I’m fortunate to have been exposed to camping from a young age, and I’ve loved it ever since. That’s not to say I haven’t lain awake at night worrying my tent would leak or wished the outhouse smelled better. But in my opinion, all the good stuff that goes with camping far outweighs the not-so-good. I won’t go on and on about the health benefits to both body and mind of fresh air and being surrounded by nature. And I won’t describe what it’s like to be close to the sheer beauty of our country; these photos do a better job of that. (Thanks to contributors to our sister publication, Our Canada, for the shots on these pages.)

I think the most useful thing I can do is rebutt some common excuses people give—my own friends and family members included —for being gun-shy about camping, even if they’ve never tried it. And if you’ve tried it and had one bad experience, give it another go. It could be the best thing you ever did.

Let me qualify this advice by saying that hike-in and canoe-in wilderness camping require careful preparation (totally worth it). But “car camping”—when you can drive your car onto the campsite—is also lots of fun, and surprisingly comfortable. Purists may call it “glamping,” but whatever—if it gets you out there, that’s what matters.