Do you snore on backpacking or camping trips? Does it disturb the people you’re with or others who share the same campsite with you? If so, you need to take responsibility for your ‘condition’ and reduce its impact on others. Here are some camping etiquette guidelines for backpackers and campers who snore.

Etiquette for Snorers

If you are a very loud snorer, a so-called “goose-honker”, pitch your tent or camping shelter far away from others – 100 yards should be adequate, especially if there are trees or boulders between you and others.

If you are sharing a trail shelter, lean-to, or tent, tell your companions that you snore before you all go to bed and ask them whether snoring bothers them. If so: Offer to sleep outside, well out of hearing range. Tell them how to get you to stop snoring at night. For example: HIT, KICK, or PUNCH ME! Most people are bashful about moving a snoring sleeper so give them permission in advance. Wake me up and tell me I am snoring. Roll me over onto my side. Offer your shelter-mates sedatives before they go to sleep. Offer your shelter-mates ear-plugs before they go to sleep.



If co-habitation in the same tent or lean-to is unavoidable, reduce or eliminate the volume of your snoring by: Wear breathe-right strips on your nose to help keep your airways more open. Take an antihistamine/decongestent like benedryl before going to sleep if the volume of your snoring is increased by allergies. Don’t drink alcohol before sleeping near others.



Sleep on your side if sleeping on your back causes you to snore. Camping pillows like the Exped Air Pillow UL are surprisingly effective at keeping you on your side at night and can help prevent you from rolling over onto your back. Bring extra sleeping pads like an accordian style Therm-a-Rest Z-lite that you can fold behind your back to prevent you from rolling over onto your back (attach it to another closed cell pad using velcro)



When choosing a campsite, pick one that has a loud white-noise sound source close-by such as a stream, waterfall, rapids, or ocean surf. These natural sounds can help drown out the sound of your snoring and hide it under “white noise.”

Go to sleep after everyone else has. People can often tolerate snorers and sleep through the night if they’re not kept awake by someone who is already snoring nearby.

These are just a few of the tips and tricks I use to reduce or eliminate the impact of my snoring on others when I’m backpacking or camping. Yes – I snore, though intermittently, and not through the night.

How do you limit snoring or keep it from affecting others when you backpack or camp?