Hammock Camping in the Rain: How to Stay Warm and Dry-Panergy

It’s also nice that you can cook underneath your hammock tarp shelter – which you can’t exactly safely do inside of your tent.

The hammock can also double as a chair if you’re a truly minimal camper.

Stay Dryer In a Hammock

Now, let’s talk about the benefits of sleeping in a hammock while camping in the rain.

First and foremost, your hammock is suspended up off the ground – this keeps you out of puddles and wet mud.

It’s also easy to take off wet clothing or put on rain gear underneath your hammock tarp before entering the hammock and your sleeping bag. 

You can even take off your boots and leave them under the tarp without tracking mud into the hammock at night.

Finally, the fact that the rainfly isn’t attached to the hammock means that you can change its positioning based on the demands of the weather.

You can easily change the angle of the rainfly depending on which way the rain is falling or the wind is blowing.

How to Stay Dry Hammock Camping in Rain

The right gear is essential when hammock camping in the rain.

Not only do you need a quality hammock (here are the best camping hammocks available now), you also need the right accessories. 

A tarp or rainfly is chief among the most important hammock accessories for rainy weather camping.

Most camping-specific hammocks either come with a dedicated rainfly or one can be sold separately.

For those that don’t, almost any hammock rainfly will do the job on any hammock as long as its large enough to offer adequate protection. 

I personally like an extra-large rainfly for hammocking. This allows me to rig it up in a variety of different fashions to better block wind, rain, and snow. You can even create a full-coverage shelter of sorts with the right rainfly.

For camping in the rain, I typically bring a diamond-shaped tarp that extends several feet past each of the ends of my hammock.

For more serious conditions, like snow, however, full-coverage four-season tarps are available that even have storm doors for the utmost protection.

When it boils down to it, the most important component of hammock camping in the rain is a quality rainfly.