Got drenched at Sawmill Lake campsite last weekend. No tent coverage at all.

The tent pads are in a wide open field with zero trees around for shade or wind protection, so my 3-person dome took a beating from 2am rain and I spent the night shoving towels under the seams. Anyone else camp somewhere that looked great on the map but ended up being a total wind tunnel?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewr151mo ago

And this is EXACTLY why I never trust map photos anymore. People post those wide shots of a pretty lake and skip the part where the campsite is basically a wind funnel. Sawmill is notorious for that, I heard about it from a couple of hikers last year who said their tent almost flew into the water. It's like when you see a restaurant online that looks super cozy but you show up and it's next to a busy highway with no parking. Map apps just show you the pretty version, not the reality of what it's like when you're actually standing there. I've learned to always check satellite view and look for tree lines or buildings that might block the wind. Otherwise you end up like us, shoving towels under the seams at 3am and wondering why you didn't just stay home.

reese_hayes711mo ago

Brought a tent to a beach spot once. Looked perfect in the pictures. Flat sand, calm water, nice sunset. Showed up and the wind was so bad we had to cook inside the car. Tent poles bent into a freaking U shape by morning. Learned my lesson. Now I check satellite view like it's my job.

nancyg141mo ago

My buddy used to swear by just relying on map photos and I always thought he was being dramatic. Then we went to a spot near Lake Almanor last summer, looked amazing on the pictures, and the wind was so bad we had to tie our tent to a tree to keep it from flying away. I feel like what @drewr15 said about the restaurant comparison is spot on, you really can't trust those photos to show the whole picture. Satellite view is my go to now too, especially to see if there's any tree cover or hills to break the wind.