Grabbing your tent and exploring the great outdoors is an inexpensive way to have fun and take a breather from the banality of modern life.

If you haven’t gone camping since you were too young to drive, or if the extent of your experience with wildlife is the squirrels in Waller Park, you might appreciate a few reminders about the art of roughing it.

Location, location, location

With the high price of gas and hotels, consider staying close to home. A bonus of that option is less time spent on the road, and more time enjoying your campsite.

Denis Philbin, park superintendent for park maintenance and safety for San Luis Obispo County Parks, recommends Lopez Lake if you want more rustic settings and the chance to boat, ski, kayak, swim and fish. The Oceano Campground and the Coastal Dunes RV park are nearer to the beach, but may be harder to reserve because their smaller size and their popularity.

In Santa Barbara County, two options are Cachuma Lake Recreation Area and Jalama Beach County Park. Both campgrounds are first-come, first-serve. Liz Mason-Gaspar, park naturalist and information officer for Cachuma Lake, said Cachuma might be easier to get to during the busy summer months. She advises getting there by Friday morning if you plan to spend the weekend. Jalama Beach is popular because it offers beachside camp sites, but like at Oceano Campground, it might be harder to find a space.

In general, weekdays are a good time to camp, if you can do it.

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Once you choose your spot, Philbin recommends erecting the tent early in the day to make sure there aren’t any holes in the material or bent poles.

It’s even better to do a “dry-run” tent setup the weekend before, to make sure you have all necessary tent equipment.

“It would be highly advisable to take a few extra (tent pegs), because they come in plastic, in steel, in wood, (and) invariably something will bend, break or otherwise become unusable,” Philbin said. “It’s good to have extra in case something like that happens.”

Philbin and Mason-Gaspar recommended making

checklists so you don’t forget important items like medications or first aid kits.

Safety first

Philbin, a self-described “safety nut,” advised CPR and first aid training for campers.

“Because you’re out in the wild, as it were, things can happen that are unexpected,” Philbin said. “You kind of have to prepare yourself for that.”

Be careful around fire rings, he said, which are made of metal and can get hot. Camp sites aren’t necessarily child-proof, either.

According to Mason-Gaspar, the fire pit should be cool enough to stick your hand in it when you leave.

“I don’t recommend that for kids,” she said.

Both said it’s important to leave information with somebody about where you are. Philbin recommended leaving contact information for the ranger on duty at your campground. Mason-Gaspar recommended letting your emergency contact know when you’re leaving and when you expect to get back.

Don’t depend on your cell phone, either.

“In a lot of cases, especially in our parks like Lopez and Santa Margarita Lake, you can’t get out with a cell phone, because you’re too far from the towers,” Philbin said. He suggested keeping change in your car for a payphone.

Make sure you get to know your camp area before nightfall, he added.

“It doesn’t hurt at all to take a quick tour of your camping area to take stock of your surroundings,” Philbin said.

Don’t feed the

animals ... really

If you camp where there are bears, keep your food in a place where they can’t get it, Philbin said, such as hanging high from a tree branch. Mason-Gaspar advised against leaving food on the table, where raccoons and birds can reach it. And for God’s sake, don’t feed the animals.

“Let’s say you had a tame deer come into your campsite and feed from your hand,” Philbin said. “If there are mountain lions … and if food is low … they can come onto the site and endanger other campers.”

And please don’t leave your food in the car. Bears can still get to it, said Philbin.

“If they can sniff it and they can get at it and there’s a crack in the window, they can pull the window right out,” Philbin said. “And if you put it in your tent and such, they’ll sniff it and they’ll come through the tent. It’s not that they’re being aggressive, it’s just that that’s where the food source was.”

Locally, Mason-Gaspar suggested bringing containers that seal well to prevent animals from getting into them. The goal is to prevent leftover food from enticing those critters.

“Don’t put (your dishes) in a box and say you’ll clean in the morning,” Mason-Gaspar said.

Getting the bugs

to bug off

Philbin said to bring bug repellent with about 25 percent DEET in it. Less DEET means it won’t be as effective, and more than 25 percent is overkill. Try it on before you go camping to make sure you’re not allergic to it, he said, and reapply after every few hours.

“If bugs are a problem, you can also use those ... citronella candles,” Philbin said.

Pimp your grub

Philbin recommends placing pre-made foods in plastic freezer bags and freezing it. You can put it in a cooler to save time and keep other perishable items cold.

Make sure you have a separate cooler for drinks, he said, so the ice in the food cooler doesn’t melt as quickly.

Mason-Gaspar advised bringing bottles of water that are frozen in advance.

“Not only does it save you ice that you buy, which melts really fast,” she said, “you can also freeze some of the nice drinks you like.”

Make sure you don’t fill the bottles all the way, she said, and don’t put freeze glass bottles. They’ll shatter.

If you want to make an egg breakfast, don’t bring eggs in a cardboard container, in which they are commonly sold, because as the ice melts in the cooler, the water will disintegrate the container, leaving the eggs afloat. Instead, purchase eggs in styrofoam containers, which won’t disintegrate; or store eggs, padded in tissue, in a plastic container; or just purchase egg substitute.

If you go camping often, Mason-Gaspar recommends buying durable plastic camping plates, which are fun and reduce waste, instead of using disposable paper plates.

“It’s a nice way to save the environment and get something colorful that you can use over and over again,” Mason-Gaspar said.

According to Philbin, you can use Dutch ovens to cook, but “my preference is just a cast-iron skillet,” he said. “You can pretty much do anything with that.”

He calls aluminum foil the “camper’s duct tape” for cooking.

“It has a thousand uses,” Philbin said, including cooking, covering and storing food.

Find fun in

the great outdoors

To give you and your children plenty to do, play outdoors games like horseshoes or Frisbee, Mason-Gaspar said. You can also fish at Jalama Beach.

Holding a water balloon fight is fun, she added, but it creates litter, which can be hazardous to animals if they swallow it. Instead, she said, get baseball-sized sponges, dunk them in water, and enjoy.

“It doesn’t hit as hard as water balloons, and it’s a great way to stay cool,” she said.

Mason-Gaspar sees camping as a great family activity.

“It’s a great way to get outdoors and spend time away from the gadgets, and entertain yourself in different ways,” she said. “Being outside, we’re not surrounded by four walls, so it kind of opens up your mind. It frees your spirit a bit.”