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My husband and I love to camp and we love the mountains! It was only natural that we want our children to love the outdoors as much as we do. But it took us four years to actually take them camping (read all about their first camping trip here!). Lotus was four and Jeffery was one. I thought we’d be taken them on camping trips when they were infants! So why did it take us so long to take the kids camping? There was simply the worry that the kids would not like to camp and it could potentially affect our time in the mountains.
What I have found is that kids are natural adventurers and love the outdoors. At least my kids do. They are naturally curious and camping is one of the best activities for them to explore that curiosity. Does it take a little extra planning when camping with kids? Yes. Do you have to do everything slower than you typically would? Yep. But you can still do the things you want to do!
Now that the kids go camping, hiking, and on mountain adventures all the time! Throughout all these trips, I have learned a couple tips and tricks to use when camping, hiking, and adventuring with kids. I hope you guys find these tips helpful!
Pack Extra Clothes
I don’t care if you think you are going for a scenic drive in the mountains or you plan on a week long camping trip. Bring extra clothes!!!! I can’t tell you how many times we went on a day fishing trip and my kids have slipped into the water. Or when Lotus was small she had quite a few blow outs that needed attention when we were on a mountain drive! The point is, kids will be kids. They get dirty. Bring extra clothes and you will not be sorry!
Along with extra clothes, I always bring swimsuits. My kids are little fish when it comes to water. They want to be in it! Even if the water is ridiculously cold. I have learned it is just easier to bring their swimsuits and let them swim when it’s possible! This means I definitely need an extra change of clothes for when they are done swimming!
One other tip I have when it comes to extra clothes is, bring warmer clothes. In the summer it can be hot in the mountains. It can also change in an instant and get incredibly windy and cold. I have learned jackets are always a must and I like to throw in a pair of sweat pants as well. You really never know how the weather will change and it’s way more enjoyable if I come prepared. Plus it’s always a bummer when you have to pack up and go home early.
Wet Wipes
Like I said before, my kids love to get dirty. I can turn my head for two seconds and they will have dirt smeared all over their face! Last time we went camping, I brought wet wipes but they were old and did nothing. It was terrible! I had to use an extra pair of sweat pants and water to clean them up. It worked, but I would have much rather had the wet wipes!
Not only are the wet wipes good for keeping the kids clean, but they also come in handy when packing up. I like to clean as I go so that when I get home, all I have to do is put things away. If I have the wet wipes, I can wipe everything down and get a lot cleaned before we actually get home. This really helps when we are getting home from camping around five in the afternoon on Sunday and I need to to ten million things to get ready for the week!
Plan Fun Activities
I don’t know about your kids, but mine do not like to be bored! They get whiney and upset when they do. When we go camping we try to make sure we have plenty of activities to do with them. We love to hike and fish and incorporate the kids into that. Instead of doing a difficult hike, we will trade it for one that is relatively flat and short. When we fish we typically bring their swim suits so they can play in the water. We are still trying to get them actually interested in fishing!
When back at the campsite, we like to bring a lot of outdoor games to play! A couple of fun things we like to bring along include:
- Giant Connect Four
- Card Games
- Giant Jenga
- Giant Bowling
- Bubble Wands
- Chuck It (mainly for the dogs but the kids love to throw it for them!)
Along with some of the activities I mentioned above, we also like to bring some of the kids toys so they can play among themselves when we need to do things like make dinner or clean up. I try to bring durable and bigger toys, like Jeffery’s trucks or Lotus’s barbies. Also, bringing toys that can easily be cleaned makes it so much easier! I try to avoid stuffed animals but my kids do have a stuffed animal each that they always bring and I just have to wash them when I get home.
Among these activities, we also try to bring things like hot dogs and s’mores. This way the kids can help cook some of the foods! Plus they absolutely love s’mores! I think I am the only person on the planet that doesn’t!
Necessary Personal Items
I know this one kind of sounds like a no brainer, but I have to make sure I always bring the necessary personal items for us no matter what! This means if I don’t think the bugs are that bad, I still bring bug spray. Even if I don’t see anyone getting hurt, I bring bandaids. I have done this a million times where I think our trip is going to go one way and it does a total 180! For us, our necessary personal items are:
- Sunscreen (never underestimate the weather)
- Bug Spray (The bugs love Lotus and I!)
- Chapstick
- Bandaids
- Small first aid kit
- Hairbrush (if I don’t brush Lotus’s hair, it’ll be a disaster when we get home)
- Aloe (sunburns, they happen!)
My list might look a little different from your list, but it’s a good idea to make a list of your necessities and make sure those things are included when you are packing. Sometimes I don’t need all the things on our necessary list, but it’s such an inconvenience when we do need something and I forgot to bring it. The other week we were fishing and Jeffery smashed his finger. I forgot the bandaids and I could have really used them!
Blankets
As of now, we have purchased a camper. Blankets were key when tent camping but they still are necessary for us when using the camper as well. While it is hot during the day in the mountains, it can get pretty cold at night, even in the middle of summer! My kids would tend wiggle out of their sleeping bags in the middle of the night and forget how they work! Last time we camped I think Lotus maneuvered out of her sleeping bag like five times and every time I had to wake up and readjust her. Bringing blankets helps tremendously. They already know how blankets work and to just pull them up when they get cold! It could have saved me a lot of sleep!
Another reason blankets come in so handy is that you can literally use them anywhere you go. We go fishing for the day, bring the blankets for the kids to play on and eat lunch. Playing at our campsite, let the kids play on the blankets so they aren’t rolling around in the dirt (yet they always seem to get dirty!). `Also, when my kids splash in the water, or just go all in, they are cold and miserable when they get out. Typically, I like to change them into warmer clothes and then snuggle them up in blankets on the way home and pray for naps!
While I don’t think you need a lot when camping, I do think camping with kids takes a little extra planning and packing! I hope these tips helped and let me know if you have any great tips you follow when camping with your kids!