How to set up a camping tarp: 3 pitches that work

Run cord between two trees at chest height (roughly 4–5 feet) for calm weather. Drop it to 18–24 inches in wind or heavy rain to cut exposed surface.

Lay the tarp over the ridgeline so equal panels hang on each side. The ridge seam or center row of attachment points sits on the cord.

Drive stakes at roughly 45-degree angles away from the ridgeline. For a 10x10-foot tarp, your anchor trees need at least 12 feet of clear space between trunks; add a couple of feet at each end for knot-tying room.

Each panel should sit at 30 degrees or steeper. A 9x9-foot tarp hung at 60 degrees gives about 4.5 feet of width and 3.9 feet of headroom at the peak. Flatter than 30 degrees and rain pools.

Attach the long windward edge at shoulder to head height. This is the edge that faces into the wind, not away from it.

Angle it away from the high edge at roughly 30 degrees and stake the opposite (low) edge to the ground.

If the tarp has side loops, pull them out and stake them to stiffen the panel in gusts.

The high edge always faces the wind. A lean-to pitched backward funnels rain straight under the shelter.

Orient the tarp so it forms a diamond rather than a square, with a corner pointing forward and a corner pointing back.

Hang the top corner over the ridgeline at chest height. The tarp now forms a low, peaked tent shape.

Drive stakes at the fore and aft corners, pulling the fabric taut along the ridgeline.

Use the left and right corner loops as guylines, staking them out to the sides. This sheds rain on all four faces and gives the smallest footprint of the three pitches.

Wrap the cord around the anchor tree, form a loop in the standing part, thread the working end through the loop, and pull down. The loop acts as a simple 2:1 pulley so you can cinch the line tight with one hand. Lock off with two half-hitches.

Where a tarp ridge loop clips onto the ridgeline, a prusik knot slides freely when slack but locks under load. You can reposition it without re-tying, which matters when you adjust pitch after dark.

Tie the guyline to the stake loop with a taut-line hitch (also called the adjustable guyline hitch). Sliding the knot toward the anchor increases tension; sliding it away releases. This is the knot you reach for every time you need to retension after rain.

Any terminal attachment at a tree, stake head, or anchor loop gets finished with two half-hitches to keep it from walking loose under repeated load.

Use a stick at least as long as your fist, a flat rock, or a stuff sack you can fill with rocks or dense soil.

Attach the guyline to the center of the stick or through the stuff sack closure. Leave enough tail to reach the surface.

Scrape out a slot 6 to 12 inches deep and slightly longer than your anchor. The slot should run perpendicular to the direction of pull.

Lay the anchor flat in the slot. The cord runs up and out toward the tarp. Pack the soil firmly above it. The weight of the earth above provides the holding force.

Give the guyline a firm tug. If the anchor shifts, dig deeper or add a second anchor in a T-configuration above the first.