The Best Camp Shoes of 2024

Most people are familiar with Crocs. Since 2002, Crocs has been making variations of its injection-molded EVA clogs. Though the brand’s Classic Clogs ($50) was originally developed as a boating shoe, it has since amassed a large following with backpackers and other outdoor recreation groups as the ultimate camp shoe.

On any thru-hiking trail, a pair of Crocs dangling off of the outside of someone’s pack is a common sight. The Classic Clog is lightweight, durable, and fully waterproof. If the Crocs get wet, simply wipe the water off with a rag or towel. Boom — instantly dry.

Crocs come with a heel strap that’s easily tucked out of the way when not in use. With the heel strap engaged, Crocs can easily handle short hikes without falling off. Without the heel strap in place, Crocs become a convenient source of slide-in foot protection.

Though Croc wearers often become the target of fashion-related jokes, we think they look pretty cool — especially when worn with pride. Crocs come in tons of different colors, and they are also available with an insulated liner.

Though many brands have developed high-tech camp shoes with all sorts of flashy features, the truth is that a pair of Crocs Classic Clogs remains hard to beat. And at just $50 per pair, they’re an excellent value.

Designed for watersports but adopted by the thru-hiking community, the Vivobarefoot Ultra III Bloom ($120) is the ultimate shoe for overnight backpacking.

These unique-looking shoes are everything that lightweight backpackers need in a camp shoe. The shoes are easily compressible, so you can stuff them in your pack if you want to. The Ultra 3s have an upper that is made entirely of EVA, an elastic polymer very similar to rubber.

Fully waterproof and breathable, this honeycomb-patterned upper makes the Ultra 3s a true barefoot shoe. The EVA fully conforms to the shape and movements of your feet. When you’re wearing these, you’ll hardly feel them on your feet.

Elastic bungee-style laces allow the Ultra IIIs to tighten and loosen with ease. Also, the laces don’t absorb much water and dry quickly. Speaking of moisture, you’ll never have to worry about these shoes becoming saturated. With a quick wipe-down to remove surface water, they’ll be fully dry.

The Vivobarefoot Ultra III Bloom is built on a zero-drop platform and doesn’t have a cushioned outsole. For people who are accustomed to well-cushioned shoes, the Ultra III will take some getting used to. Because the midsole and the outsole are the same things on this shoe, you’ll notice increased proprioception and ground feel.

Beneath the outsole, a clever tread pattern keeps up the hexagonal theme of the entire shoe. A strategic mixture of varied tread depths provides ample grip on a wide variety of surfaces. On gravel trails, paved streets, and even wet rock, the Ultra III offers reliable traction — an impressive trait for a “camp shoe.”

At $120, these camp shoes are more expensive than some other options on this list. However, at 8 ounces per shoe, they’re well worth the investment, especially for lightweight backpackers. After a long day of crushing miles on the trail, these will feel like heaven on your feet.

The Vivobarefoot Ultra III Blooms are wildly popular, so snag a pair while you can. Men’s and women’s styles are available.

Kane made a splash with its Revive shoe, a beefed-up version of Crocs with a nubbed footbed that’s designed to provide acupressure relief to sore and tired feet. The Kane Revive AC ($120) is the company’s all-weather version, with an enclosed upper and thermal cuff to keep out moisture and lock in heat.

While not as cushy as other slippers on this list, these kicks are ideal for people who prefer a firmer sole for recovery. The Revive AC still has Kane’s signature massage nubs, and the firm midsole helps drive the nubs into sore soles to alleviate foot pain after a long hike or run. 

We’ve been testing these slippers for several months, and they’ve become our go-to shoe to slip on after a rough workout or long trail run. The firm sole feels supportive, they’re a breeze to slip on, and those nubs provide a pleasant and noticeable massage.

The natural rubber outsole is grippy and provided us with secure traction when staggering out of a tent for coffee on wet fall mornings, and the tough RestoreFoam exterior is way more durable (and easy to clean) than every other shoe on this list. 

It’s not insulated, however, so the Revive AC may not be the best option for winter camping, but when worn with a warm pair of socks, they’re ideal for chilly shoulder season weather. If you’re an athlete (or trend towards sore feet) and softer camp shoes aren’t cutting it, these are the ones to snag. 

For cold-weather adventures, a plush pair of down booties can be the key to keeping your toes warm all through the night. Think of down booties as sleeping bags for your feet — insulation is their only job.

With ethically sourced 800-fill down and a soft inner liner, the Feathered Friends down booties ($119) ensure warm feet even when the temperature drops well below freezing. Mostly, these booties aren’t designed to be worn while strolling around, but they come with a fairly hardy shell that holds up to short walks through camp.

Wear these booties to bed, and you won’t have to take them off when you get up to walk outside and pee. But remember, they aren’t made to handle repeated abrasion. As Feathered Friends says, “They’re built for warmth, not a marathon.”

Removable foam insoles provide a little extra support when you want it but also add some extra weight that many backpackers will want to leave behind. The booties are highly compressible and easy to pack away, though they don’t come with a stuff sack upon purchase.

The Feathered Friends down booties are certainly a bit pricey. But for those willing to pay the price for warm toes, these booties won’t let you down. For winter camping, they’re beyond worth their 9.3-ounce weight.

If you’re packing light and are low on space, the Exped Camp Slipper ($60) is a solid choice. At 4.8 oz (size Medium), you won’t even notice the addition to your pack, and they fold up so small you can fit them into a small pocket.

Over dirt and granite, the 4mm abrasion-resistant soles held up exceptionally well, and provided adequate grip when we scrambled up an outcrop for sunset (not that we’d recommend them as an approach shoe). They’re extremely flexible, providing a barefoot feel, and the insole is comfortable against the skin if you decide to lose the socks and go barefoot.

The cuff around the ankle serves well to keep the feet warm, making them a great three-season camp shoe option. The cuff also helps keep rocks, sand, and dirt from getting in. With a quick wipe to clean the soles, you can wear them inside your tent.

After a long hike, roomy slippers are ideal, and the space inside the Exped Camp Slipper is certainly freeing. Because they only come in four sizes, however, the fit can be a bit tricky. The XL size fit was comparable to a US mens 12. We’d recommend trying them on in person if possible, or contacting Exped to get expert sizing advice.

Overall, we think these camp slippers are ideal for hikers and backcountry enthusiasts who like to keep it light and might experience colder evenings. The price is a bit steep, but the durability more than makes up for it. They’re on our list of best camp shoes for a reason.

At the end of a strenuous day of activity, it’s wise to give your feet the gift of recovery footwear. With a super-soft footbed that cushions your foot and leg joints, the OOFOS OOriginal Sandals ($60) help relieve soreness and prepare you for your next hike or run.

Though at first glance these sandals look simple and unassuming, OOFOS are not your average poolside flip-flops. The brand’s proprietary foam, called OOfoam, is designed to absorb shock. In the company’s own words, “OOFOS absorbs 37% more impact than traditional foam footwear.”

A unique arch support system claims to “reduce exertion by 47%.” These figures were taken from a 2018 University of Virginia study, which assessed the effectiveness of OOFOS sandals.

Traction is not the primary focus of these sandals. Though there’s decent tread on the outsole, the OOFOS OOriginal Sandals aren’t great for walking around on slick and loose terrain. The sandals hold up well, but the foam does become flat and deflated after a few months of frequent use.

Xero Shoes has more than one option that could make this list of best camp shoes, but the Aqua Cloud ($50) has some features that set it apart. Billed as a ‘Water-Sports and Activity Sandal’, the Aqua Cloud is more than capable of taking you beyond camp.

Weighing in at 5.2 oz (size 9), you can cram them into a pack or strap them to the outside with ease. The straps are adjustable for those with unique foot shapes, and the strap design manages to eliminate the discomfort of traditional thong-style sandals. The foam sole is very comfortable and maintains grip when wet.

One of the best features of these sandals is that they float! They’re ideal for through-hikers who need to remove hiking shoes for river crossings or to bathe in a creek or lake. The chevron tread pattern provides great grip on slippery surfaces, and you can easily tighten the straps to wear them swimming.

Obviously, these are ideal for warm-weather camping. If you’re a minimalist aficionado, you can even wear them for light hikes or side quests once you’ve reached base camp for the evening. Xero sandals are known to last quite a while, so you can stash these away for seasonal use for years to come.

Despite their seasonal limitations, these sandals made our list of the best camp shoes for their superior versatility. Don’t be surprised if you see hikers wearing them on milder sections of the trail. They can do it all.

If you find your joints to be especially tired and achy after long running or hiking sessions, slipping into these plush beauties from HOKA may offer significant relief. Though they’re semi-bulky and perhaps not ideal for lightweight backpacking, the HOKA Restore TCs ($110) will surely be worth their weight to those who need a little extra recovery boost.

This is one of the most supportive options on this list, which is quite an impressive statement for a pair of shoes with a thin mesh upper. A soft UVA footbed soothes the feet, while stiffer rockered midsoles and outsoles offer structural support.

A closed-toe design offers more protection against stubbed toes when you have to leave the tent to pee in the middle of the night. Plus, the elastic mesh upper keeps the shoe in place, enabling short runs and rocky scrambles. We like how the design allows your feet to stretch out and breathe — with or without socks.

For such comfort-forward footwear, the HOKA Restore TCs are impressively durable. Semi-deep tread offers reasonable traction for hanging out at home or wandering around the campsite. At a price point of $110, these slip-ons aren’t cheap. Their value comes in the form of well-recovered feet.

This excellent camp shoe is one of the more traditional-looking footwear options on this list. Because it’s a full shoe rather than a flip-flop or sandal, it offers enough foot protection to roam around in.

Drain holes and a thin mesh upper material ensure that the Aleader Mesh Slip-Ons ($28) dry quickly after a thorough soaking. Though the dry time of these shoes is impressively short, they still take quite a bit longer to dry than some of the other options on this list — like Crocs, for example.

These shoes really thrive as water shoes. They’re a handy tool to deploy during water crossings, as their water grain outsole ensures exceptional traction on wet surfaces.

Though they’re not fully compressible, these shoes can fold decently well to take up less space inside a pack. A Solyte midsole is soft enough to feel soothing at the end of the long day but firm enough to hold up well in the long term.

The Aleader Mesh Slip-Ons are a top choice for those in need of a camp shoe capable of exploration and activity. While we don’t necessarily recommend running or backpacking while wearing these, they can handle a lot more active use than many of the camp shoe options on this list. At just $28, they’re affordable too.

The Chaco Ramble Puff ($85) is the perfect shoe for cold-weather camping in the dry season. We primarily used this shoe while car camping near high-elevation climbing areas in Wyoming, and it offered the ideal combination of insulation and practical wearability.

The Ramble Puff is available in both men’s and women’s styles. The most eye-catching feature is the quilted and insulated upper. In chilly temps all the way down to about 30 degrees F, these shoes kept our toes warm and happy — especially when paired with a thick pair of wool socks. Thanks to the addition of a plush fleece lining, the Ramble Puff is a bonafide sleeping bag for your foot.

Water-resistant ripstop nylon helps to keep moisture out, but these shoes are definitely not fully waterproof. Chaco has outfitted the women’s with its signature LUVSEAT contoured footbed, which provides ample arch support. The rubber outsole, while not grippy or supportive enough for sustained hiking, is plenty capable on short walks around camp.

Overall, the Chaco Ramble Puff is an impressive addition to the brand’s increasingly diverse lineup. For the shoulder season car camping enthusiast, we highly recommend these warm and practical shoes.