Ultimate Guide To Camping For Food Lovers Slideshow

What to Bring: Heavy Duty Camp Grill

Coghlan's Heavy Duty Camp Grill comes highly recommended for campers who are venturing into recipes for whole fish, steaks, and Dutch ovens. The Weber Smokey Joe, too, is recommended as a small, stand-up, charcoal grill.

What to Bring: Portable Camp Kitchen

The Cabela's Camp Kitchen is an easily portable cooking "center," with compartments for utensils and pantry items (like spices), a work surface, small table to dine at, silverware tray, storage, sink, and a cooking shelf for a two-burner stove. It's even rain-proof, and has room for that corkscrew. Or try the likewise generously outfitted Grub Hub portable camp kitchen.

What to Bring: Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil may seem like a simple item, but it's pretty crucial for camping. Wrap fish in aluminum before baking it with fresh vegetables and spices for an easy fish dinner, then use foil to wrap up ingredients that didn't get used.

What to Bring: Knives

Knives are important cooking tools in and out of the kitchen, and the campground is no exception. If you plan on cooking fresh fish, the Victorinox serrated paring knife is vital, as is a pocket knife.

What to Bring: Containers

Pack up ingredients in easy-to-carry (and easy-to-clean) vessels like the Lock & Lock containers, keep them all fresh and cool in the Lakeland Cool Bag, and check out these tips on what else to bring into the great outdoors.

What to Make: One-Pot Dishes

One-pot dishes, like this chicken tagine with sweet potatoes, are ideal for camping. They keep prep and cleanup to a minimum, without sacrificing flavor. Try this tomato soup with kale and chickpeas (perhaps a side dish for a whole-baked fish?).

What to Make: Simple Spaghetti

One of our favorite camping recipes is this no-chop spaghetti puttanesca for the obvious reasons: it's easy because there's no chopping and it's super delicious. Making this for fellow campers will undoubtedly impress.

What to Make: Baked Fish

There are two easy ways to bake a whole fish by the campfire — in foil or in newspaper. This recipe for foil-baked flounder has lemon, herbs, and snap beans, though you can substitute for camp-friendly (and seasonal) veggies like broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, and the like. Or, try this newspaper-wrapped whole fish that needs little more than some sea salt, lemon, and perhaps some herbs.

What to Make: Sausages

Another recipe to elevate your campsite into a gastronomic destination, this glamping sausage recipe is easy to make and crowd-pleasing. Bring your favorite meaty sausages, some fresh oysters, and a pre-made green salad. Voilà, glamping with sausages. Check out our other camping cooking 101 tips.

Best Apps: Coleman’s Camping Cookbook

Even if equipped with all the necessary tools, every camper knows to expect the unexpected. So arm yourself (and your iPhone) with camping apps like the classic Coleman's Camping Cookbook app.

Best Apps: Camp Recipes!

The Camp Recipes! app has more than 700 easily-searched recipes, including survival and backpacker recipes, wild game recipes (barbecued venison jerky, anyone?) for those campers who double as hunters, and multiple methods for cooking dishes.

Best Apps: Bug Spray App

Yes, you should be skeptical. And no, your phone will not emit sticky, smelly bug spray if you download this Bug Spray app. Instead, it sends out three high-frequency tones known to repel insects. Since it's free, and doesn't need Wi-Fi, you may as well try it out, right?

Best Apps: SAS Survival Guide

You never know when you might need an app that dispenses the same survival lessons that Britain's fiercest fighting force learns, from fire building to creating signals and codes. The SAS Survival Guide Lite does just that, and it's free. Check out our other recommended camping survival apps.

Bonus: This might not be a vital survival tip, but if you forget a corkscrew for that bottle of wine, camping may lose some of its appeal. Here's how to open a bottle of wine without one.

Go Glamping: Paws Up

Of course, getting outside doesn't have to mean carrying your own grills and burners, or even building your own campfire. The Paws Up resort in Montana offers a gorgeously rustic setting along with creature comforts like spa treatments, heated bathroom floors, and catered meals.

Go Glamping: Treebones

Overlooking the Big Sur coastline, Treebones offers "campers" queen-sized beds in their hardwood floor yurts, heating, French doors that open onto a redwood deck, an outdoor sushi bar, heated pool, and hot tubs.

Go Glamping: Safari West

Safari West is camping meets safari meets not roughing it at all. Luxury safari tents serve as home base for spending days out in the wild searching for zebra, giraffes, and cheetahs, as well as private massages for the camping-weary. The camp also hosts barbecue ranch lunches, dinners, and everything in between. Check out the rest of our recommended glamping spots across the country.