Are you struggling to get your tent staked down in gravel ground?
Do you have a bad past experience you don’t want to repeat with gravel?
It’s easy to feel prepared for any ground situation with tent stakes out there for sand, rocky ground, and normal soil, but no one pays any attention to the tricky gravel ground.
Gravel is compacted rocks and often causes campers big headaches.
The key is getting the right tent stake. We’ll help you out with our list of the best tent stakes for gravel.
The best tent stakes for gravel have to be able to cut into the hard material and strong enough to withstand the pressure of driving or screwing them in. Our picks for this are:
- STADELHORN Titanium Ultralight Tent Stakes
- GROUNDGRABBA Ground Anchor Screw Kit
- BareFour Tent Stakes Heavy Duty
- Orange Screw: The Ultimate Ground Anchor
- Hikemax Forged Steel Burly Tent Solid Stakes
Read on for the reviews of our picks and answers to commonly asked questions.
Table of Contents
What To Look For In The Best Tent Stakes For Gravel
Gravel isn’t just a rocky soil and it’s not just compacted ground. It’s the worst of both worlds.
As such, gravel shouldn’t be treated just like any other ground material, and they need their own special tent stakes.
This being said, rocky ground tent stakes will work for this ground for the most part.
Good tent stakes for gravel need the following qualities:
Tough Material – These stakes are going to suffer a lot of pressure when getting hammered in or screwed in (depending on design).
You’ll want a tent stake with the toughness to handle it. Titanium or steel would be your best choices in this case.
Check out how to hammer your tent stakes.
Cutting Design – A gravel tent stakes needs to be able to cut through the tough ground. Once it’s in, it’s not usually too bad getting the stake in the rest of the way.
But starting it is a pain.
Strong, straight stakes work OK, but V-shape (and others like it) and screw-like stakes work well.
The screw-like shouldn’t have thin spiral sides though; they may unbend under the pressure.
Durability – Along the same lines as a tough material, the stakes need a high durability. Part of this is from the material, but some of it comes from the treatment and other design elements.
It’s fine if you get the stake to work in gravel, but you don’t want to replace the stake every couple of camping trips.
The best way to tell how durable a stake is to use it yourself or talk to those who have. We’ve done the hard work for you in our reviews below.
Medium Length – You’d think longer stakes are always better, but this isn’t the case. Medium or even shorter stakes work best in gravel.
The ground is compacted which actually is great for staying strong in high winds, but this makes it a huge pain to drive long stakes in.
The longer the stake with gravel, the greater the chance something will bend or break.
Of course, you don’t have to drive it all the way in, but then you’ll be tripping over the stakes the entire time.
Check out the best dome tents for high wind.
Review Of The Best Tent Stakes For Gravel
This section is our review of each of these products. Use this information to help you decide which tent stake is right for you.
Many of these also work best for hard ground or rocky ground, so you’ll be getting dual-purpose out of them.
Note: Though we mention price ranges, these prices fluctuate often. The best way to tell current item pricing is to click the button or image for best information.
STADELHORN Titanium Ultralight Tent Stakes
If you’re going to get one tent stake to use for all-purpose, we recommend the Stadelhorn ones here. These are also perfect for gravel and other tough grounds.
These are affordable (for the price of each one), durable, and strong.
This pack of 6 tent stakes are made from pureGR2 titanium. Titanium is the perfect balance of lightweight and powerful material.
These stakes have also been treated to protect against rust and other forms of corrosion from being outside and exposed to rain water and other elements.
The stakes are in a V-shape which makes them have an easier time driving into the gravel ground.
These stakes are a little on the shorter end at 6.3 inches (16 cm) in length. For gravel, this is just fine as you don’t want to have to get these all the way in.
Pros For This Product:
- Affordable
- Strong and light titanium
- Sharp V-shape
- Short length for easier driving
Cons For This Product:
- Doesn’t cut into gravel as well as others
- May be too short for high winds
GROUNDGRABBA Ground Anchor Screw Kit
This anchor kit by Groundgrabba isn’t just for camping tents, but they’ll do the job. This set is for anyone who wants to make sure their tent isn’t going anywhere.
The higher price may seem scary at first, but with this purchase you get:
- 12 screw stakes
- 1 drill bit
- 2 drill wrench adapters
- 12 stake connector loops in two different sizes
The stakes are made from carbon steel which is lighter than normal steel but just as strong.
The screw shape is perfect for cutting into the gravel ground.
The drill bit included isn’t needed in most cases, but it will help pilot holes for the stakes to go in easier.
The 2 wrench adapters fit into any drill and allow you to screw the stakes in without as much manual work on your part.
You won’t need all 12 stakes at one time, so you’ll have some as backup when the others wear out.
They won’t wear out quickly though as they’re treated well against rust and corrosion.
The biggest downside specifically for gravel is their length. These come in at a long 12 inches (30.48 cm) which is great for high winds, but require more effort in tough gravel.
Fortunately, the pilot holes and adapter makes this process easier.
Pros For This Product:
- Very tough carbon steel
- Great screw design for cutting into gravel
- Drill bit and adapters for help driving stakes in
- Treated well against rust
Cons For This Product:
- Higher price
- Long stakes take more effort
BareFour Tent Stakes Heavy Duty
BareFour’s tent stakes are an affordable and simple steel option for those who don’t want to mess around with anything fancy.
This product comes with 8 forged steel stakes.
The S45C steel is considered “unbreakable” though they will bend under extreme pressure. However, normal camping and even gravel shouldn’t provide the pressure to do this.
They’re treated against rust and corrosion, but this doesn’t seem to last as well as some others.
The stakes are a simple straight, nail design.
This will work fine for driving into gravel, but it may be a pain to get it started.
The hook and flat block on top prevents the stake from going down too far, and it helps secure the stake a little more.
Its 8-inch length isn’t too long for driving into hard ground.
This will work fine, but you’ll have to do more of the work yourself to get it into the gravel.
Pros For This Product:
- Affordable and simple
- Strong forged steel
- Good length for gravel
Cons For This Product:
- Rust tends to get to it over time
- Requires more work to drive in
Orange Screw: The Ultimate Ground Anchor
These tent stakes are a medium-priced option you may want to consider. The Orange Screw is exactly what it sounds like: an orange tent stake with a screw design
This 4-pack of stakes has some unique design elements to it.
The screw shape is perfect for cutting into the gravel. Once it’s in, you just need to finish screwing.
Orange Screw offers a clear storage tube which is useful, but it serves another purpose.
Each screw has a large circular top to insert the tube into and use as leverage for screwing the stake in.
This design element is quite useful in screwing the stakes into gravel. It also works with sticks or metal rods or anything which fits in there.
The length of the stake part is 8 inches (20.32 cm) long which is a medium length perfect for tough gravel.
Orange Screw made their stakes from a type of plastic which is less than ideal. But this plastic is recycled and reinforced polycarbonate which is much tougher than most plastics and some metals.
Pros For This Product:
- Light and durable material
- Great screw shape for cutting into gravel
- Good medium length
- Large circle on top helpful for screwing in the stake
Cons For This Product:
- Plastic isn’t as strong as others
- Only in pack of 4
Hikemax Forged Steel Burly Tent Solid Stakes
Hikemax’s moderately-priced tent stakes come in a pack of 8 and will get the job done.
These are made from strong, forged steel.
The tent stakes are a simple nail shape, but this works well when you consider the tough steel material and 8-inch length.
There is a hook which stops you from driving the stake in too far, and it helps with keeping stake in too.
The loop on top is designed well to allow for easier removal of the stake.
All in all, this is a simple stake but one designed solidly.
Pros For This Product:
- Good length for gravel
- Very tough steel
- Treated well to last a long time
Cons For This Product:
- Nail design means you have to do more work yourself
Commonly Asked Questions
How do you stake a tent in gravel? – Putting a tent stake in gravel is just like any other stake, but it requires a tougher stake.
You may also want to consider drilling a pilot hole in the gravel to help get the stake started.
How do you secure a tent without stakes? – Use logs or rocks to tie the tent down or place them on the edge of the tent fabric.
For more details, check out how to secure a tent without stakes.
How long should a tent stake be? – It largely depends on what you need. For high winds, longer is better, so 12 inches (30.48 cm) or more would be good.
A medium 8-inch length is good for almost every case though.
Can you pitch a tent on gravel? – Yes, but be careful.
It’s harder to get the stakes in (though with our picks above, it’s much easier). But the gravel is tough on the tent.
When pitching on gravel, you MUST use a tent footprint.
Do you need to use a tent footprint? In this case, yes.
Final Thoughts
Now you know a little more about the best tent stakes for gravel.
Make your life easier and keep your stakes usable longer by picking one from our list.
Don’t get frustrated and quit on camping. Get creative and informed and enjoy yourself.