Americans Who love to Camp what’s the scariest most disturbing or dangerous thing you’ve encountered while camping in the USA?
December 26, 2025
Americans Who love to Camp what’s the scariest most disturbing or dangerous thing you’ve encountered while camping in the USA?
33 comments
Tornado.
Needless to say, I packed my shit and went home.
A forest fire spreading very fast.
A pack of raccoons staring at me, and what was clearly at least one giant yellow jacket hive near the campsite. (China Camp state park in San Rafael, CA – I do not recommend this place lol)
Loud diesel engines idling at 2AM
Hiking in Nova Scotia off the Cabot Trail and rounding a corner and finding myself face-to-face with a bear. Being young and stupid, I did exactly what you’re not supposed to do. I turned around and ran as fast as I could.
Oops. Canada. Living in Detroit, Canada is just like a step-sister. I’ve camped some in Michigan, but most has been in Canada come to think of it.
Thunderstorms and windstorms under trees that could drop a killing blow on a tent.
We were caught in an early-season snowstorm once… heavy wet snow more or less collapsed the tent we were sleeping in.
When I woke up the dome was maybe two inches from my face.
I once camped in a tent on the beach in the direct path of a category 1 hurricane. That was pretty damn dangerous.
Meth heads
My hiking buddy waited until we were two days into a strenuous multiday trip to tell me that he’d just had heart surgery to zap some arrythmia’s the week prior.
Next day he started feeling a little lightheaded after a steep uphill, with the nearest exfil being 5 ish miles away.
He turned out just fine. Scared the bejeezus out of me though.
“Dude, you took this trip against medical advice of your doctor.”
“Not possible, I didn’t tell him about the trip.”
Moose. One ran through our camp site with our dog freaking out and it’s one of the few times I thought I might die. Thankfully it ran off but that was a very butthole clenching 20 seconds
Dead fall… scoped out my tent location (in the dark) and was nearly taken out by an aggressive falling tree.
I’ve only been tent camping for 5 years or so, but honestly I can’t think of anything that ever felt disturbing or dangerous in all that time. I camp alone, I’m a woman in my 50s. Nothing even slightly scary has ever happened to me while camping.
I guess there were the 2 times that a lightning storm made me leave the tent and sleep in my car but that wasn’t scary, just inconvenient.
We ran out of beer once.
A German couple who wouldn’t stop having loud arguments/sex after setting their tent up right next to ours…in tens of thousands acres of woods.
Sketchy people get to me the most. Everything else I can handle.
We had a moose walk through our camp. We all held still and the moose just walked away and pretended like it didn’t see us
Bored hillbillies deciding to fuck with you, so you have to pack up and leave
Blizzard at Ski Camp. Got stuck on that mountain with too many people for too long.
This one time in Denali, I’d gone up a riverbed from where the road crossed and climbed a low ridge to get the lay of the land. When I looked back, I saw two puffy brown-gold dots following the exact path I’d taken alongside the riverbed. Took out my phone, zoomed in…two big-ass grizzly bears.
They kept going along my exact same track until they hit the spot where I’d crossed the river, then fucked off. I don’t know if they were tracking me, but it felt like they were.
Later that night, laying in my little one man tent in terrain with no trees or large foliage, I was forcefully bumped through the tent several times. Once in the head, a couple times in the leg. It felt like a snout and I was worried the bears were back, but there was no noise at all.
Went back that morning to get on the bus and related everything to the ranger, and she just kinda casually said “oh yeah, there’s a wolf pack in that section and they probably investigated you. Don’t worry, there have been no lethal wolf attacks in the park’s history.”
Don’t know if that’s what happened, but it’s what makes sense.
Had a mountain lion just roam through my campsite, I ended up packing up and leaving because I do not need to be stalked by a Mtn lion
I’ve also gotten into a physical altercation with meth heads in Oregon after boondocking. Now I check if a place is known for tweakers/homeless population before stopping to set up camp.
Not the most dangerous but the scariest thing was as I was crawling out of our tent at Grand Teton a mule deer decided that was the perfect time to poke it’s head INSIDE our tent. Scared the shit out of me.
Bison getting real pissed off at my tent for some reason and charging into it.
Thankfully I was not inside it at the time.
Once found the remains of a tent/camp that had been ripped to shreds by a bear. I didn’t find the guy, but I didn’t see any blood or anything either so I hope he made it to safety. His pack and tent were all torn up.
About 10 days later on the same trip, I watched a wildfire creep into the valley below me while sitting on top of a mountain. Luckily we were able to find another way down. Wildfires are no joke!
We were sleeping outside under the stars and awoke to a mountain lion scream…
those chills down the spine will never be forgotten..
In the grand scheme we are prey…
In grad school I TA’d a class that had camping field trips and we had an aggressive bear that would NOT leave our camp alone. We abandoned our tents and drove the students down the road and all slept on a tarp
Elk in rutting season
Cowboy camping (tent less) in the high Sierra and being woken up by something big sniffing my face. When it was light out I found bear tracks all over my camp.
I was hiking with a friend in Central Oregon a long ways back. We rounded a corner and saw a cougar and cub about 20 feet in front of us crossing the trail. Just stopped and stared at us and then walked into the woods. We just about shit ourselves.
Stumbled upon a small group of mule deer that were resting in a wash while hiking alone. They scattered of course, but the racket it made about scared me out of my shoes. 5-6 deer moving in a hurry is shockingly loud in the middle of an otherwise desolate stretch of desert.
A bear rolled up on me when I was cooking one night about 3 miles (5km) from any trails in the mountains in Colorado. He stomped around to intimidate me and I was well and thoroughly intimidated. I left with what I had on me and he followed me slowly up and down the hills for about an hour. I had my personal night vision, rifle and bear spray so I could see him fine and could handle him if I had to. Obviously I don’t want to hurt a bear for being hungry or whatever so I just did my best to get away from him, I could replace any of my stuff he messed up if he wanted to dig in my bags for food.
We played a very slow game of hide and seek until he got bored and walked off. I went back, grabbed the couple of things I had dropped and then went a few more miles away on the other side of a stream and he didn’t bother me again. I was sure as hell tuckered out though. I also put my bear bag way, way far away that night.
I have never camped before, but here is a story my dad always tells us: He was once camping and was having a dream that a horse was licking his face. He woke up and saw that it was a BEAR licking his face. So he starts chasing it with pots and pans and screams as one does. Says the bear ran, then turned around and looked at him like “Wait a minute, I’m a beast and this 6 foot human is trying to scare me with pots and pans?”. So my dad got louder and moved more and the bear ran away. Typed out, this story doesn’t seem as epic, but when he explains it to us kids verbally it sounds like a superhero story.
Edit: Fixed some wording
Not exactly camping but I was set out as a solo road guard on MCAGCC 29 Palms something that is no longer allowed due to a Marine dying while doing that but this was years before that incident.
Anyway a road guard was set out on a dirt road for a few hours up to a week or so while training was being done in the area and their job was to stop anybody from entering the area during live fire.
I was dumped out there with a case of MRE’s 5 gallons of water a PRC-77 radio with 3 batteries and a M9 pistol with no ammo and told they would be back to pick me up in 5 days.
About day 3 in the evening I got surrounded by about a dozen Coyotes. All I had was a pistol with no ammo my boots and a bunch of rock since there isn’t a single tree within 300 mile of 29 Palms. I just chucked rocks as fast and hard as I could and landed a couple of kicks on ones who got close enough till they decided I wasn’t worth it.
Got no sleep that night cause I heard them yipping for the entire night
33 comments
Tornado.
Needless to say, I packed my shit and went home.
A forest fire spreading very fast.
A pack of raccoons staring at me, and what was clearly at least one giant yellow jacket hive near the campsite. (China Camp state park in San Rafael, CA – I do not recommend this place lol)
Loud diesel engines idling at 2AM
Hiking in Nova Scotia off the Cabot Trail and rounding a corner and finding myself face-to-face with a bear. Being young and stupid, I did exactly what you’re not supposed to do. I turned around and ran as fast as I could.
Oops. Canada. Living in Detroit, Canada is just like a step-sister. I’ve camped some in Michigan, but most has been in Canada come to think of it.
Thunderstorms and windstorms under trees that could drop a killing blow on a tent.
We were caught in an early-season snowstorm once… heavy wet snow more or less collapsed the tent we were sleeping in.
When I woke up the dome was maybe two inches from my face.
I once camped in a tent on the beach in the direct path of a category 1 hurricane. That was pretty damn dangerous.
Meth heads
My hiking buddy waited until we were two days into a strenuous multiday trip to tell me that he’d just had heart surgery to zap some arrythmia’s the week prior.
Next day he started feeling a little lightheaded after a steep uphill, with the nearest exfil being 5 ish miles away.
He turned out just fine. Scared the bejeezus out of me though.
“Dude, you took this trip against medical advice of your doctor.”
“Not possible, I didn’t tell him about the trip.”
Moose. One ran through our camp site with our dog freaking out and it’s one of the few times I thought I might die. Thankfully it ran off but that was a very butthole clenching 20 seconds
Dead fall… scoped out my tent location (in the dark) and was nearly taken out by an aggressive falling tree.
I’ve only been tent camping for 5 years or so, but honestly I can’t think of anything that ever felt disturbing or dangerous in all that time. I camp alone, I’m a woman in my 50s. Nothing even slightly scary has ever happened to me while camping.
I guess there were the 2 times that a lightning storm made me leave the tent and sleep in my car but that wasn’t scary, just inconvenient.
We ran out of beer once.
A German couple who wouldn’t stop having loud arguments/sex after setting their tent up right next to ours…in tens of thousands acres of woods.
Sketchy people get to me the most. Everything else I can handle.
We had a moose walk through our camp. We all held still and the moose just walked away and pretended like it didn’t see us
Bored hillbillies deciding to fuck with you, so you have to pack up and leave
Blizzard at Ski Camp. Got stuck on that mountain with too many people for too long.
This one time in Denali, I’d gone up a riverbed from where the road crossed and climbed a low ridge to get the lay of the land. When I looked back, I saw two puffy brown-gold dots following the exact path I’d taken alongside the riverbed. Took out my phone, zoomed in…two big-ass grizzly bears.
They kept going along my exact same track until they hit the spot where I’d crossed the river, then fucked off. I don’t know if they were tracking me, but it felt like they were.
Later that night, laying in my little one man tent in terrain with no trees or large foliage, I was forcefully bumped through the tent several times. Once in the head, a couple times in the leg. It felt like a snout and I was worried the bears were back, but there was no noise at all.
Went back that morning to get on the bus and related everything to the ranger, and she just kinda casually said “oh yeah, there’s a wolf pack in that section and they probably investigated you. Don’t worry, there have been no lethal wolf attacks in the park’s history.”
Don’t know if that’s what happened, but it’s what makes sense.
Had a mountain lion just roam through my campsite, I ended up packing up and leaving because I do not need to be stalked by a Mtn lion
I’ve also gotten into a physical altercation with meth heads in Oregon after boondocking. Now I check if a place is known for tweakers/homeless population before stopping to set up camp.
Not the most dangerous but the scariest thing was as I was crawling out of our tent at Grand Teton a mule deer decided that was the perfect time to poke it’s head INSIDE our tent. Scared the shit out of me.
Bison getting real pissed off at my tent for some reason and charging into it.
Thankfully I was not inside it at the time.
Once found the remains of a tent/camp that had been ripped to shreds by a bear. I didn’t find the guy, but I didn’t see any blood or anything either so I hope he made it to safety. His pack and tent were all torn up.
About 10 days later on the same trip, I watched a wildfire creep into the valley below me while sitting on top of a mountain. Luckily we were able to find another way down. Wildfires are no joke!
We were sleeping outside under the stars and awoke to a mountain lion scream…
those chills down the spine will never be forgotten..
In the grand scheme we are prey…
In grad school I TA’d a class that had camping field trips and we had an aggressive bear that would NOT leave our camp alone. We abandoned our tents and drove the students down the road and all slept on a tarp
Elk in rutting season
Cowboy camping (tent less) in the high Sierra and being woken up by something big sniffing my face. When it was light out I found bear tracks all over my camp.
I was hiking with a friend in Central Oregon a long ways back. We rounded a corner and saw a cougar and cub about 20 feet in front of us crossing the trail. Just stopped and stared at us and then walked into the woods. We just about shit ourselves.
Stumbled upon a small group of mule deer that were resting in a wash while hiking alone. They scattered of course, but the racket it made about scared me out of my shoes. 5-6 deer moving in a hurry is shockingly loud in the middle of an otherwise desolate stretch of desert.
A bear rolled up on me when I was cooking one night about 3 miles (5km) from any trails in the mountains in Colorado. He stomped around to intimidate me and I was well and thoroughly intimidated. I left with what I had on me and he followed me slowly up and down the hills for about an hour. I had my personal night vision, rifle and bear spray so I could see him fine and could handle him if I had to. Obviously I don’t want to hurt a bear for being hungry or whatever so I just did my best to get away from him, I could replace any of my stuff he messed up if he wanted to dig in my bags for food.
We played a very slow game of hide and seek until he got bored and walked off. I went back, grabbed the couple of things I had dropped and then went a few more miles away on the other side of a stream and he didn’t bother me again. I was sure as hell tuckered out though. I also put my bear bag way, way far away that night.
I have never camped before, but here is a story my dad always tells us: He was once camping and was having a dream that a horse was licking his face. He woke up and saw that it was a BEAR licking his face. So he starts chasing it with pots and pans and screams as one does. Says the bear ran, then turned around and looked at him like “Wait a minute, I’m a beast and this 6 foot human is trying to scare me with pots and pans?”. So my dad got louder and moved more and the bear ran away. Typed out, this story doesn’t seem as epic, but when he explains it to us kids verbally it sounds like a superhero story.
Edit: Fixed some wording
Not exactly camping but I was set out as a solo road guard on MCAGCC 29 Palms something that is no longer allowed due to a Marine dying while doing that but this was years before that incident.
Anyway a road guard was set out on a dirt road for a few hours up to a week or so while training was being done in the area and their job was to stop anybody from entering the area during live fire.
I was dumped out there with a case of MRE’s 5 gallons of water a PRC-77 radio with 3 batteries and a M9 pistol with no ammo and told they would be back to pick me up in 5 days.
About day 3 in the evening I got surrounded by about a dozen Coyotes. All I had was a pistol with no ammo my boots and a bunch of rock since there isn’t a single tree within 300 mile of 29 Palms. I just chucked rocks as fast and hard as I could and landed a couple of kicks on ones who got close enough till they decided I wasn’t worth it.
Got no sleep that night cause I heard them yipping for the entire night