A short, curated guide — not an automatic related dump. Figures come from SubMouse's safe-for-work directory when we have them.
r/backpacking (about 5.5M members, directory rank #157) is oriented to wilderness or travel backpacking with trip write-ups. Tent camping without long miles, day hiking and pack-hiking trip reports each have clearer homes.
See also camping vs backpacking on SubMouse.
Stay on backpacking for wilderness or travel backpacking trip reports. Use camping for tent/hammock campsite camping, hiking for day hikes, and CampingandHiking for backpackers who hike with camping gear.
r/Camping
When to choose it: Tent or hammock camping focused on the campsite, not long-distance hiking.
Why it is here: Paired on camping vs backpacking. Public description: campers concerned more about camping than hiking long distances or light gear; primarily tent/hammock (about 5.6M members, rank #153).
How it differs from r/backpacking: Campsite camping versus backpacking trip reports.
r/Hiking
When to choose it: Day hikes and the hikers’ community without overnight packing as the point.
Why it is here: Shared outdoor/hiking neighbourhood with backpacking on SubMouse topics. Public description: the hikers’ subreddit (about 2.7M members, rank #411).
How it differs from r/backpacking: Day hiking versus multi-day backpacking.
Camping and Hiking
When to choose it: Backpackers who hike with camping gear — tips, trip reports and gear.
Why it is here: Appears with backpacking on Hiking/Camping topic tops. Public description: for backpackers who hike with camping gear in their backpack (about 2.8M members, rank #397).
How it differs from r/backpacking: Pack-hiking trip/gear focus overlapping backpacking but with its own community norms.
Run the automatic finder for r/backpacking (results are matched from our directory; that page is not indexed): Find related to r/backpacking.
Members and public descriptions come from SubMouse's safe-for-work directory (as of 2026-11-02 UTC); 7-day growth measured from 2026-10-26. Posts/day and culture claims appear only when we have them — missing fields stay n/a. Directory rank is listing order. Communities outside the published Top 100 open in the info tool instead of a full community page. Guide updated 2026-11-07.