How This Site Came Together

Camp Hostel Lifestyle did not start with a business plan. It started with a shared folder of trip notes: which campsite had the windy pitches, which hostel kitchen had a decent frying pan, which train was worth waking up early for. Friends kept asking for copies, and at some point it made more sense to publish the notes properly than to keep forwarding them.

From notes to a magazine

The first pages were rough checklists. Over time they turned into proper guides, then into a wider mix of reading for the slow moments of a trip: games for a rainy hostel lounge, films for a night in, food worth seeking out. The outdoors stayed at the centre, but we stopped pretending a trip is only about the trail.

Today the magazine is run by a small group who write under pen names. None of us claims a professional title in mountaineering, guiding or travel. We are regular people who spend a lot of time outside and like explaining things clearly.

How a topic gets picked

Most ideas come from questions we were asked, or asked ourselves, before a trip. If a question keeps coming up, such as what a hostel actually is or how to keep a tent dry, it earns a place on the list. We also look at which subjects people search for and where the existing answers are confusing or incomplete.

How an article is put together

One writer drafts. They lean on official sources wherever possible: park and campground notices, land manager guidance and manufacturer instructions. A second person reads the draft as a beginner would and marks anything unclear. Safety points, especially anything involving fire, water, weather or wildlife, are checked against current public guidance before the piece goes live.

We keep the tone practical. If a step depends on local rules, we say so plainly and send you to the people in charge of that place.

What stayed the same

The spirit of those first shared notes still guides us. We write the guide we would want a friend to hand us the night before a trip: short enough to read, honest about limits and free of sales talk. You can see how we choose the articles we highlight on Our Picks, Explained.

Join in

Many improvements to our guides came from readers. If you have a correction, a tip from the trail or a question we have not answered, write to us through the contact page. A good place to start reading is our guide on planning a hiking trip.