When you’re deep in the forest surviving an unexpected overnight stay, knowing how to build a bushcraft survival shelter is one of the most essential wilderness skills. That’s right, even more important than procuring food or water. A proper shelter protects you from wind, rain, cold, and predators, all threats to kill you faster than hunger or thirst ever will. And this guide will teach you the best survival shelter options available and how to build them.

Choosing the Right Shelter Location

Before gathering materials, location is key:

• Look for high ground to avoid flooding.
• Stay near resources like wood and water if you suspect you will be there for more than a day.
• Avoid hazards such as deadfall, animal trails, or ant nests.
• Use natural windbreaks like boulders or dense shrubs when possible.

Types of Bushcraft Shelters

There are more types and variations to survival shelters than can realistically be covered in a single article. Here are some of the best bushcraft shelter ideas suitable for beginners who may find themselves caught in a dire situation:

Lean-To Shelter

• Materials: Sturdy branches or logs for the frame, or long grasses, moss, or pine boughs for insulation
• Ideal For: Quick overnight protection

A lean-to shelter is a one-sided shelter created by placing sticks and branches vertically against a horizontal pole or fallen tree to create an angled wall. The wall can then be covered and insulated with a tarp or whatever materials happen to be around.

Tarp Wrapping

• Materials: Waterproof tarp, animal hide, or other similar material
• Ideal For: Quick protection when you don’t have the time or a need for anything more elaborate

This might not even qualify as a shelter, but if you are short on time before dark or if the weather is nice enough that you don’t really need a shelter, you can simply wrap yourself in a tarp, hides, blankets, or any other similar material and sleep on the ground.

Debris Hut

• Materials: Branches, leaves, moss, pine needles
• Ideal For: short stays with minimal tools and resources

A debris hut doesn’t really follow any real set design. The hut is usually determined based on what is already around you, usually fallen trees. Walls and/or a ceiling are created from whatever you can find by using branches as a frame, and then the walls and ceiling get covered in debris such as grass, leaves, moss, or pine boughs to add to the insulation and weatherproofing.

A-Frame Shelter

• Materials: Logs for support poles, ridgepole, crossbeams, and some insulation
• Ideal For: Longer stays

An A-frame shelter is very much like a two-sided lean-to. Similar to the lean-to, there is a horizontal pole or fallen tree (called the ridgepole) and the walls are created on either side of the ridgepole. A wall can also be created to close off one of the open ends if desired. The walls are then covered with insulation just like a lean-to.

Quinzhee

• Materials: Snow
• Ideal for: Short stays in cold wintry areas

A quinzhee is the survival equivalent of an igloo. It is created by making (or if you’re lucky, finding) a very large pile of snow that is at least moderately packed and then hollowing the pile out while leaving the walls and ceiling thick enough not to collapse. The floor is usually covered in some kind of tarp or pine needles to keep the occupant a little drier and warmer.

Teepee

• Materials: Branches or small logs
• Ideal for: Longer stays in wooded areas

A tepee is a cone-shaped structure created by leaning poles against each other. The poles are then covered with something, typically a tarp or animal hides, to provide protection from the elements. The covering could be made from other natural materials if suitable grasses or mosses are found in the area.

Wigwam/Wickiup

• Materials: Saplings for the frame, long grasses, moss, or bark for the walls
• Ideal for: Longer stays in wooded areas

A wigwam or wickiup is a simple, dome-shaped shelter built by driving bendable saplings into the ground. These saplings are then bent and secured into a dome-shaped frame, leaving an opening for the entrance. The walls and ceiling are then filled in with whatever material is around to make the shelter waterproof, windproof, and insulated.

Shelter Building Tips

• Use what’s around you—Don’t stress over how certain tools or resources would improve your shelter. It wastes time and energy better devoted to gathering what is available and putting it to use.
• Layer insulation thickly in cold weather. The insulation will help retain heat and block out the wind and rain/snow.
• Don’t sleep on the ground: The ground will pull heat away from your body, so it is always worthwhile to sleep on top of some insulation.
• Keep tools handy—a survival knife or hatchet speeds up construction, and having some cordage will make any shelter more durable.
• Practice makes perfect—build shelters before you need them. Building these shelters is more difficult than you would think, and figuring out the intricacies of the process when you are warm, well-hydrated, and fed will make things easier when the conditions are less ideal.

Gear That Helps

While bushcraft emphasizes minimalism, a few tools can make shelter building safer and faster:

• Folding saw or hatchet
• Paracord
• Tarp or emergency blanket
• Bushcraft knife

Final Thoughts

A well-built bushcraft shelter can keep you warm, dry, and protected in the harshest conditions. Whether you’re out for a solo adventure or practicing your survival skills, learning to protect yourself from the elements is the first key to thriving in the wild. Hopefully you will give these bushcraft shelter ideas a chance and practice building some of them before your life might depend on them.