For any overnight stay, you need a sleeping pad.
At first I thought sleeping pads had kind of a high maintenance vibe, but it's basically impossible to sleep directly on the ground which is what the no-sleeping-pad experience feels like even with a sleeping bag. Sleeping pads add a layer between you and the ground and also supposedly circulate air and keeps you warmer at night. If you sleep on your side or stomach or forgot a pillow, I especially recommend an inflatable sleeping pad.
There are a ton of different options, but just get a LIGHT, SELF INFLATING pad that's a mix of air pockets and foam structure. I've tried the cheapo flat foam ones and it's like sleeping on a yoga mat. I've also gotten blow up ones that don't self inflate and even though the REI employees say it only takes "a minute" to blow up, it actually takes 10 minutes and you look/feel really stupid trying to force 800 cubic inches of air into a tiny opening.
I have the Therm-a-Rest ProLite Sleeping Pad:
The cheaper version linked above is "3-season", but they also have the same one in a "4-season" version, whatever the actual difference is, who knows. They look the same, so the $30 difference must be in the "technology": http://www.rei.com/product/829822/therm-a-rest-prolite-plus-sleeping-pad-
It's very nice except for the god awful burnt orange color (see future post for my thoughts on the prevalence of burnt orange in camping/outdoors gear).
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