Return To The Wild: 15 Hilarious Camping Snaps That Will Have You Howling

By: Lisa Lee | Last updated: Mar 21, 2024

Ah, nature. That serious, pristine place outside the city or town limits that beckons us, once in a while, to return. It’s a hard place to live in, with plenty of life or death situations to contend with, so you should expect no silliness out in the country, woods, or outback. Well, that’s not exactly true—and we have the pictures to prove it!

Nature can be a beautiful place full of life-affirming (and terminating) features, but that doesn’t mean that a camping disaster can’t be funny—at least with the benefit of hindsight. Here are a few snapshots from mother nature’s “blunders” file for you to enjoy, presumably as you’re sitting by a campfire under the stars (surrounded by bears, seconds away from a deadly mauling). Enjoy!

A Prickly Situation

While they are out there and they are dangerous—you’re not actually looking at a snake. This man seems to have found himself in a prickly situation! He seems to have landed on—and triple rolled his way—through a patch of cacti, which have all caught on his skin and clothes.

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Hopefully, this didn’t happen after his clothes caught fire in a “stop, drop, and roll” maneuver. He seems relatively calm, considering his whole body is in for a world of pain if he forgets himself for a second and takes a seat.

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Sleeping By The Sea

Finding cheap land to set up your trailer on isn’t easy these days. This trailer enthusiast seems to have done what he considered to be the smart thing by bringing the beach camping vacation to him. Unfortunately, though, his plans were built on a foundation of sand.

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If you want to camp on the beach, it’s probably a good idea to pitch further away from the shore than this. It doesn’t help that this truck and trailer are so heavy they’re just sinking into the sand! What a way to ruin a vacation! Oh boy!

Camping On The Cheap

When buying camping equipment, such as a tent, it’s always a good idea to make sure that the item you’re buying is weatherproof and durable. Otherwise, your tent might turn into a hot-air balloon or wet paper bag. It’s always better to buy quality when it comes to sleeping in the great outdoors.

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However, this guy seems to think that he’s durable and weatherproof enough to survive a night in the woods without the help of a tent. Either that or there just wasn’t room enough for him in the one they brought. It’s a good thing he brought the cooler and two chairs!

Dinghy Disaster 

Being pulled along in a dinghy like this can be one heck of an adrenaline rush—especially when you’re young. However, we think this young lady probably had an experience that went beyond a simple thrill. She looks like she’s soaring, but not in raw excitement!

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The expression on the other rider’s face is priceless. She’s looking at the dust cloud now occupying the spot her family member or friend once was. We sure hope that the girl in the air knew how to swim—or at least didn’t mind a little splash of water!

Fluff Boi

No matter how cuddly or civilized you think your precious puppy is, dogs are animals of a primal nature. They come alive in the wild, away from the all-too-gentle comforts of the human world—or so we thought until we saw this boy chilling in a hammock.

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Just look at him! He looks like he owns the place. He’s in his element, just not in a way we would have expected. Still, having warm cuddles on a cold night can’t be that bad, that is if you advocate for pets being allowed on the bed.

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One Man’s WC Is Another Man’s BBQ

On a camping trip—especially on a long one—you probably won’t be hunting for dinner. Instead, you’ll be eating out of a can. But when we say “eating out of a can,” we don’t mean “eating out of a toilet bowl,” which is what this camper decided to do.

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We’re not sure how hygienic all of this is. Maybe the flames purged whatever was growing on this abandoned can, but we wouldn’t trust any food that came off it. It looks like they also converted the tank into an ice box. We just hope they didn’t drop a few cubes into their beverages afterward.

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Living On Top

This is one way to live on the open road—literally—living open, on top of your truck. We can’t imagine that this stack is sturdy atop the vehicle like this while moving—or when parked up, come to think of it. It looks like one bad gust could blow the whole thing over.

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All the same, it’s impressive that they’ve been able to get all that stuff in one small spot. It looks like they’re ready for a mountain adventure. They even brought bikes, too! We only hope this is a vacation for two and not for a family.

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Tent Attempt

This is one way to lay a tent out. It looks like they got as far as hammering the begs into the grass before they got too tired and took a nap. It probably wouldn’t be such a good idea to leave it in this state until nightfall. Those nets probably wouldn’t do much if it rained, either.

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Camping can be a demanding activity, especially considering you have to carry all your gear across long distances in many cases. Perhaps they put it up as best they could, but due to their inexperience, it came down on them as they were sleeping.

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On Watch

A dog’s traditional role around human groups is to keep a lookout while the humans sleep. This dog is demonstrating this activity perfectly. He’s on top of things, as you might say—using his position with the humans to get a better vantage of the situation.

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How this dog’s owner hasn’t woken up yet is a mystery. We’re assuming he’s probably been stirred out of sleep somewhat by the plunging of paws and claws into his squishy (and most likely sleep-deprived) face.

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Camper Head

When you’re out in the wilderness, some cover is better than no cover. A small tent is better than nothing. This image takes that sentiment to the extreme. Well, at least the most important part of his body is covered. Too bad it’s nowhere near enough.

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Who or what is this tent supposed to be for? Smurfs? Mice? Well, in any case, here it’s protecting his precious casing, so he won’t get a head cold. He might get every other kind of cold, though—including the one that makes you shiver—even in all that leather.

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Working Holiday

Work these days, no matter how far away you are from the office, seems inescapable. It’s all because of everyone’s favorite luxury-but-mandatory-for-the-modern-age consumer good, the smartphone. However, this guy seems to have taken his whole desk with him into the great outdoors.

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At first, we thought this was a joke, but then we saw the generator. We’re guessing he has a dongle for an internet connection. What could be so important that it can’t wait until Monday? Hopefully, the weather didn’t turn and wet all that precious tech.

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Switching It Up A Gear

Well, this is an odd scene. Either we’ve got a guy who is overly worried that his companion will steal his bike, or he loves his bike too much to let it sleep outside in the rain. Some people get way too attached to their possessions.

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Bikes can rust when left outside, and all that oil on the chain will drip away. But wouldn’t it have been easier just to carry a tarp and some natural oil spray rather than force another person outside? At least he gave her something to lie on instead of using it as a blanket for his precious bikie.

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Squatopia 

You know what people are like—once they spot what they decide to be an uninhabited place, they’ll claim it—even despite evidence to the contrary. If they manage to deter the original owner, does that mean it gets passed on to them?

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Well, we don’t really understand property laws, but we like their moxie. If there’s a field, go camping! Why not? Well, there might be a few good reasons. As long as everyone has a good time and cleans up after themselves, we say, “happy camping.”

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Welcome To The Neigh-Berhood

Has this ever happened to you? No, us neither. “Hullo, welcome to our field,” this happy animal probably said to its visitors. “ How these campers got into a field without seeing that it was occupied is beyond us. Maybe it hopped over the fence to say hello.

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When they say you meet people when you travel, we’re pretty sure they weren’t talking about a situation like this. It’s probably not the best thing to wake up to after camping out for the night. Maybe they had snacks or a spare bail of hay with them.

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Just A Simple Drifter

We’re glad this guy seems to be enjoying himself. It looks like he was well prepared for the sudden flood that overtook his campsite. We can’t speak for the other campers, but they can’t be in as good a mood as this man seems to be.

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Maybe he’s just such a fan of riverside or beachside camping that the water coming to him didn’t bother him. Or maybe he’s making the best out of a bad situation. Who knows. We’re just glad that he’s enjoying himself.

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