Fall Camping By Boat

For those of us who grew up before the social media wave, a lot of our childhood memories come from being outside. I’ve always preferred being outdoors over being stuck inside, and it’s no surprise my career has followed that path. Since college, nearly every job I’ve had has kept me outdoors at least half the time. I’m always looking for a reason to get outside, and fall is one of the best times of year to do it.

When September rolls around, many boaters start winding down their season. The water’s cooled off so sandbar days lose their appeal, kids are back in school, and weekends fill up with sports schedules. This is why summer is the go-to boating season across the country. Some people can extend their season depending on how far south they live, but for the majority of us, once Labor Day passes our time on the water begins to taper off.

But, it’s also a great time of year to look into other outdoor activities. Fall for me has always meant camping, hiking and fishing in the mountains and hunting season. It’s nothing for me to take a Friday off, load up the truck with the family, and spend a weekend chasing fall colors and trout with a fly rod. The weather is perfect for camping—not too hot and not too cold. We keep our house a crisp 68 degrees in the evenings, fans running, so those cool nights outside are right in our comfort zone. If we’re not in the mountains, we’re usually in the woods hunting.

Before I arrived at Sportsman Boats, I had camped all over—along rivers and streams, on mountaintops, beside lakes, and everywhere in between. But there was one way I had never camped before. Growing up, we always had boats: the jon boat for fishing, the pontoon for leisure on the lake, later a bass boat for faster fishing. But never once did we take one of those boats, load it with camping gear, and set out to camp. Even with all my kayak trips and hunting adventures, I had never used a boat to reach a camping spot. Looking back now as a husband and father, I wonder why in my younger, less responsible years I didn’t at least take the kayak out to camp along rivers or hunt from remote spots. I guess those are the moments I’ll just have to experience with my boys as their dad instead of as a 20-something kid with unlimited time and no responsibilities.

So that leads me to this question—why aren’t more people camping with their boat? It’s fall, the weather has cooled, the water might be too cold to swim but the boat still floats just fine. There’s plenty to do on the water when it’s too cold to swim. I may not enjoy swimming in 60 to 70-degree water, but when the air temps hit the 60s and 70s I am starting to smell bonfires.

This idea is what led me to change up our photoshoot style and include fall camping in our lifestyle imagery. We build boats, and they’re not just for summer fishing and sandbars—they’re for boating. I’d watch TV shows, YouTube videos, and scroll Instagram seeing people pulling up to sandbars, lakes, or rivers and setting up camp. I thought, “Why haven’t I done that? Why haven’t we as a brand done that?” So we did.

Camping With Your Boat

Personally, I prefer fall. Even though I live in the South and I’m “used” to the heat, I’d rather wake up to a crisp fall morning with steam rolling off my coffee. Like I said, I like it cold when I sleep. When you camp is really up to your own comfort level. If you can sleep soundly in 85-degree temps, then set up camp on a marsh sandbar in summer—just don’t forget the bug spray. If you can withstand 30–40-degree nights, take the boat out in winter and you’ll likely have the place to yourself.

The mention of 30–40-degree nights reminds me, I have camped by boat once before. We took off on a Friday afternoon for the lake and set up in our duck hole to be ready for opening morning. Now I love camping, I have all the gear for different scenarios and I like to be comfortable if allowed. So on this trip I did what a smart person would do. I took all that extra space in my blind bag and packed a hammock, inflatable pillow, Jet Boil stove, some food and threw my sleeping bag on top. I also was nice enough to throw some Cliq Chairs in the boat so everyone would at least have a nice place to sit. Once we mapped out our spot, unloaded the boat and build a fire everyone sat down and started eating cold food they packed. I whipped out my stove, cooked up a little meal and had a nice hot dinner. Then I hung my hammock, strung up my rain fly and laid out my sleeping bag. The other guys laughed at every step, Michael with his gear, we are going to be up at 4am to get going anyway who needs all that. About the time the fire was dwindling, everyones eyes were heavy and the cold set in, I was making my way to my hammock and sleeping bag while the rest of the crew laid on the cold ground in waders wondering why they'd been laughing about my comfort earlier on. At the end of the day though, fall truly is the best time to camp and camp by boat in this instance.

There are so many places that aren’t accessible by land where you can camp and spend time with your family. Some of these locations have more or fewer rules than others. For instance, at our duck hunting campsite, the lake is a giant body of public water surrounded by both private and public land. On the lake, there are small islands that are considered public land. You can camp there, you can "safely" have fires there, and in our case, you can even hunt there. Other places, such as Lake Jocassee where we chose to do our photoshoot, have designated boat-in campsites. These sites include tent pads, fire rings, and a collection of rules to protect the state park. I wanted to set up a fire on the sandbar next to the boat with the mountains in the background, but that wasn’t allowed since fires had to be in the rings. I adjusted the shoot to fit the rules, but for the average camper it’s not a big deal since you’re not trying to showcase a boat at the same time.

Camping this way is essentially the same as pulling up in your truck and unloading with the family, except with a boat you can reach more remote areas, avoid crowds, and probably enjoy a much cooler experience. You can do this all over the place. There are plenty of apps that show public and private land boundaries, and once you find a spot you just need to check the rules for that location. As a hunter, I use OnX Maps, but there are several others that work just as well.

One example of another spot I plan to schedule a photoshoot at this winter is Capers Island, a barrier island just off North Mount Pleasant, SC. This island is public, only accessible by boat, and in the summer its beaches are lined with boats on the weekends. Camping is allowed, but you’ll need to get a permit for the length of your stay. There are also plenty of hidden spots up and down our South Carolina coast with great camping access, and I’m sure there are some in your area too. Check out the lakes, rivers, and coastlines near you for potential spots, and enjoy a different style of camping with your family.

Your boat isn’t just for the summer months. There’s a lot more you can do with it if you open up the possibilities of where it can take you.