Quick answer: to set up a camping tarp, tie a ridgeline between two sturdy, living trees about 12 to 15 feet apart, drape the tarp over it, then stake out the corners with guylines so the fabric is taut and angled to shed rain. An A-frame pitch is the easiest all-round shelter, while a lean-to blocks wind from one side. Use a taut-line or trucker’s hitch for adjustable tension, wide tree straps to protect bark, and keep the tarp well away from any campfire, since most tarp fabrics melt or burn.
A tarp is one of the most useful things you can bring camping. It can shade a picnic table, keep rain off a camp kitchen, give you a dry place to sit during a storm, act as a windbreak or even serve as your main shelter on a lightweight trip. It costs less than almost any other piece of shelter gear, packs small and adapts to the site you have.
The trick is pitching it well. A loose, flat tarp collects water, flaps all night and can pull stakes out in wind. A tight, angled tarp sheds rain, stays quiet and lasts for years. This guide walks through materials, sizes, knots, pitches and weather tactics, with notes on campsite rules and safety. For the full list of what to pack alongside it, see our camping checklist guide.
Sources: REI Co-op Expert Advice (tarp and shelter setup, knots); Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (Seven Principles, campsite impacts); National Park Service camping and weather safety guidance; U.S. Forest Service campground and hazard tree guidance; National Weather Service (NWS) lightning safety; Animated Knots by Grog knot references. Checked October 2026.
Why Bring a Camping Tarp
Even when you sleep in a tent, a separate tarp extends your living space. Most tents keep you dry only while you are inside them. A tarp over the picnic table or cooking area lets you prepare meals, play cards and hang out in rain or harsh sun without crowding into the tent.
Common uses include:
- Rain shelter over a camp kitchen or eating area
- Sun shade at beach, desert and summer campsites
- Windbreak beside a stove or seating area
- Ground cloth or footprint under a tent
- Main shelter for minimalist backpacking or hammock camping
- Gear cover for bikes, firewood or packs overnight
The National Park Service advises campers to prepare for sudden weather changes in many parks, and a pre-pitched tarp means you are not scrambling when an afternoon storm rolls in. For more on staying dry, read our guide to camping in the rain.
Choosing a Camping Tarp: Size and Material
Tarp sizes
Size depends on what you want to cover. A rough guide based on common sizes sold for camping:
| Tarp size | Good for |
|---|---|
| 8 x 10 ft | Solo shelter, small gear cover, one-person shade |
| 10 x 10 ft | Two-person shelter, small kitchen cover |
| 10 x 12 ft | Picnic table cover, family kitchen area |
| 12 x 16 ft | Large group shelter, picnic table plus cooking space |
| 16 x 20 ft and up | Group camps, large shade structures |
A standard campground picnic table is roughly 6 to 8 feet long, so a 10 x 12 foot tarp leaves room for the benches and some overhang. Bigger is not always better: large tarps catch more wind and need more anchor points and longer guylines.
Tarp materials
| Material | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Polyethylene (poly) | Cheap, waterproof, widely sold in hardware stores | Heavy, noisy, bulky, grommets can tear out |
| Coated polyester or nylon | Lighter, quieter, stronger, often has reinforced tie-outs | Costs more than poly |
| Silnylon | Very light and packable | Stretches when wet, needs retensioning |
| Silpoly | Light, stretches less than silnylon when wet | Pricier than coated fabrics |
| Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) | Extremely light, does not stretch, waterproof | Very expensive, less abrasion resistant |
| Canvas | Durable, breathable, less noisy, more fire resistant when treated | Heavy, slow to dry, needs care to prevent mildew |
REI’s expert advice on tarps notes that silnylon sags when wet and benefits from retensioning after rain begins, while polyester-based fabrics hold their shape better. For car camping, a coated polyester tarp with reinforced tie-out points is a solid middle ground. For backpacking, silpoly or DCF saves weight.
Features worth looking for
- Reinforced corner and edge tie-outs rather than simple punched grommets
- Tie-outs along the centerline for ridgeline or pole support
- Taped or welded seams, if the tarp has any seams
- A color that suits your use: lighter colors stay cooler for sun shade, while darker ones block more light for sleeping
What You Need to Pitch a Tarp
Before you get to camp, pack a small tarp kit:
- The tarp itself.
- A ridgeline: 30 to 50 feet of strong cord such as paracord or a low-stretch line.
- Guylines: four to eight lengths of cord, roughly 6 to 10 feet each.
- Stakes: at least six, suited to the ground you expect (longer stakes for sand, sturdy stakes for rocky soil).
- Tree straps: wide webbing straps to wrap trees without cutting bark.
- Optional poles: trekking poles or adjustable tarp poles for open sites with no trees.
- Optional hardware: small tensioners or line locks to make adjustments faster.
Prepping lines at home saves time at camp. Tie loops on each guyline end and keep everything in a stuff sack with the tarp.
Knots for Tarp Setup
Only a handful of knots are needed, and each has a clear job. Animated Knots and REI both teach these as core camping knots. If you want to practice first, see our guide to camping knots.
Bowline
The bowline forms a fixed loop that does not slip and unties easily even after heavy loading. Use it to tie a line to a tree strap, a tie-out or a stake loop.
Taut-line hitch
This adjustable loop slides along the line to tighten or loosen tension but grips under load. It is ideal for guylines, letting you snug each corner without retying.
Trucker’s hitch
The trucker’s hitch acts like a simple pulley, letting you pull a ridgeline very tight. It is the best way to get a firm ridgeline between two trees. Finish it with a couple of half hitches or a slipped hitch for quick release.
Clove hitch
A quick, secure way to attach a line around a pole or stake. It can loosen if the load shifts back and forth, so back it up with a half hitch for longer use.
Prusik knot
A prusik is a friction hitch made with a short loop of thinner cord around the ridgeline. It holds the tarp corner in place along the ridgeline and slides when you want to move it, letting you center the tarp and tension it lengthwise.
How to Set Up a Camping Tarp: Step by Step
The A-frame is the most versatile pitch and the best one to learn first. It sheds rain on both sides and works over a table, a tent or a sleeping area.
A-frame pitch with a ridgeline
- Pick two healthy, living trees roughly 12 to 15 feet apart, with the area between them clear and level.
- Look up before you commit. Check for dead limbs or leaning dead trees overhead, which the U.S. Forest Service calls hazard trees, and choose a different spot if you see any.
- Wrap a tree strap around the first tree at about head height, or a little higher for a picnic table cover.
- Tie the ridgeline to the strap with a bowline.
- Run the line to the second tree, wrap the second strap and tension the ridgeline with a trucker’s hitch. It should be tight enough that it barely sags.
- Drape the tarp over the ridgeline so equal amounts hang on both sides. If your tarp has centerline tie-outs, attach them with prusiks or small clips.
- Stake out the four corners with guylines, pulling each one outward and slightly down at about a 45-degree angle.
- Tension each guyline with a taut-line hitch until the fabric is smooth and wrinkle-free.
- Add guylines to the side tie-outs if there are any, to stop the middle of each panel from flapping.
- Walk around and check that no part of the tarp sags into a pocket where water could collect.
Lowering one end of the ridgeline slightly creates a gentle slope that helps rain run off the ends instead of pooling.
Lean-to pitch
The lean-to angles a single slope of tarp from a high edge to the ground. It blocks wind and rain from one direction and creates an open, sheltered side.
- Tie a ridgeline between two trees as above, at about head height.
- Attach one long edge of the tarp along the ridgeline.
- Pull the opposite edge down and back, and stake it close to the ground.
- Face the low, staked side toward the prevailing wind.
- Add guylines from the ridgeline corners if the wind is strong.
Flying diamond and plow point
These pitches use the tarp at an angle, with one corner high and the opposite corner staked to the ground. The flying diamond, popular with hammock campers, ties two opposite corners to the ridgeline for a diagonal cover. The plow point stakes one corner to the ground and lifts the opposite corner on a pole or tree, creating a small, wind-resistant shelter for one person. Both use fewer stakes and set up quickly, but offer less covered area than an A-frame. For hammock-specific setups, see our guide to hammock camping for beginners.
Pitching a tarp without trees
Open campgrounds, beaches and deserts often have no trees. Two adjustable poles, or trekking poles, can replace them. Stand a pole at each end of the ridgeline, guy each pole out with two lines in a V shape, then attach and stake the tarp as usual. Some campers also tie one end to a car roof rack and use a single pole at the other end.
Handling Wind and Rain
Rain
- Pitch steep. A steeper roof angle sheds water faster and reduces pooling.
- Keep tension high. Fabric that sags turns into a bowl and can collapse under the weight of water.
- Add a drip line. Tie a short piece of string around the ridgeline just inside the tarp edge, so water running along the line drips off before it reaches the covered area.
- Retension silnylon tarps once they get wet, since the fabric stretches.
Wind
- Pitch lower in wind, which reduces the surface area catching gusts.
- Face the narrow end or the low side of a lean-to toward the wind.
- Use all available tie-outs and longer stakes, and angle stakes away from the tarp.
- Pile rocks on stakes in sandy or loose soil, or bury a stuff sack filled with sand as a deadman anchor.
- Take the tarp down in severe wind rather than risk a torn tarp or flying stakes.
Thunderstorms
A tarp offers no protection from lightning. The National Weather Service states that no place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area, and advises getting into a hard-topped vehicle or substantial building when you hear thunder. Treat a tarp as rain cover only, not as storm shelter.
Campsite Rules, Trees and Leave No Trace
The Leave No Trace Center encourages campers to minimize site impacts, and tarp setups are a common source of damage when done carelessly. A few habits protect trees and keep you on the right side of campground rules:
- Use wide tree straps rather than thin cord wrapped directly around bark, which can cut into the living layer under the bark.
- Never nail, screw or tie anything into trees.
- Avoid using small saplings or dead trees as anchors.
- Check campground rules; some parks restrict hanging items from trees or require straps of a minimum width.
- Remove all cords, stakes and tags when you leave.
Fire safety matters too. Most tarps are made of polyethylene, nylon or polyester, all of which melt or burn. Keep the tarp well above and away from campfires and stove flames, and never pitch it directly over a fire ring. Untreated canvas is still flammable. For stove and fire spacing, see the safety section of the campfire and stove guides on the site.
Common Tarp Mistakes
- Pitching too high, which leaves sides open to blowing rain.
- Leaving the tarp flat, so water pools in the center.
- Using a loose ridgeline that sags under load.
- Skipping guylines on windy days.
- Setting up under dead branches.
- Tying cord directly around bark.
- Pitching too close to the campfire.
- Packing the tarp away wet and letting mildew form.
Caring for Your Tarp
Shake off dirt and pine needles before packing. If the tarp is wet when you leave camp, unpack it and dry it fully at home before storing it, as you would with a tent. Store tarps loosely in a dry place rather than tightly compressed for months. Small holes can be fixed with repair tape made for the fabric type, and frayed guylines should be replaced before the next trip. If your tarp starts to leak through the fabric, the waterproofing steps in our guide on how to waterproof a tent apply to most coated tarps too.
Camping Tarp Setup Summary
Setting up a camping tarp comes down to a tight ridgeline, taut guylines and a sensible angle. Choose a size and material that suit the way you camp, practice the bowline, taut-line hitch and trucker’s hitch at home, and start with an A-frame before trying lean-to or diagonal pitches. Pitch steep for rain and low for wind, protect trees with wide straps, avoid dead limbs overhead and keep every tarp away from fire. With a little practice, a tarp becomes the most flexible piece of shelter you own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to set up a camping tarp?
The A-frame is the easiest: tie a tight ridgeline between two trees, drape the tarp over it evenly and stake out the four corners with guylines until the fabric is taut.
How high should a tarp be over a picnic table?
High enough to stand and sit comfortably, usually with the ridgeline around 7 to 8 feet, while the edges come low enough to block blowing rain. Lower it in wind or heavy rain.
How do you keep water from pooling on a tarp?
Keep the tarp tight, pitch it at a steep angle and lower one end slightly so rain runs off. Add a drip line on the ridgeline to keep water from running into the shelter.
What knots do I need for a tarp?
The bowline, taut-line hitch and trucker’s hitch cover most tarp setups. A prusik knot is useful for adjusting the tarp along a ridgeline.
Can I use a tarp as a tent?
Yes, many backpackers and hammock campers use a tarp as their main shelter. It gives less bug and wind protection than a tent, so pair it with a ground sheet and, in buggy areas, a bug net.
