Camping is one of the very few activities that the pandemic has left untouched and uncomplicated. Is there a more social distancing-friendly adventure than setting up your own tent in the middle of nowhere, leagues away from all your neighbors?

Plus, escaping into nature can balance your mood and recalibrate your sleep schedule, which are both crucial adjustments if you need to re-enter the workforce anytime soon.

Just like before, though, the tent you choose to spend your camping trip in is crucial to the comfort, safety and success of your outing into nature.

Whether you’re backpacking on your own, you’re driving the whole family out for car or RV camping, or you’re simply setting up camp in your backyard, your tent can either help you enjoy camping to the fullest or wreak havoc on your attempts to escape and unwind.

The best camping and backpacking tents of 2023 come in many different shapes and sizes, with different pros, cons, intended uses and even some reviews from customers who camp, just like you.

Here is everything you need to know to pick the best top-rated camping tent for you, using the links below to jump to each section.

Choosing the right camping tent involves quite a few moving parts—size, cost, weight, ease-of-assembly and intended camping environment are all factors that manufacturers take into account when they design tents.

JD Tanner, director of education and training at Leave No Trace, had some considerations for us when choosing the right tent for the environment you’re in, plus other tips and tricks for the best outdoor experience.

“A couple of basic considerations for choosing a tent include size and comfort, how many people or pets will be sleeping in the tent, how much head space you want, the season/climate you plan to use the tent, and —for me personally — ease of use/set up,” said Tanner.

We also wanted to know what happens when the weather is less than ideal. Do we cancel the trip and go bowling instead?

“The weather should play a role in your tent selection,” said Tanner. “Three season tents are ideal for mid-spring to mid-fall, depending on where you plan to camp. Three to four season tents are built to extend that full spring to the full fall schedule. Four season tents are built to withstand stronger winds, snow and more.”

Last, but certainly not least, choosing where to set up your campsite is of the utmost importance, as you want to be both safe and respectful of Mother Nature, too.

“Avoid camping close to water and trails, and select a site that is not easily visible to others. Even in popular areas, the sense of solitude can be enhanced by screening campsites and choosing an out-of-the-way site,” recommends Tanner. “In pristine places, it is best to spread out tents, avoid repetitive traffic routes and move camp every night. The objective is to minimize the number of times any part of the site is trampled. In setting up camp, disperse tents on durable sites. Watch where you walk to avoid crushing vegetation and take alternate paths to water.”

Want to find a camping tent that balances capacity, quality and smart design for your next trip into nature? The NEMO Aurora is a car camping tent that offers it all, provided you’re not trying to fit a huge group in it:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “The Aurora tent is the perfect all around tent for car camping and entry level backpacking. It’s reasonable priced for what it has to offer. It’s technically a two-man, but with the high side walls, it’s an extremely spacious tent”

If you’re planning a backpacking trip, you’re probably looking for the lightest tent possible. The Big Agnes Scout 2 Platinum is a smartly designed tent that weighs essentially nothing, and it’s our pick for the best backpacking tent for one to two campers:

Pros

Cons

Perhaps you want to fit more than a couple of campers in your new tent during your next trip. If you’re looking for a car camping tent that will fit the whole family, then our pick for you is the Eureka! Copper Canyon LX. Here’s what to know about it:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “We received the tent, put it up for practice and took a look around. I feel very validated and impressed already. It was relatively easy to put together, sturdy, and the features were nice, easy, and useful. It feels roomy, lots of space. There’s lots of little touches and they’re nice – the spot for power connection, the doors, windows, ties.”

If you’re brave enough to venture on a backpacking trip with the entire family, and you’re the one who’s researching tents in preparation, you’re probably also the one who will be carrying the tent in your pack. You deserve the lightest backpacking tent that can also fit your whole crew. Our pick for the best backpacking tent for you and your family is the Kelty Dirt Motel:

Pros

Cons

Camping in multiple separate tents is fine, but if you’ve got a big group to accommodate, one giant tent can make the social dynamics of a camping trip much more inclusive and community-focused. For this very reason, you might be searching for the biggest camping tent possible. The best option for giant camping groups is the Ozark Trail 16×16-Feet 12-Person 3 Room Instant Cabin Tent

Pros

Cons

Top review: “Huge wonderful tent, just the size I needed for a big family. I was excited to find big storage pockets inside. See picture of pockets. I was also happy to see that I don’t have to spray water proofing on the tent, in fact the instructions say to not, that the waterproofing was already done in manufacturing.”

Rooftop camping tents leverage the height and sturdiness of your car to create comfy, above-ground campsites. Such tents are particularly great for camping in destinations with pesky wildlife or regular flooding. That said, typical rooftop camping tents are usually too cramped to comfortably sleep two. Our pick for the best rooftop tent, the ARB 803804 Simpson Tent, has a clever and unique design that addresses this common flaw:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “Perfect price for tent and annex! Love it! Put it on my 2001 GMC 2500HD, loaded the truck and headed out on the best camping trip ever!! Easy set up and take down. Really good quality material and well made! I would most definitely recommend this to anyone.”

Trunk camping is a common road-warrior option for traveling without worrying about the cost of accommodations. Nonetheless, sleeping in your stuffy trunk isn’t necessarily the comfiest setup. The Carsule Pop-Up Cabin is a unique camping tent that attaches to an open car trunk to create a spacious, insect-free campsite that’s way breezier than your trunk on its own:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “Affordable and easy to manage. Arrived much sooner than originally scheduled. Exactly what i can afford and manage as a single person.”

You’re taking time to research the best camping tents of the year, so odds are, you want to at least learn the very best tent that money can buy. Luxury camping tents are a whole other ball field, both for their cost and for their durability. They’re also the only way to camp comfortably during harsh Winters and sweltering Summers. If you’re looking to invest in the highest quality tent possible—and to never have to spend money on another tent again—then the best luxury camping tent for you is the iconic North Face 2-Meter Dome:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “I was out in the harsh wilderness by me and got attacked by a turkey I ran into the tent and the turkey tried too attack the tent. He didn’t get far before he fled the scene, the tent is still in amazing condition and would buy one again.”

Infrequent adventurers and music festival campers deserve high-quality tents, too—even if they don’t use those tents enough to justify investing in fancy ones. The best budget car camping tent—the Coleman Sundome Tent—gets glowing reviews and costs much less than other top options:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “This Coleman four person tent kept us warm and dry on our camping trip this Memorial Day weekend. This was my very first time setting up a tent and camping out with two kids and two dogs in tow, and it took me just 15 minutes to set up the tent.”

If you’re new to backpacking and only plan on making intermittent trips, then you might hesitate to shell out tons of cash for a new tent. And that’s totally fine—our pick for the best budget backpacking tent, ALPs Mountaineering Koda Tent, costs less than $150 and is still high-quality and lightweight:

Pros

Cons

Top review: “Used for three motorcycle camping trips three to four days each. No leaks. Easy set up and break down. Would purchase again.”

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