Did you go camping and completely forget to pack your tent pegs?
Are you worried your whole camping trip is ruined because the wind will blow away your tent?
We’ve all been there, especially when you have kids.
With three young boys, I know exactly how chaotic the packing and leaving goes.
This is why you need to know how to secure a tent without stakes.
Securing a tent without stakes isn’t impossible with the right knowledge. You can use rocks, logs, ties to trees, make your own wooden tent stake, firewood, and sticks to help keep your tent from blowing away.
Read ahead for how these ways help you out.
Table of Contents
6 Simple Ways To Set Up A Tent Without Stakes
Each way to secure tents without tent pegs requires a little bit of work to make it happen well. Some don’t work as well as the others, but you have to work with what you have,
Check out this section for a description of these tricks.
Rocks
My favorite way to secure when I forgot my pegs is to use large rocks.
The weight of these does a good job with holding down the tent.
When looking for rocks, check out the shape of the rock.
If it has any sharp edges, don’t use it.
You should also look for rocks at least the size of your head if you can move them yourselves.
The wider the rocks are the better as this will displace more of the pressure from the tent.
I’d look for at least twice as many rocks as you’d use for tent stakes.
Check out how many tent stakes you need.
There are two main ways to attach the rocks to the tent.
The best way is to tie the tie-out loops around the rocks.
This won’t work if the rocks you find aren’t shaped well-enough to hold onto the lines.
The other option is to place the rocks on top of the edges of the tent.
This is harder on the tent material, and there’s still a chance the tent edges may slide out from under them.
But when you have limited options, you do what you have to do.
Tying the lines around the rocks will do just fine even in medium winds, but placing the rocks on the tent will only work up to light winds.
Logs
Logs are the second best option you have for securing a tent to the ground.
Logs are harder to find than good-sized rocks.
Look for the heavier logs you can find.
Longer would be better as well, but you still need a few, so don’t go crazy looking for long ones.
The length of your forearm does just fine.
Get twice as many logs as there are places to drive in tent stakes.
Place the logs like the rocks we mentioned above.
Either place them near the tent loops and use guy lines to tie the tent tightly the logs.
On the plus side for using logs, it’s much easier to tie the tent to the logs than some rocks.
Alternatively, you may also place the logs on the edge of the tent material.
This works OK, but the logs may roll over and off the tent if bumped or pulled on too much.
A combination of rocks and logs is also a good option depending on what you have available.
Be flexible.
Tie To Tree
In a pinch, you may also want to try tying your tent to a nearby tree.
If you can get at least four trees near enough to each you tie each corner of your tent to it, this would be best.
If all you can find is one tree, the ties won’t hold up in wind very well.
All this tie is going to do is keep your tent from completely flying away.
And in heavy winds, it may cause the tent to rip.
If you only have one tree, you NEED to use some alternate weights.
We don’t recommend tying to a tree if you can help it, but it is one option you have.
Make Your Own Wooden Tent Stake
One of my personal favorite options (and sometimes I do this just for fun) is to make your own wooden tent stake.
Making one isn’t as hard as you think.
Check out our full guide for how to make a wooden tent stake.
In short, here’s what you need to do.
Find a branch or piece of wood about as thick around as a forearm and at least 12 inches (30.48 cm) long.
Using a good knife, carve the end of the branch into a slight cone to help the branch go into the ground easier.
Up near the “top”, go down about 3 inches (7.62 cm) and carve an upside down U-shaped notch into the wood.
This is where the guy line will tie into.
Make twice as many stakes as there are tie loops on your tent, drive the stakes straight into the ground, and tie the guy lines to the stakes and tent.
If done properly, these stakes will work just as well as any plastic pegs and many aluminum pegs as well.
Firewood
When the rock and log pickings are slim, firewood is a viable option.
Use your imagination to use these like rocks, logs, or even make your own wooden tent stake out of them if you have a hatchet available.
A small stack of firewood can be tied to or placed on the edge of your tent.
A hatchet can split the wood, and then you may want to carve it into a wooden tent stake.
The only downside is that you won’t be able to use it with your fire.
Sticks
As a last-ditch option, you may be able to use some thicker sticks.
A large pile of sticks can help to hold down the edges of a tent.
Thicker sticks with a fork in them may be used to help hold down the tent loops.
In this case, you’ll need many sticks of this shape each one of their forks in a single loop.
This way won’t hold much more than the smallest wind, but it’s better than nothing.
Do You Need Tent Stakes?
Yes and no.
If there is no wind, you can get away without tent stakes.
It may move around as you move in it, but you should be OK.
However, if there is even a little wind, you need to have something to hold down the tent.
Tent stakes will, obviously, do the best job, but when you forget them, you can use the options we discussed above.
We suggest keeping a pack of cheap plastic tent stakes in your tent bag along with the tent body at all times.
The plastic ones won’t do much better than rocks or large logs, but they’ll do in a pinch.
Learn how to use tent stakes the right way.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed learning about how to secure a tent without stakes.
If there are rocks, logs, or sticks around, you’ll be able to make do in all but heavy winds.
Don’t give up on the camping trip because of forgetting such a little thing.
Get creative and have a good time.
Now get outside and enjoy the fresh air!
Worried about high winds? Check out the best tents for high winds.