The two main purposes of a shelter are to provide protection from the elements (wind, rain, snow, sun, heat, cold, etc.) and to provide a place to hide (from people or animals). Some shelters are proven to be better than others at each task, while others offer well rounded protection for both needs, but not always as good at both as others are at one of them.
This article is going to be a little different from the last few I’ve written. I love camping, and I like to be prepared for any type of emergency. So while I was out camping a few years ago, I thought, what would happen if I had to live out here, and didn’t have a tent? Well, I had learned of a few things I could do with a tarp as a cover, or finding natural shelter. I tried making a lean-to shelter – see below – but it didn’t work all that well. So I did some research and started playing with ideas. In the end, I put together a list of shelters and shelter components, and figured out how to build them and make them as waterproof as possible.
I would like to add that the waterproof-ness and the durability will absolutely depend on where you build it, and the material you use to build it. Some of this is common sense, some of it can be explained. I will try to talk about anything that I can to help improve your chances of success and comfort. You can take any of these ideas, or combinations of different builds, and put them together to make your own survival shelter that looks and feels like your own. Just keep in mind that these basic designs exist because they have been tested and proven to work.
The best way to keep water from coming through your shelter is a plastic tarp. That plan has two issues though. First, a tarp clearly stands out in the woods as it is not natural. If you are trying to keep a low profile and not be found, this will stand out unless you lay it on top, and then bury it with dirt, leaves, and whatever other ground cover is natural to your location – without making it look like you just moved a bunch of stuff from the nearby area to cover it. The second issue is that we don’t always have a tarp with us, or one that is big enough to get the job done. The best alternative I have found is moss. If you find a large area covered in moss, you can cut parallel lines 12″ – 18″ apart, and peel and roll up the moss, carry it to your shelter, and unroll it over your shelter. Moss absorbs a lot of water, and will create a surface where excess water will roll off and away from your shelter. Wide leaves, if available, can also work like shingles on a house – but are not exactly common in a lot of areas.
If you are using freshly cut branches with green leaves to act as a natural cover, then you will need to keep adding layers if you are there for a long time. As the leaves start to wilt, they will start to stand out against the rest of the area. So look to set up your shelter where you have a large supply of fresh leaves. Also, if you are trying to not be found, then you don’t want to set up a big camp, including tables and chairs or even a campfire outside of the shelter. Fires, even when inside the shelter, will put out heat and smoke that can be found unless you have a lot of baffling. Larger shelters can accommodate ways to hide some of this, and to sit or stand comfortably inside, but then become easier to locate, whether by just being a big unnatural object, or by somebody who walks over the top and falls through the roof.
Lastly, when considering the type of shelter, you must consider your purpose. If you plan to be there for a long time, you will want it to be a little more comfortable. If it is just to keep the rain off your head for a night or two, small and simple with low effort is best. You don’t want to start something that will take you two days to build if you will be finishing it as you are leaving. If you are trying to stay invisible, you need to build something that will look like it belongs in the area. Don’t build a lean-to in the middle of a field, but sticks and logs covered in dirt and moss leaning against a fallen tree could have occurred over time. And if that tree is next to a rock or ledge, with the opening on that side, the opening will be hidden unless you are in just the right position to view inside. If you are building a shelter in the winter and want to use the snow, you will need to keep an eye on the weather. The worst thing that can happen is a 2-foot thick ceiling falls on you while you are sleeping because it warmed up or rained and the snow started to melt and soften, get thinner, and heavier.
The rest of this article is going to be in Pictorial format, so I will have photos of each build along with a description of how to build it and some tips that will help you design your own build
Shelter: A-Frame
A-Frames are one of the easiest shelters to build and will keep the rain off your head if built correctly. It is small, tight, and not very comfortable, but you will be able to sleep in it and stay dry and possibly warm. It also is the smallest of the structures listed here, and therefore also the least observable from the outside with proper camouflage.
Set up a center line by laying a long log down the length and raising it up at one end. This can be done by laying the end into another stick with a Y branch to hold it, by laying it on a rock or stump, or by tying it to a tree. Ideally you will want the open end to be against the direction of the wind, so the wind hits the back or side of the shelter, and does not flow into it.
Lay more sticks across the log to build the sides, ensuring they all roughly end at the same point on the ground. Alternate the sides so that the sticks intertwine right to left, with the sticks getting shorter as you get closer to the end. This should create a solid structure that is sturdy enough to hold up a good amount of weight. Cover the frame with smaller tree branches that still have leaves on them, which will be a wind stop, then mix mud with dry grass or pine needles to make a thick, sticky mixture, and cover the leaves with the mud. This should provide a solid barrier from rain and snow, as well as providing an insulating layer, keeping your body heat in the structure and the cold out. You can then cover the mud with whatever the standard ground cover is in the area to camouflage the structure from the casual observer.
Shelter: Lean-To
Lean-tos are also very simple to build, but do not provide as much protection from the elements. You will start with a raised surface that you can attach a long branch or pole. This can be a rock cliff face, a downed tree, or a free standing structure as pictured to support a cross pole. If available, you can also use two trees that are close enough to tie your support beam to. Or you can use a combination of these items, such as one tree and a free-standing support on the other side, attaching the beam between a tree and the top of a large rock. The more stable the upper support is, the more weight can be added to it, which will include dirt and moss for a water barrier. Once you have your cross beam support stood up, simply lean sticks and branches against the beam at an angle that will allow you to get underneath, but not too much of an angle where the sticks will need to be too long and heavy and put undue weight on y our support and collapse the structure.
If this is an open frame, not up against a rock or other solid object, you can lay sticks on both sides of the support beam to make it a larger A-Frame type structure, which will provide better coverage from rain. Or you can use the open side of the structure as an opening to build a heating and cooking fire, with a heat reflecting wall beyond the fire pit to direct the heat into the structure. You can also add increasingly shorter branches on the edges to close up the two sides to provide more coverage from the wind, or you could use sticks sideways against the leaning branches to build this wall, but you will need to structure it in a way where these branches will not slide down and fall to the ground.
Using a large boulder or cliff face as the center line, you can lean sticks directly up against the rock, creating a wood wall on one side and a stone wall on the other, providing coverage from the two largest areas. Then you have the option to cover one of the two edges with the same stick pattern to close that off and you can have a decent sized shelter with a single opening that can be very hard to find. Keep in mind that when using a rock as the support, water will run off of it. So you always want to keep your roofline angled down, away from the rock, and never towards it. This will create a channel that water will collect in and drain right into your shelter. With proper roofing and the right angle, you can direct most of that water right over your head and down to the ground, outside your shelter.
You will also need to consider the positioning of these shelters – as well as the A-Frame shelter above. Because there is an opening on one side of the structure, if you are trying to hide out where you won’t be seen, it works best if you position that opening in a direction where there is natural cover. This may be towards a heavy thicket, a rock face, or even just a hill. While you don’t want your opening to be uphill directly, as this will allow water to run into your shelter, you need to consider that looking into the inside of a shelter will have more clues that it is man-made, where the top, or back side, of the shelter can be lined with mud, moss, sticks, leaves, and other natural debris so it looks more like a natural pile that belongs there.
Shelter: Pit
Pit shelters take a lot more effort to build, but provide excellent protection from wind and cold and are a great way to use the ground’s natural insulation qualities. Dig a large pit at least three feet deep and a diameter as large as you would like and can find logs to support a roof. You will save the dirt dug up to cover the shelter roof, or to raise the ground level around the edges. Build a cone over the top of the pit in sections by burying large logs into the ground at an angle over the top of the pit, then supporting these with shorter pieces between the logs. I suggest connecting the tops of the poles to each other across the central opening, and not just side to side with the poles next to them. This adds structural support while building the rest of the roof, and gives the roof a larger weight limit as you will need to walk over the top to get in and out. As the poles get higher, the cross pieces should be shorter so the support poles come together, forming a cone. You can use ropes or vines to tie them together but whatever material you use, the best method is to use square lashings to connect each junction.
Connect as many of these sectional pieces as is required to extend out across the pit, and come together around the top, leaving a two to three foot opening in the center of the frame. This will be for a chimney, as well as your entrance to the shelter. Once the entire frame is assembled, cover the structure with branches and leaves, weaving them in and out of the cross braces to hold them in place. Now you can cover the structure with leaves, mud from the dug dirt, moss, and other ground cover. You will need to assemble a ladder to get into and out of this structure, as the top will be six feet or taller from the bottom of the pit.
If you are able to dig down deep enough, and make the inside large enough, you can make your roof a much simpler flat panel. You will want to use thicket poles and sticks to lay across the top and weave them together and not just a lightweight roof, as you don’t want a dangerous animal – or person – to walk across your roof and fall through into your shelter. At this point, you can leave a small opening in the corner of the shelter as your entrance, and a small hole on the opposite corner as a smokestack. Another interesting way to do this would be to dig the chimney out of the ground into the wall of the shelter. The ground will cool the smoke as it rises, eliminating most of the telltale heat and smoke before it emerges topside. Make sure the chimney is large enough to accept the amount of smoke you are producing, or else it will backfill into your shelter and choke you.
A big benefit of this shelter, besides the protection from the wind, is that you can build a fire in the center of the pit, or even slightly off center if you need more space on one side, which will heat the shelter and can be used for indoor cooking. If the fire is built too far to one side however, you will run the risk of igniting the roof where it is lower to the ground and burning down your home. The top of the shelter acts as a chimney, so the shelter will not fill up with smoke, but you do want the smoke to go straight up and out. If you build the fire too far to one side, the smoke will start to collect on the roof before it escapes, leaving you choking on smoke instead of sleeping comfortably.
Shelter: Thatched Hut
A Thatched Hut is similar to the dug pit shelter, but it sits on the ground, not under it, has a solid roof that fully protects from rain, and has a side door opening. For this structure, you want six to twelve long, thin, and flexible poles, typically small trees. Dig a hole six to eight inches deep and place a pole in the ground, then back fill the hole to hold the tree upright. Place a second pole in a similar hole on the opposite side of the shelter. Pull the poles down so that they curve across each other, tying the tops of the branches to a solid center section of the opposing poles, creating an arched top. Repeat this with the rest of your structural poles, making a basic roof structure.
Using the structure you just build, attach cross-rods to hold everything together, leaving a gap in one section for a doorway, but continuing across that section higher up. Use tree branches with leaves to weave vertically in and out of the cross sections to provide your initial layer of wind protection. Follow up with mud and ground cover to add rain and heat insulation.
Leave a small hole in the center of the roof uncovered if you plan on building a fire in the shelter. The fire should be lined with small rocks, and placed in the center so the smoke goes up and out, and doesn’t heat up, dry out, and cause the walls to ignite while you are inside. This hole can be covered by a flap that is either slightly elevated, held up by sticks like a small lean-to, or can be just a small panel of sticks and leaves that you can move out of your way when you have a fire going, but covered up when it rains to keep water out of your shelter.
For the doorway, use a panel as described below that you can place over the doorway and move out of your way. This will keep in heat and keep the wind out. If you have rope or even vines, you can tie one side of the panel to the structural pole on the side of the doorway to make it a swinging door. Then you can tie the open side to keep the panel closed in heavy wind. Keep this one tied with a simple knot that you can take off fast if you need to get out in a hurry. You can get a little more creative if you have the time, energy, and extra materials. Perhaps create a double-sided lean-to structure in front of a lowered doorway that can be used as a breezeway. This will let you crawl through to enter and exit the shelter, but will significantly reduce wind shear into the living area to keep the heat from your fire in and the cold out.
Shelter: Snow Pit
Snow pits are useful when there is a large volume of snow on the ground. This works best if you dig the pit under an evergreen tree, whose branches will provide overhead coverage from the elements. Dig down to solid ground, using the snow to build up a wall around the pit, increasing the height at the same time. Use additional evergreen branches to create a roof over the pit. If the branches are large enough, you can completely cover your pit, and if done right, can look simply like the tree’s branches are just covered by snow at the top of the snow level.
By placing more evergreen branches on the ground at your feet, you will provide additional insulation from the cold ground under your feet or body as you lie down. Additional branches can be used to line the sides of the pit as well if desired. By covering all sides with green branches, the shelter will retain more of your body heat, and will raise the ambient temperature a few degrees. You will probably not want to build a fire in this type of shelter as you don’t want to risk igniting the tree, or melting the walls and having the water put the fire out. This will not be very comfortable, but it will keep you warm and hidden from view. This is not good if you are looking to get rescued as the search team won’t be able to find you.
Shelter: Snow Cave
Snow caves work best in areas with several feet of snow. Start off by marking the roof area. You can place objects around the area on top, or you could use long sticks. You want to leave two feet of snow on top so it will stay in place. By cutting sticks at four feet long, you can insert them into the ground two feet. This will serve a dual purpose as a marker from top, and also a stopping point while excavating the inside.
The entrance to the cave should be below the surface of the ground, to lessen the force of wind on the entrance. Open a hole and remove snow from the bottom up. When you reach the end of the sticks you inserted from above, stop going further up. When the cave is the size you want it to be, smooth out the walls so to avoid water drips. On the floor, you want to have several levels. Since hot air rises, cold air is forced downward, so the higher up you can get in the cave, the warmer you will be. If the cave is big enough, you can have an upper sleeping area, a mid-level work area, and the bottom where the coldest air will sit, away from you.
Use a rock, backpack, or a covered frame to block the entrance to keep as much heat in the shelter as possible. Using a stick longer than two feet, punch several ventilation holes in the shelter to allow some fresh air in and your carbon dioxide exhaust gasses to escape.
Shelter: Natural Caves
Natural caves make great shelters when available, but you have to be careful when using these. Because caves naturally shield from the elements, animals often make their homes in caves. Before you set up camp, scout the cave to ensure you are alone, preferably with a solid back wall that doesn’t go too deep. You want to make sure that not only are there no animals currently in the cave, but there is no sign of animals, including droppings or food leftovers. While using this cave shelter, keep an awareness of animals in the area, in the event they decide to move in.
If the cave opening extends from ground to ceiling of the cave, you will want to build a wall as described above to hold in heat and keep out wind, rain, and animals. You can also use a pile of sticks, rocks, snow, mud, or whatever you have at your disposal of a log or rock reflector isn’t possible. This wall should be approximately half the height of the cave opening. Build your fire against the back wall, so the rock acts as a heat reflector, keeping you warm. This also keeps the heat and light less visible from the outside, unless somebody is looking directly into the cave opening. The smoke will rise up and exit the mouth of the cave and hopefully get lighter and thinner. Build a bed from sticks and leaves to keep your body off the rock floor, or build the raised bed below if you have the time and materials. In either case, lying directly on rock is cold and uncomfortable. The bed should be placed between the wall and the fire.
Shelter Component: Reflector Wall
Walls can be used to reflect heat back into your shelter from a campfire, or if you build enough, to create a fully enclosed area that may be able to keep medium sized animals out of your shelter. With enough time and energy to spare, and the raw materials to work with, a rock wall works best to reflect heat – especially with lighter colored rocks. In order to get a freestanding wall that is high and long enough, one will need a large supply of rocks, which will also need to be of the proper shape and various sizes to stand up on their own and fill in all the small gaps. If time is critical, there aren’t too many rocks, or you don’t have enough food and water to sustain the added effort of moving a large number of heavy rocks, a log reflector will get the job done as well with less effort.
Log reflectors are easier to build, but require a little more creativity. First, determine the location of the wall. This should be far enough away from the fire so the wood wall doesn’t burn, but not so far that the heat will dissipate before it reflects back. Once the location is chosen, determine the optimal length and height of the wall. This is based on the material available in the area. If it’s short, it won’t be able to reflect too much heat, or will require a lot of them to build a fully encompassed area. If it’s too long or high, it may be hard to find logs large enough to build it up, and more effort carrying longer, heavier pieces. Building two walls in a V-shaped pattern towards your shelter will reflect more heat back to you than a single straight wall, but will take more time and more material to build.
Once the location and length are picked out, find four to six decent sized sticks, 1-2 inch in diameter, and tall enough to be pounded into the ground a foot, and still be about four inches taller than the planned wall. Sharpen one end of each stick, and pound them into the ground in pairs. The distance between the two sticks in the pair should be slightly wider the diameter of the logs to be used, and the pairs should be about a foot closer together than the wall length. It may be easier to lay out one or two wall logs before pounding in the second pair of uprights, to ensure the length and angle is correct. For longer walls, two more uprights can be used in the center to take some pressure off the others.
After the uprights are in place, lay the logs in between the supports until the wall is to the proper height. It may be necessary to rotate or flip some logs, or to change the order of the logs to get them to fit snugly. Having large holes in the wall will defeat the purpose, so be picky with the logs used. Once the logs are all in place, tie the tops of the upright pairs together to provide additional support and ensure the weight of the logs does not pull the wall down.
Shelter Component: Panels
Shelter Panels are another useful small build. Panels can be used for lightweight lean-to side panels, walls on an upright shelter, or doors to cover an opening into an otherwise sealed shelter. The easiest method to build this is to lash four sticks together in a square. Use the square lashing to attach these. For larger panels, adding two cross bars together to form an X in the middle of the frame, and lash them to the side bars.
Once the basic form is built, use vines, string, or sticks to create a hashing pattern. This is used to hold natural materials such as leaves and grass to the panel. Using larger leaves like grape or bananas when available provides more protection from the rain with a thinner, lighter panel. If no wide leaves are available, pine boughs can work as well, but requires multiple layers. Leaves should always be woven in stem side first, and from bottom to top. This forms a shingle pattern that keeps water running over the top of the panel and not allowing it to drip into the shelter.
If the panel is to be used as a door, it should be sturdy enough to move out of the way and slide back into place often without breaking, but be light enough that moving it is easy. Door panels can be attached to the shelter using vines or rope, tying one side of the frame to the structure, allowing it to be swung open and closed. This can also help stop the panel from blowing away in heavy winds.
For panels that will be used for more fixed applications, the coverings can be covered in mud to provide added insulation. This will add weight and should be done after the panel is in place. The mud can also be used to fill gaps between panels to create a more airtight shelter. If a panel is used as a roof, the roof should be angled, with the top of the leaves positioned at the top of the structure, to allow water to roll off the roof. Standing water will always find a way to seep into the structure.
Shelter Component: Raised Bed
A raised bed is another item to consider if your shelter has the room, you have the time and materials to complete it. While you can lay down a thick bed of pine branches to provide a pretty soft bed, nobody wants to sleep on the ground if they don't have to. The raised bed is an elegant solution to that problem. An easy build, you just lash together four long and two short logs, or more it you want to get a little higher off the ground. Start with two long logs with the shorter ones on top. The short ones should be wider than you are, as your sleeping space will be shorter than these pieces. The two remaining long logs lie on top of the first two, above the shorter cross pieces, lashed tightly. Here's where if you want to go higher, you can add more short and long pieces to increase the height. Just remember that you must always end with the long logs on top
Once there, you can add skinnier long branches to provide a sleeping surface. These should be lashed down to the cross pieces so they stay in place. You can also add cross members in the middle of the bed to add support as needed for support and structure. Once this is fully constructed, you can add pine boughs to add a bit of padding and softness to your bed.
The major benefits of a raised bed are that it provides a layer of air between you and the ground which keeps you warmer and dryer, and it is a lot more comfortable than solid dirt that may have roots, rocks, or other sharp objects in them. But the biggest benefit, at least in my opinion, is that it keeps you up above the line or travel for any ground dwelling creatures. Imagine the ants, grubs, spiders, and even snakes that live outside where you are building your home. The last thing you want is to wake up to a spider or snake bite. Let them crawl along underneath you so you aren’t bothering each other, and you don’t get a bite that requires medical attention!
Additional Builds
There are many additional builds you can work on to make your stay more enjoyable. If you are doing this outdoorsy-stuff for fun, or actually living outdoors in a natural shelter for more than a few days, you will probably want a few more comforts of home. The two that come to mind first are tables and chairs. Yes, you can sit on a rock, but after a while, your body will start to feel that – and not in a good way. You can build an Adirondack-style chair with just a few logs and some rope, vine, or tape to hold it together, and your spine, hips, and knees will greatly appreciate the effort.
And where will you put your tools so they aren’t on the wet ground? Or your pot when you take it off the fire when your meal is done cooking? A table can be easy and sturdy if done right. Attach to poles to the side of a tree in an outward-V shape, so they get wider as it gets further from the tree. At the end of these poles, anchor them with two upright supports pounded slightly into the ground to avoid shifting. Now you have a support that you can attach smaller sticks close together for a solid surface. Try to make these top pieces all about the same size and as straight as possible so your table doesn’t look like a wave, and will actually hold things upright on them. What other builds have you done, or can you imagine building if time isn’t an issue?
Final Thoughts
In the end, wilderness survival is all about just that – surviving. It isn’t meant to be a permanent escape from reality, although some people have certainly done this, living on the land and avoiding human interactions for decades. Nothing you do will compare to the comfort of a house with electricity, heat, running water, and padded furniture. But this can be a handy skill if you ever find yourself lost in the woods or after a SHTF scenario where homes are no longer a safe space. Practicing building a few of these shelters, even if you don’t care to actually spend the night in one right now, can help you prepare for the unexpected. Or this could turn your annual family camping trip into a fun and educational experience for the whole family. Just make sure that wherever you choose to build, you do it somewhere that won’t get you into legal trouble. Check any local laws in your area and have fun!
Go out and get as creative as you want, and see if you can expand on these ideas to build bigger or better shelters, and keep your own notes on what worked and what didn’t. If you ever need to build a shelter like this, the odds of you being able to access this article online will be slim to none, so print this off for your SHTF binder, make notes that are applicable to your area and your experiences.
I hope you enjoyed this article, and if you found it helpful or interesting, please share it with your friends.