Introduction

Camping along el Camino is, at best, an imprecise term. This set of descriptions is based on what I have been told by others and what I’ve read.

I have not done any camping myself, although I carried some camping essentials in 2021 and 2022.

“Sleeping Rough”

The term “sleeping rough” is borrowed from a story about George Orwell.

I have seen this on the Camino nor have I experienced it, but it is a reality in some cases. The pilgrim simply runs out of strength before finding a place to sleep, has no camping equipment with them, and is forced to sleep in the open without a shelter and only their backpack for a pillow. It is not a good situation and one that can usually be attributed to inadequate planning, although sometimes it is just bad luck.

I took a real risk of ending up sleeping rough in 2018 because of a total lack of appreciation for the Camino’s challenges. Good luck, and I suspect some ageism on the part of other pilgrims, got me a bed in an albergue. I was not prepared for that, either, but it’s a different story and one that I will tell on this site. Eventually.

The worst results of finding oneself sleeping rough can be mitigated, at least a little, through a minimalist “emergency bivy sack” such as this one from REI. These gadgets do not weigh much, are cheap, and provide a waterproof barrier between the pilgrim and the elements.

Camping Equipment

The peregrinos I’ve met who were planning to camp extensively along the way carried a variety of camping gear with them. This seems to me, a non-camper, to fall into at least three general categories.

Shelter

There are a lot of types of shelter available ranging from minimalist (I carry a rain cape that can, in an emergency, double as a tent with no floor) to comfortable (my Camino acquaintance Eddy had a tent the “popped up” when released to form a good sized shelter with a floor).

Carrying a separate shelter, even a very basic one, will add a kilogram (about 2 pounds) to the weight in your backpack.

Cooking Equipment

Cooking equipment includes a stove and a pan or kettle. The tiniest of these will heat a bit of water for coffee or instant soup and weighs 150 grams (5 ounces) or so, including the kettle. More capable stoves weigh 4 times as much without the kettle.

One young peregrina that I chatted with had an extensive set of pots and pans as her way of minimizing food costs. She would buy groceries and cook her meals rather than visit the many taverns and restaurants along the way. That pot and pan set must have weighed at least a kilogram (2 pounds) and might have been twice that.

Food

I think all peregrinos carry food, if only a few energy bars. Those camping out, however, require significantly more food as there is no guarantee that a campsite will be near a grocery store. Again, this simply adds weight to the backpack.

Unorganized Camping

This is a major step up from sleeping rough because it is intentional. It includes using a shelter and whatever comfort items (e.g., an inflatable mattress) that one chooses to carry. It is the location of the campsite that is questionable as pitching one’s tent is not allowed just anywhere and being evicted from the spot for trespassing or even having an uncomfortable encounter with la policia (the police in English) is possible.

The same Eddy mentioned above planned simply to camp out every night, which is why he had the very capable tent. When I asked him how he found suitable locations, that is to say where his presence would not result in some kind of a problem, he told me that church grounds were always an excellent choice even if there was no one available to grant permission. My own experiences with the people who are associated with churches along the way has been that they have deep respect for all peregrinos and will bend over backward to help us in our journey, so I accept Eddy’s testimony at face value.

Campgrounds

Campgrounds have been common along the del Norte route from Irun to Cadavedo, which is as far as I have hiked it. They vary widely in the services offered and, one might say, in the very definition of camping. One that I saw in 2018 appeared to be no more than a large open area where one could pitch a tent with a portapotty for sanitary needs. Others include shower rooms.

Some, such as Camping Deva Gijón, stretch the definition of a “campground” about as far as it will go. There were areas for tents, motorized campers, and trailers. There was a grocery, nice restaurant, and exercise facilities. A swimming pool. Even what one might call a “main street” running down the center of the major facilities.

Albergues

Many albergues allow camping on the premises and the campers can use the albergue’s toilet and shower facilities. This was the case at Albergue Peón