How to Put a Tarp Over a Tent

Choose the spot, look up and check the wind

Outdoor Family lists “Clear drainage points, preferably down slope from important living areas” first, and My Open Country says to “keep wind direction in mind”. Then look into the canopy over the whole tarp and tent area. A 2019 National Park Service release about burned forest at Crater Lake says: “Dead or damaged trees can fall at any time and without warning.” Park staff there “recommend that visitors avoid these burned areas because of the risk posed by standing dead trees”. If you see dead limbs or a dead tree overhead or beside the site, pick another spot. The National Weather Service advises: “Listen to the weather forecast for the outdoor area you plan to visit.”

Check the rules, pick two strong trees and set the height

The National Park Service says: “Many frontcountry campgrounds do not allow you to tie ropes to trees”. If yours does not, skip to the poles method below. Otherwise follow Outdoor Family: “Choose 2 strong trees on either side of the site.” They need to be far enough apart for the ridgeline to run along the tent with the tarp over it. Leave the tent in its bag for now: Wilderness Times says to put the ridgeline up first because “you’re going to pitch it underneath later”. Height: Wilderness Times says to set the ridgeline “A foot or two above your tent will be just enough”, and not much higher. My Open Country adds that the tarp height should be higher than you think you need, “to allow for sag”. Other sources give other heights for other tarps; see the table below.

Tie the first end with a bowline

My Open Country says a bowline works because it is “extra-secure and easy to adjust”. Pass the cord around the trunk at your chosen height and tie the bowline so its loop closes around the trunk; NetKnots, a knot-reference site, shows the bowline step by step with pictures and an animation. Pull on the finished knot to check it holds.

Tie the other end with a taut-line hitch and pull the line tight

Wilderness Times says to use a bowline for the first tree and, for the other tree, “a taut-line hitch”; NetKnots shows the taut-line hitch, which you tie around the trunk and slide along the standing line (the part running back to the first tree) to adjust tension. Pull the line tight: Scandinavian Outdoor says “Get the ridgeline as tight as you can”. Outdoor Family describes an easier tie-off for a large tarp: wrap the rope around the tree 3-4 times and tie off loosely, “No fancy knot required”, because bark friction holds it.

Tie a guy line to every corner grommet before you lift the tarp

Wilderness Times says to tie guy lines around the grommets first so you can pull the whole thing taut. My Open Country uses the bowline here too: pass the free end through the grommet, then tie it as in step 3, so the knot closes around the grommet.

Drape the tarp over the ridgeline, centered

Spread it evenly on both sides. My Open Country warns that “Rain is likely to pool in any wrinkles or creases”, so pull out wrinkles and overlaps now. If the line is too high, Outdoor Family ties a corner to a guy line, tosses the guy line over the ridgeline and pulls the tarp across.

Peg out the corners and tension them

Run each corner line outward and down to a stake clear of the tent’s sides. My Open Country says: “Peg out and adjust guy line tension to suit.” It says to keep guy lines taut “so rain can flow off the tarpaulin”, which also adds protection against wind. Wilderness Times says a taut-line hitch can also tie guy lines to stakes: tie it around the stake and slide it to tension. Outdoor Family says to “slope the tarp to allow for clear drainage” and to lead the drainage points away from tents.

Keep the lines out of the walkways

Lines at ground level are a tripping hazard. Outdoor Family says to avoid putting guy lines near areas where people walk and, if you cannot, to use “reflective ropes”.

Pitch the tent under the tarp and check the gap

Outdoor Family says to “Set up the tent after you are happy with the tarp” and to put at least the front door, “and preferably the whole front half”, under the tarp for a dry entrance. Then check that nothing touches. One r/camping commenter says “Ideally you want a gap of at least a couple of inches”, and another that “A few inches will do.” If the tarp touches the fly, raise the ridgeline until it clears, or move the corner stakes farther out so the tarp’s sides lift off the tent. Stoves and heaters: the Consumer Product Safety Commission says: “People die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning from the use of portable camping heaters, lanterns, or stoves inside tents, campers, and vehicles.” It adds: “Never use fuel-burning portable heaters or lanterns while sleeping in enclosed areas such as tents, campers and vehicles.” The CPSC page speaks to tents, campers and vehicles, not tarps, so keep stoves and heaters out of the tent and follow your stove maker’s instructions for any clearance beneath a tarp.

Add a drip line

My Open Country defines a drip line as “a length of rope or cord that is attached to the ridgeline to divert water away from your shelter when it rains”. Its instruction: “Using a foot or two of cord, tie a hitch over the tail end of your ridgeline and leave the ends of the cord dangling in space”. The source does not name the hitch; a taut-line hitch from step 4 is one you already know. Tie it on the ridgeline between the tarp’s edge and the tree, one at each end. Then watch the first rain: Outdoor Family warns “With a pool of water on the tarp, it can get heavy very quickly.” If water collects, adjust a corner so the low spot drains.

Know what to do when lightning threatens

The National Weather Service says: “The only completely safe action is to get inside a safe building or vehicle.” For campers it says: “Go to your vehicle! The tent and picnic shelter are NOT safe places. Wait 30 minutes until after the last rumble of thunder before going back to the campsite.” The page does not mention tarps; in our reading, a tarp is open-sided like the picnic shelter it calls unsafe. If you absolutely cannot get to safety, the NWS says you can only “slightly lessen the threat” and “you are NOT safe outside”; its tips include “Stay away from tall, isolated trees or other tall objects.” and “Stay away from water, wet items, such as ropes, and metal objects, such as fences and poles.” That includes a wet ridgeline between trees and trekking poles holding up a tarp. None of the sources we read gives a wind speed at which to take a tarp down, so also follow your tarp and tent makers’ instructions.

Get two poles, each about a foot taller than your shelter

My Open Country says the poles “should be a foot taller than your shelter as the tarpaulin will sag a bit in the center”. Trekking poles work if they are long enough.

Lay out the lines and the tarp on the ground

You need a ridgeline cord as long as the gap between the pole tops, with a bowline loop in each end (as in step 3; make each loop big enough to slip over a pole tip), and one guy line per pole, each with a bowline loop in one end. My Open Country secures its ridgeline “using a bowline”. Tie a line to each corner grommet as in step 5. My Open Country says a pole’s tip should be “sharp and narrow so that it fits through the tarp grommets”: if yours are, push each tip through the grommet at the middle of each end of the tarp. Then drop the ridgeline loop and the guy-line loop over each tip. (Putting the tarp on the tips before the poles go up is the article’s reading of that sentence.)

Raise the poles

Tie the first guy line to its stake with a taut-line hitch, out in line with the ridgeline, and stand the first pole; then stand the second and tension its guy line with a taut-line hitch around its stake. The lines pulling both ways are what hold the poles up: Wilderness Times notes that poles “can’t stand straight on their own”. With a second person this is easy. Alone, with the tarp on the pole tips, do as Wilderness Times does: “stake one side of the tarp first”, so the poles have something to lean against while you guy them. This order is the article’s own reading of the two sources.

Drape the tarp, if it is not already on the pole tips, then peg out the corners

Follow steps 6 to 8 above: smooth the tarp on both sides of the line, peg the corner lines out and away from the tent’s sides, and keep them out of walkways.

Pitch the tent beneath, check the gap, and add the drip line

Steps 9 to 11 apply, with the pole in place of the tree for the drip line, including the stove and lightning cautions.