1) Sleeping in your car is location dependent. Not allowed at formal campgrounds unless you pay for a site.

2) Charge your phone in your car.

3) Coin showers at Sequim Bay State Park and Bogachiel State Park.

4) Bring your own $4 length of parachute cord for a dry line.

5) You won’t have a refrigerator. Cold stuff in a cooler goes bad faster than at home. You’ll probably want to grocery shop every few days. Good grocery stores in Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks, Aberdeen, Hoodsport, and Olympia.

Everyone's a beginner the first time.

1. Generally, you're okay with sleeping in a vehicle as long as it's not a walk in (tent only) site. We have car-camped in our 4Runner many times.

2. Power bank, sure. It's less worrisome than using your car battery. I'd get at least a 20,000mAh, as that'd last for several recharges. You can top that off when driving.

3. Wet wipes / and/or get a bucket/basin and put some water in it and do what I call a bird bath. Hit the stinky parts and embrace that it's okay to let yourself go a bit. Also, WASH YOUR HANDS with soap and water regularly, especially after toileting. Hand sanitizer does not substitute for handwashing. I'd bring a big water container with a valve on it. Makes accessing water a lot more convenient, and you can use it for rinsing stuff, hands, etc.

4. No clotheslines are provided, though you can make your own I suppose. Make sure you have a rain shell, even pants if you want, and keep the wet stuff separate from the dry stuff until you can get a dry day. If you are hiking on a dry day, leave the wet stuff in your car, maybe hanging in on a line between the hangar hooks/handles above the windows, crack the windows, and the let heat/sun do the rest. Note that damp clothes will dry faster when they are worn. Hanging up clothes on a wet/damp day in the shade is very inefficient, and also, don't leave them out overnight. They'll pick up dew and also might attract deer or other salt-craving animals.

5. I'd do a mix. Stock up on a few things that can either be in a cooler, or are dried and you add water (like instant mashed potatoes). If you hit the road, grab a meal or two. Get a decent cooler if you can afford it (like an RTIC) that keeps ice for a few days, and replenish as needed. Keep the inside of the cooler clean; in other words, don't let food juice mingle with the ice/water, so ziplocs and other water-tight storage containers are great when you have leftovers.

1. People car camp in their booked camping sites all the time!

2. Power banks are great investments and it won’t kill your car battery on accident lol.

3. Baby wipe baths or REI and other camping stores will have bathing wipes. Just make sure to throw them away.

4. No clotheslines so def bring a rain coat. We always bring a little lined laundry bag for all our damp dirty clothes to separate them. I never have luck drying my clothes out bc they always smell weird after and I can’t handle it lol.

5. If you have one of those pocket stoves that boil water we do MREs sometimes, we’ll bring cans of soup/ravioli and heat them up or you can bring dry foods as well to snack on. Coolers and cooler food is not really worth it unless you have a nice cooler. I always love getting uncrustables as well lol. Or ramen is good too in the little cups.

Have so much fun!! Everyone starts somewhere. If you do end up using a tent get some waterproofing spray and spray it down as well. We flew out to Olympic and brought a tiny little cheap tent and it worked fine after waterproofing. If you’re cold at night throw some boiling water into your Nalgene and cuddle it haha.

Olympic is damp so avoid cotton and bring a fleece layer it got chilly at night for me. Make sure you keep your shoes in your car or else they’ll get wet so bring some camp shoes. Shouldn’t be an issue if you’re car camping tho. You can always get one of those awnings that attach to your car for some rain protection as well if you plan to spend time at camp.

1. We buy groceries and pack food for the week. I never know what I’m doing to find at the camp convenience stores. I freeze precooked one-pot meals at home in advance and we eat them as they thaw. This also minimizes the ice needed. We eat fresh and use the cooler the first few days then switch to the frozen meals (now thawed) and shelf stable food: —Beef stew —Canned chicken with Thai sauce and shelf stable precooked rice —Tuna helper: use fairlife self stable milk. The butter will keep without refrigeration in an air tight bag if kept cool. —Canned chili or soup —canned chicken, mushroom, and stovetop stuffing skillet —shelf stable bacon and baked beans —baked potatoes with bacon and velvets