Need to Borrow Camping Equipment? This STL Group Has You Covered.

What’s stopping St. Louisans from getting outside? For a lot of people, the answer is simple: Gear is expensive.

A tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, camp chair, and stove can easily run $2,000.

The River City Outdoors (RCO) Gear Library is trying to change that — lending its more than 1,000 pieces of equipment, free of charge, to St. Louis City and County residents and outdoor organizations.

The inventory spans the basics (tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, camp stoves, medical kits) and the fun extras (rain jackets, birding books, Frisbees).

It’s all part of RCO’s mission to remove barriers and expand equitable access to outdoor recreation in the St. Louis area. (Full disclosure: RCO is the parent organization of Terrain.)

We talked to two borrowers about their experiences.

Ujima
Ujima is a St. Louis nonprofit that provides outdoor education and a summer job program for teens. Since 2023, founder and executive director Nick Speed has been taking young people on camping trips in Missouri — floating the Current River near Van Buren and the Meramec near Bourbon — in groups of 15 to 20, with gear from the library.

“To be able to use the Gear Library has been great,” Speed says. “A vast majority of the young folks we bring out have never been on a camping trip before and don’t have the equipment.”

The trips have become meaningful experiences for many participants.

“Most of the kids say these trips are the highlight of their summer,” Speed says. “It’s an opportunity to explore parts of Missouri they don’t normally get to see — and it’s always relaxing, always a chance to reconnect with nature.”

 

Black Trans Bike Experience
Black Trans Bike Experience (BTBE) is a St. Louis bike community for trans people and others, built around outdoor adventure and mutual support. Members Nesha Newton and Jemila Collier have borrowed from the library for over a year.

“My experience with the Gear Library has been really positive,” says Newton. “I love the online reservation feature. It helps me see what’s available and reserve items directly through the site.”

The library proved especially valuable in May 2025, when BTBE planned a multi-day bikepacking trip from Forest Park to Old Jamestown in North St. Louis County.

The group borrowed sleeping bags, tents, a compact camp stove, headlamps, camp chairs, a water cube, collapsible sinks, utensils, bowls, and even a magnetic chess and checkers set.

The trip ended up coinciding with the St. Louis tornado, creating a jarring contrast between the group’s joy on the road and the devastation visible in North St. Louis. Even so, members called it an awesome experience.

“I felt grateful for the people who showed up and for the support from organizations like RCO,” says Collier. “The staff helped point me toward tents that were lighter and more compact — something I hadn’t thought to consider. It’s been pretty nice.”

To browse the Gear Library and start borrowing, go here.

Author: Shawn Donnelly is the managing editor of Terrain.

Top image: Members of Black Trans Bike Experience stop at the Gateway Arch during a bikepacking trip featuring equipment borrowed from the RCO Gear Library.