The barrier of entry for the inexperienced outdoorsman to spend time in nature is too high. Where do I go? What gear do I need? How much gear should I bring? Do I need to make a reservation? Who do I call? What should I do if my main plan falls through and I’m stuck in the woods with no place to stay? The good people at Hipcamp make it easy for everyone to experience nature.

Hipcamp.com is a website that removes that barrier of entry by answering all of those questions for you. It shows you a map of campgrounds, how to reserve a campsite, shares tips from other campers and provides just about all of the information you need to find yourself in a tent under the stars. How did it take so long for a website like this to become a thing?

Over the past couple years, I’ve been camping at least once a month. It’s been a mix of state parks, state forests, national parks, national forests and private campgrounds. With all of these campgrounds that people attend, you’d think there would be information on each online. Such is not the case. Minnesota state parks are notorious for having shitty websites. National parks aren’t much better. It isn’t uncommon to visit a website looking for camping information only to find dead links, disconnected phone numbers or dark web pages. Even a campground with a website can be a luxury sometimes.

Hipcamp levels the playing field. Though it has only been available in Minnesota for a matter of weeks, I’ve been using the site for travel research. Audra and I are heading to the North Cascades in two weeks. The national park website is meh. Hipcamp has all of the information we need. We’ve got plans A, B and C lined up for our trip.

If you’re new to the outdoors, welcome. What a time to begin experiencing nature. If you’ve been spending more nights under the stars than in your own bed for years, your life just became a hell of a lot easier. Hipcamp is finally in Minnesota.