14 Ways to Pee Outdoors for Women (yes, I’ve tried them all)
Not long ago I returned from an amazing bikepacking trip in a remote region of Patagonia. I carried days of food on my bike, camped alone beneath gorgeous starry skies, and saw very few people. There weren’t many public restrooms out there in the wilderness, and I quickly got used to an outdoor routine.
It seemed things had gotten a little weird, though, when I finally spent a night in a hostel in town. When nature called, I actually felt annoyed that I needed to leave my room and walk all the way down the hall to pee in a real toilet. Just peeing behind a tree or wherever would have been so much easier.
Good news, I’m home now and house broken once again, much to my husband’s relief. But this experience inspired me to round up all the techniques I’ve ever used to pee outdoors when there’s no toilet around for miles or days. As a hiker, trail runner, bikepacker, occasional climber, and off-the-beaten-track traveler, I’ve had plenty of practice.
I’m not just talking about SheWee’s and pee cloths, though I’ll get to those too. But you don’t need any special gear and it doesn’t have to be complicated, I promise.
Female hiker on JMT
Does this look like a lady who’s afraid to pee outside?
The main thing I want you to take away from this is that peeing outside as a woman is no big deal. Ladies, we deserve to enjoy the outdoors with proper hydration and an empty bladder! No more holding it in, dehydrating ourselves intentionally, or avoiding adventures that lead us far from restrooms (as many of the best adventures do).
The sooner we get comfortable taking care of our universal bodily functions without shame or disgust, the sooner we can fully enjoy getting wild in the great outdoors.
Stories From Outdoorsy Women
Squatting Styles
Before we talk about how to get clean, which is probably what you really want to know, let’s first talk about positioning.
Classic Squat
This is how most of us first learned to pee in the woods.
Pull your pants down, feet hip width apart or wider, squat all the way down (hips below knees) and do your thing. Can be challenging with tired legs, inflexible hips, or certain types of pants.
If you have trouble balancing in a deep squat, try to orient yourself with toes pointing slightly downhill; your hips and calves don’t need to be as flexible this way. This also helps the pee run downhill and away from your feet.
Tips for clean execution (these apply to many of the other methods below too):
To minimize splashing your feet and legs, get lower and move your hips further back.
For even less splash, dig a small hole or aim between rocks or logs.
If it’s windy, figure out which way it’s blowing and make sure you’re not angled sideways to it (been there).
Don’t dribble. Commit! It’s more likely the stream will go straight (instead of dribbling places we don’t want it) if you let it out fast.
No need to let fear of peeing outdoors get in the way of enjoying gorgeous campsites like this!
