Is your camping smell starting to offend even the skunks? In this article we’ll look at 9 of the best camping shower ideas to get you feeling and smelling better.
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13 of the best Camping Shower Ideas and Shower Tent Solutions
Below are 13 answers to how to shower while camping. These are some of the best camping shower ideas to help you clean up.
But, if you do shower while you’re camping, the US National Parks service reminds you to use biodegradable soap and shower at least 200-feet from waterways so your soap doesn’t get into the local water system. (Reference)
With that in mind lets look at the camping shower ideas.
Electric Camping Shower Ideas
The invention of lightweight, rechargeable batteries has meant that people now have new options for showering while camping.
Remember that water is heavy. One gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds so you need a solid structure to hang gravity-fed showers from. But this electronic shower solves that by using an electric pump to pump the water to the shower head.
Ivation Portable Camping Shower (electric shower)
Here is a clever outdoor shower made by Ivation.
Drop one end into a bucket of water and the battery-powered pump will send water from the “suction” end up the hose to the shower head.
And since you aren’t suspending the water in the air, you could use this in a pop up shower tent (further below) by attaching it to the roof of the privacy tent.
The Ivation is a very cool camping accessory, but is it in your price range?
KEDSUM Portable Electric Camping Shower (external batteries)
This electronic shower by KEDSUM has a submergible pump that you put into a bucket of water – but unlike the Ivation portable shower – this shower has a separate battery compartment that doesn’t go underwater.
It comes with two rechargeable batteries that you can recharge from grid power, or from your vehicle’s 12-volt system. It also comes with a hook to hang the showerhead from a tree branch for hands-free showering. (There is also a suction cup so you could stick this to the side of your vehicle or RV.)
What’s cool about this shower is that it also comes with a spray nozzle. So if your camping gear gets dirty, you can spray it off with the nozzle.
It has good water pressure – 1 gallon per minute. If you want to see it in use, there is a video on the Amazon product page where they show it spraying.
Mr. Heater Hot Water Shower (propane fired water heater Model XB-13)
This is a bit of a fancier outdoor shower setup.
The Mr. Heater portable shower uses propane to heat the water and an electric pump to pump the water to the shower head.
Set the unit on flat surface. Then you connect a 1-pound propane tank to the unit and then put the water pump into a water source (such as a large water jug). It’s hard to tell from this picture, but the propane bottle screws onto a connection at the back of the unit.
The pump sucks up the water and sends it into the main unit where the propane burner heats the water. Then the warm water is pumped through the shower head.
The unit requires 6 D batteries in total. So you’ll probably want to get some rechargeable D batteries. The manufacturer claims you can get up to 40 minutes of shower time with the batteries.
You can adjust the temperature and if you have a large water supply, it’ll feel like you’re having an “actual shower”.
The downside is that this isn’t the most portable of the portable outdoor showers listed here because this weighs in at almost 15 pounds, not including the propane tank. So it won’t work for backcountry, walk-in tent camping, but it would be great for front country camping in a van or camper.
Pressurized Camping Showers
These camping showers do not have to be elevated because you pressurize them to spray from the tank on the ground up to the attached shower nozzle. The downside is that they are not hands-free: most of them require you to hold the showerhead and activate a trigger-style on/off switch.
Flow Pro Pressurized Portable Shower (by Reliance Products)
You fill the plastic water tank and then press down on the top handle to manually pressurize the tank.
The showerhead has a trigger-style on/off switch much like garden sprayers.
It only holds 2 gallons of water so it isn’t a big tank but it works for quick rinses.
Nemo Helio Pressure Shower (XL Foot Pump Pressurized Camp Shower)
This camping shower comes with a 7-foot shower hose and a trigger-style shower nozzle. This is the 22-liter size (5.8 gallons) and they claim you can get about 5-7 minutes of water spray from it. You pressurize it by stepping on the foot pump.
You could use it for a full shower, rinsing sandy feet, rinsing dishes or equipment and other campsite cleansing.
Click here to see it on Amazon.
Vehicle Hitch-Mounted Shower Tank (by WaterPORT)
Do you regularly camp with your vehicle?
The company WaterPORT makes this pressurized water tank shower that can mounted to the hitch of your vehicle.
Or, what some people do is attach the water tank to their roof racks or rooftop cargo tray to avoid the tank hitting the ground while on rough roads.
(The roof-mounting option makes it similar to the Yakima Roadshower…which I can’t find at online retailers anymore.)
This shower features a 3.8 gallon tank (about 17 liters). And it has a nice long hose – 8-feet long.
And much like garden sprayers, the nozzle has different spray patterns to meet your needs.
Will this work for you?
Gravity-fed Camping Showers
We are taught from childhood that water flows downhill and that’s exactly what gravity-fed camping showers do. You fill a tank or bladder with water, elevate it above your head and then pour the water over yourself.
Because they are heavy they require a solid tree or hook to hang them from.
And some of these options rely on solar heating to warm up the water.
Below are a couple of well-rated options for gravity-fed camping showers.
5 Gallon Solar Shower Bag by ADVANCED ELEMENTS
Do you want a hot shower during your camping trip?
It’s possible, even when off grid, if you get a portable camp shower like this that uses solar energy to heat the water. You’ll have hot water to rinse away the grime.
Fill the bag with cold water, set in the sunlight to warm up, hang it from a tree or hook and you’ll be able to shower using the attached hose and showerhead. The showerhead has an on/off feature so you can turn it off while washing your hair or lathering your body so as to not waste water. It holds up to 5 gallons of water and it has a gauge to show you the water temperatures.
Since it’s gravity-fed it does require you to hang it from something sturdy – and keep in mind that water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon. So this 5 gallon capacity camping shower will weigh over 40 pounds when full.
Most pop up camping tents (like shown below) aren’t built to hold this weight: you’d have to position your shower tent near a tree and then feed the water hose into the camping shower tent.
This is a great option to have a quick warm shower. Will it work for you?
Simple Solar Shower Option (5 gallon shower bag by Coghlans)
Who said an off grid shower has to be freezing?
Here is a simple solar shower option from Coghlan’s. Just fill it up, leave it in the sun to warm up, suspend it above your head and enjoy the warm water. (Be careful they can get quite hot.)
It is fairly well-rated on Walmart.com (currently 4.3 stars out of 5), and it folds up small and it won’t break the bank.
If you want a simple solar-heated shower bag, check this one out.
(Note: If the Coghlan’s shower bag isn’t available, another similar option is the Risepro Solar Shower bag.)
Shower Head for Plastic Bottles
These are a cool idea.
They convert water bottles – which you probably have at your campsite anyway – into showers.
You attach the silicone shower head to a two-liter water bottle (or a clean soda bottle) and you’ve got yourself a handheld shower.
This obviously won’t be the best portable shower for long showers. But it’ll work great for a quick scrub and rinse.
Sea to Summit Pocket Shower
This lightweight shower bag is made of waterproof nylon. It is called the Sea to Summit Pocket Shower.
It holds 10 liters of water (about 2.6 gallons).
And you’ll notice it doesn’t have a hose. It just has an on/off nozzle at the bottom of the bag. Plus, when you twist the nozzle you can adjust the water flow rate.
A lot of campers use this to wash their hands, and some even wash their clothes inside the bag! It’s a versatile camping accessory.
The black bag will warm up the water if you leave it in the sun. So you can use solar power to have a nice warm shower.
Are you looking for a simple, lightweight portable shower? If so, check this out.
Wet Wipes for Spot Cleaning
If you primarily sweat and smell from one particular body part – such as armpits or feet – then biodegradable body wipes like these ones from Survivewear can help keep you feeling and smelling fresh without a full camping shower or bath.
They can be a quick way to minimize smells after a long day of camping activities.
Once you bury these wet wipes, the manufacturer claims they start to decompose after 28 days and fully break down after 6 months.
Pop Up Camping Shower Tents
If you want some privacy while you’re getting clean look into getting a pop up camping shower tent.
You don’t want to spend lots of time setting up an outdoor shower stall…you want easy…and that’s what great about pop up privacy tents.
They set up in seconds and give you a space to get clean while blocking prying eyes.
You can have your own private shower in no time.
WolfWise Pop Up Shower Tent with removable floor
This updated WolfWise pop up camping shower tent now comes with a removable floor so you don’t have to stand in the dirt. It has a mesh top and zippered windows to ventilate because showers in a shower tent can get a little steamy.
Pop up Shower Tent for Tall People
This camping shower tent by Ropoda is 83-inches tall (6-feet, 11-inches tall). So it will be a better choice for taller campers compared to the WolfWise shown above.
I hope you’ve found some good camping shower ideas for your next trip.
Which ones will work for you?
This will depend primarily on what type of camping you do and for how many days in a row you camp.
Do you just need a quick rinse? Then perhaps water bottle shower head is enough.
And if you camp in a vehicle or camper for extended periods of time, you may want a fancier electric camping shower.
For more information on how to stay clean while camping check this out.
Plus check out:
35 Enjoyable things to do while camping
13 RV Racks to carry your Gear
