If you plan to camp there later, check the relevant land access rules and any restrictions before setting up.

Check Your Results

Before completing the challenge, make sure you can identify at least three things that make the location suitable or unsuitable for camping. Explain any hazards you noticed and what you would do to avoid them.

If you decide the location is unsafe, choosing somewhere else is the right result. Good outdoor judgement includes knowing when a site isn’t suitable, not just knowing when it is.

Complete the Challenge

Take a photograph of the location you assessed and record your decision. Your evidence should show the area clearly, with a short explanation of why you would or wouldn’t camp there.

How to Submit Your Challenge

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open the Social Activity area.
3. Upload a photograph of the location you assessed to your activity wall.
4. Add the hashtag #SGUKChallenge24.
5. Share your post for evidence verification.

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 24 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Challenge 24 Checklist

Want to Push Yourself?

Assess a second location and compare the two. Which would you choose, and why? Consider how rainfall, wind direction and the time of year could affect your decision.

For further guidance, read the Scouts’ advice on safe camping and outdoor skills.

What’s Next?

For your previous challenge, revisit SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 23: Make Natural Cordage and think about how cordage might be useful around camp for simple, appropriate tasks.

Each SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge can be completed in any order, so keep building your outdoor knowledge one practical skill at a time.

Learn. Practise. Master.

That’s what the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is all about.