Portable Canopies

Some, but certainly not all, campgrounds have canopies or pavilions to provide shade and maybe some rain protection.  Some have small canopies at each site shading the picnic table, some have large, group pavilions.  Having a big patio awning on your RV is convenient and provides instant shade and protection from light rain.   For tent camping, or RVs without awnings, a standalone or portable canopy can offer some of the same advantages at a fraction of the cost.  A stand alone canopy can also be set up over your picnic table or other convenient places, so you might want one even if you do have a nice patio awning on your RV.  Canopies provide shade and even protection from light rain.  Sometimes you might even set them up over your tent to provide extra protection against both sun and rain.  You probably won't want to try to use them when its windy.  Even with sturdy ropes to secure them, wind can wreak havoc with most canopies.

Standard canopies come in a variety of sizes.  They are essentially like tents without walls.   They usually have corner poles and require guy ropes at each corner to hold them in place and often have at least one center pole.   I recently found one made like dome tent with a 10x10 open area with no center poles.   A "dining fly" is a kind of special version of a canopy.  Typically about 12x12 or 16x16, they are designed to be used over picnic tables -- hence the name "dining fly".   They are light weight, inexpensive and pretty easy to set up and take down. They work well for shade and can provide some protection from light rain but usually aren't well suited to stormier weather, like wind and heavy rain or snow.  About the only other disadvantage to them are the guy ropes, which can be a tripping hazard.  You might want to tie bright colored ribbons onto the ropes to make them easier to see and minimize people tripping over them, which can damage both the canopy and the tripee!  I sometimes slip a foam "swim noodle" over the poles and/or guy ropes to make them more visible and provide cushion if someone still bumps into them.  The cushion protects both the person, and to some extent, the poles.

EZ-ups are self contained canopies with the fabric often attached to the folding framework. They are free-standing and only require ropes in windy conditions. They usually don't have any kind of center poles so they're ideal for use where you need the interior free of obstructions.  They can be set up by one person but it is usually easier if you have two or more people to lift them into position so all sides come up at the same time.  They use a folding framework like those on scissor-lift to create a rigid frame.  Be careful not to get your fingers caught in any of the moving parts!  There are usually dozens of pinch points within the criss-crossed framework.  The legs telescope to adjust the height. This style canopy is usually pretty sturdy and will stand up to more use and more weather than light weight canopies and dining flies.   Because of the added infrastructure, you can expect to pay more for them than simple canopies and they'll be heavier and bulkier to transport.  EZ-ups make excellent booths for organizations or vendors and can be imprinted with club/family/company names.  Despite their name and reputation, the size and weight are sometimes a deterrent to casual use if you're moving your site daily but are really nice and sturdy for several day's use at a single location when car camping.

Sidewalls are available or can be fabricated for use with almost any canopy, turning it into an outdoor room.   Custom made panels will fit and look the best but ordinary, inexpensive tarps can often be used as privacy panels and as extra weather protection.   Netting can be used to keep out insects or to provide for partial shade without completely blocking the view or the breeze.  For one-time or occasional use, simply tie the tarp to the framework of the canopy or string a rope from pole to pole to anchor the tarp to.  If you use it frequently you may want to add straps or hooks or eyelets or velcro fasteners to make is easier and faster to install and remove the side walls.   Make sure the poles supporting your canopy are strong enough to handle the extra weight and wind force on side panels.

Fires or cooking under canopies is generally not a good idea.  Indians had fires in their wigwams, but their unique design is what made it feasible.  The very high center, with a "smoke hole" functioned like chimney to safely vent heat and smoke without setting the covering on fire or suffocating the occupants.  The steep sides and tall height kept the flammable walls well away from a well-controlled fire in the center.   Even using your camp stove or BBQ can generate enough heat under a low canopy to damage it or create a fire and/or health hazard if there isn't enough clearance and ventilation.  Smoke and other cooking fumes may stain or otherwise cling to the inside of the canopy, creating ugly stains and unpleasant smells.  If you REALLY need to cook under a canopy to get out of the weather, stay close to the edge and make sure you have adequate overhead and lateral clearance between the cooking appliance and any fabric to avoid a fire hazard. Try to set up so any prevailing breezes will carry smoke out from under the canopy and not back into your protected living area.   I've seen campfires under large tarps for large groups in cooler weather. The tarp was hoisted high above the fire and they left an opening for campfire smoke to escape.   It was a welcome respite from rainy afternoons for a large group as long a a shift in the wind didn't blow rain in through the "chimney" hole.  It also required some monitoring and dumping of pooling to make sure the weight of accumulated water didn't bring the whole thing crashing down on the occupants or drenching them if one side let loose.  This task provided productive activity for restless teens and endless amusement to everyone watching.

Screen rooms are a nice variation of a canopy, providing protection against marauding insects.   They can make an afternoon or evening in the outdoors more pleasant and make a good hot weather bedroom, protected from dew and insects, but with plenty of fresh air.  You can find back yard gazebos at home centers but they will probably be to big and heavy to easily transport for camping. Canopies and screen rooms designed for camping will be lighter weight and easier to transport.  You can buy -- or make -- panels to convert your RV awning into a screen room.  Commercial screen panels often are designed to provide some sun protection as well, creating a cooler space under the awning without completely blocking the view.

You might even set up a canopy over your tent.  Why would you do that?  A good tent, properly set up, shouldn't need a canopy, but there are times you may want to use one.  First of all, it will provide shade so your tent doesn't get as hot during the day in the sun.   It may also help keep things drier in rain and will reduce morning dew.  If there are street lights or parking lot lights or a full moon or if you want to take an afternoon nap, it can help reduce unwanted light.

Portable canopies are excellent for setting up booths at outdoor events.  Done right they not only provide protection for displays and occupants from sun and rain, they can be in and of themselves a billboard for the organization and the products and services offered.   Canopies with custom imprinted logos and signage can be fairly expensive, but if you're artistic, you might stencil on your own designs or hang banners on a standard canopy for branding.  Some typical uses include sign up tables, information booths, and marketing of merchandise.   Of course, they are excellent for family gatherings, especially if a sudden rain catches you by surprise!  Lacking a branded canopy you can usually hang vinyl banners to advertise your presence and/or products.

You may be able to stretch an ordinary tarp between RVs or trees or use some extra tent poles to create your own canopy.   One advantage to this approach is you can create a custom canopy of whatever size you need.  I've seen several large tarps used to cover almost an entire camp site for family activities, stretched between trees and vehicles.  Getting them to work for shade is pretty easy. Making them effective in rain requires more consideration. You need to be concerned about drainage and runoff.   Overlapping seams that are perfectly adequate for shade may allow rain through, so you'll have to make sure the slope of each section is adequate and the overlap is in the right direction to prevent water puddling and intrusion.

Lighting may be needed for evening and night time use.  Many times you can just hang your Coleman or other lantern from the center of the canopy to do the trick.  Make sure it isn't too close to the fabric and check it from time to time as the accumulated heat given off by any flame-powered lantern can be substantial.  For a more festive and decorative approach use patio lights along the edges or valances.  You can attach them to the fabric using awning hanger clamps or even ID card holders.

Umbrellas are another handy form of canopy for camping use.   Personal sized umbrellas are available that clamp to your camp chair to give you your own private shade.  If you can't find some with clamps, you might zip-tie them to the backrest.  If you want or need more shade, golf umbrellas are usually bigger than standard rain umbrellas.  Larger beach umbrellas might be used to accommodate more than one person.   Even bigger patio umbrellas can shade your picnic table.  I've seen patio umbrellas set up on flatbed trailers and in pickup beds to transform the platforms used to haul ATVs and dirt bikes into shady decks.  Most umbrellas are circular, but there are also square and rectangular umbrellas with offset bases that have the advantage of easy, portable setup and use while providing more effective shade for picnic tables and beside RVs.  Like canopies, umbrellas can also provide protection against light rain, but they are difficult to manage in strong winds.

Portable privacy walls may provide additional privacy and protections against wind and other weather in camp.   They usually install using pipes driven into the ground to hold the uprights and then are secured with guy-ropes to hold them in place.  They can be used with or without a canopy.

Any way you cut it, canopies add comfort and convenience to just about any camping activity. Even though I have permanently mounted awnings on both my motorhome and my enclosed motorcycle trailer, I carry a light weight awning for additional flexibility and extra shade when needed.  Since we did a lot of dirt biking in the Mojave Desert, extra shade was ALWAYS welcome and, on the rare occasions when we got a little rain it was good to have a place to get us and our dirt bikes under cover.

Cover up!