Taking your kids camping the first time can be a daunting task, if you're not well prepared. But a well prepared camping trip with your kids can be a great joy for everyone involved. Here are a few considerations and preparations you should make before leaving home.
First of all, choose an easily accessible location. You may want to choose a camping spot that is accessible by vehicle if your kids are relatively young. If you want to hike in to the camping spot, keep the distance pretty short. Also, remember that younger kids may not be able to carry all of their gear and food in, so you'll end up with one very heavy pack if you're not careful.
Here are a few tips for minimizing the amount of stuff you have to take in, if you're hiking to your camping spot.
First, choose a spot with easy access to water. That way you can take in dehydrated foods, and use the water at the camping spot to cook your food with. That will save you a lot of weight.
Also, try taking one or two larger tents to hold everyone, rather than several smaller tents.
A camp fire is another consideration. Campfires and s'mores are a must when you take your kids camping. Be sure you choose a location that allows campfires, and that has a readily available water supply to put the fire out.
When you take your kids camping, be sure that they have the same essentials that you take camping: extra clothing, a coat or rain jacket, food, water, a tent, a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, etc.
One last thing: before you go camping be sure you give your kids a few basic safety instructions, such as safety with fire, snakes, bears (if applicable), etc. Safety first!
Family Camping Tips – Where to Camp
Planning a successful camping holiday with kids involves finding the right campsite, remembering family routines and planning fun activities for the kids.
Camping is a fun, budget-friendly way to holiday as a family. Seasoned campers as well as families going camping for the first time need to plan a camping trip in advance to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable, relaxed holiday. Here’s a few tips on how to plan a family camping holiday.
Choose a Campsite With Something for Everyone
Finding the perfect campsite can be a tricky sometimes, but knowing what amenities are necessary will help narrow down the decision making process. Take the ages of the children into consideration. Very young children will need short trails or a beach nearby, older children and teens may be up to more challenging trails and might want to socialize with other children in the campsite.
Also consider previous camping experience. Families without a lot of previous camping experience will appreciate flush toilets and shower facilities, more seasoned campers might appreciate a remote location or walk/hike in campsites that don’t allow vehicles.
Introducing Your Kids To The Joys Of Camping
Camping With Kids Tips for a Fun Family Camping Trip
By Kit Bennett
Family camping adventures are the meat and potatoes of childhood memories; experiencing the wild life, getting dirty, campfire meals and of course enjoying the classic camping delicacy, S'mores.
However, whether you are an expert or amateur "outdoorsmom", preparing for a getaway in the woods can be daunting when it involves having your kids in tow. Should you stay in a tent, camper, cabin, yurt, state park, or rough it with no plumbing? What food should we bring? Will it be warm enough, or too hot? What should go in the First-Aide kit? The list of considerations goes on and on and just when you think you've thought of everything...
reality happens.
My kids love to remind me of the time I left behind the beautifully packed wooden kitchen box, which contained all of the utensils, except the cast iron pan and aluminum foil. That made for an interesting weekend with tree-bark spoons and fried oatmeal cakes. Below is a list of tips I've acquired over the years. Most of which I learned the hard way.
PREPARING FOR YOUR FAMILY CAMPING TRIP
Build your kids enthusiasm, by getting them involved in the planning from the very beginning; where to go, what to eat, what to pack etc.
Consider the activities your children enjoy; bicycling, hiking, canoeing, swimming, enjoying wildlife. Then select your location accordingly.
State and National park websites list the attributes and activates available at each park.
If it's your first time camping, consider a state park with running water,
bathroom facilities and showers. This will keep the first trip positive and
will encourage a more adventuresome trip in the future.
Select activities that your family will enjoy together and bring or rent the proper supplies, such as kayaks and life vests, bicycles etc.
Practice setting up your tent. Involve the kids and let them play in the tent for a day.
First timers may want to have a backyard campout, before heading out into the woods.
Make a checklist. Even super mom forgets now and again.
Bring a flashlight for every family member and a battery operated lantern for each tent, if possible. NO propane lanterns in the tents!
Use permanent markers and stickers to personalize the flashlights together. Don't forget to bring plenty of batteries!
*Glow sticks are fun also!
Keep the menu easy. Otherwise you'll spend most of your time
cooking and doing dishes.
Suggestions...
Hot Dogs and Beans
Bagels and peanut butter
Peanut butter and jelly
Bananas, apples and oranges
Canned soup and stews
Corn on the cob is delicious wrapped in aluminum foil and placed directly in the campfire coals.
Don't forget the S'mores...marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars.
When camping with an infant, bring baby food in jars...this is much easier!
Remember plenty of snacks. For some reason everyone gets hungry in the great outdoors. Trail mix, cereal bars, string cheese, crackers and dried fruit are the perfect snack foods.
Make sure everyone gets a sleeping pad or at least rolled up blankets to lay down before the sleeping bag is in place. A good night sleep will keep everyone happy.
Purchase a First-Aide Kit and keep it with your camping supplies. This will save time when the next trip comes around.
Purchase second hand pots, pans plates etc. Pack all of your supplies in plastic tubs. When you return you just have to clean-up and keep everything prepared for the next rip. Replenish items like paper towels, garbage bags etc. right away so you don't forget.
Although I encourage environmentally friendly camping, the first time you embark on your adventure, you may want use paper plates etc. Just until you get the hang of it. Eventually, you and the kids will be washing the dishes with sand by the river, just like the pros!
Remember the bug repellant and sunscreen...forgetting that can ruin a trip!
Show the kids what poison oak, ivy or sumac look like!
When camping with kids at the coast, or any sandy location,I prefer sites with showers. This keep sleeping bags and tents, sand free.
Pack a clothesline for hanging towels and wet items.
Speaking of wet items...lay plastic tarps down under your tents and take a few to spare in case it rains. Even "water resistant" tents may leak.
Keep the first few camp trips short 2-4 nights.
Try to keep the travel time to a minimum and stop frequently.
Teach your children about safety and how to respect nature.
Learn and teach outdoor skills and outdoor ethics.If you aren't sure, ask a ranger.
Enlist the kids help with the camp chores. They love collecting firewood, filling water containers, hammering in tent stakes, camp cooking etc.
Make the camp chores extra fun -- have contests for gathering the most kindling, best camp cooking, most organized gear, fastest clean-up etc.
HAVE FUN - CREATE MEMORIES
Bring some glue, paper and scissors, for making nature collages.
Write the date and location of the trip on the collage.
Sing good old-fashioned campfire songs. Keep the portable DVD players
at home and practice your singing in the car. If you need to, buy a book
and CD to help-out. The Kids Campfire Book: Official Book of Campfire Fun
Search the sky for constellations.
Listen and identify night sounds.
At night in the tent, play flashlight tag. One person is "it". Everyone plays
or sits down. "It" moves their flashlight quickly around the tent, while the
other players use their flashlights to catch him.
Have a shadow puppet show in the tent.
Don't forget the special nighttime snacks
Bring a small box for collecting treasures like pinecones special stones etc.
Be sure to follow park rules when collecting items to take home.
Bring a book to help identify animal prints and birds.
Pack a deck of cards and/or small games like UNO, Mad Libs, checkers...
Provide children with their own disposable cameras.
Columbia Bugaboo II Geo Dome Tent with Foot Lockers
Columbia Bugaboo II Geo Dome Tent with Foot Lockers
Product Features
* Spacious dome tent with sleeping space for up to 5 people
* Cyclone venting system increases air circulation within the tent
* GoBe Dry rain protection system keeps rain from seeping inside
* 2 external storage lockers, gear loft, and cupholders
* Measures 12 x 6.16 x 9 feet (W x H x D) and weighs 21 pounds
View Products Details
Bring the family to the campsite and still have room to spare with the Columbia Bugaboo II dome tent. The Bugaboo II--which sleeps up to five people--is equipped with both a Cyclone venting system and a GoBe Dry rain protection system. The Cyclone system greatly increases the air circulation within the tent, helping you stay cool on warmer days or dry out after a nasty rainstorm. The GoBe Dry system, meanwhile, includes taped seams and an elevated floor to keep the pounding rain outside.
The Bugaboo II also includes plenty of room for storage, with two footlockers, four pocket organizers, a gear loft for packs or valuables, and even multiple cupholders for coffee, soft drinks, or beer bottles. Other details include color-coded fiberglass poles and sleeves for easy setup, a polyester taffeta body and rainfly, and reflective zipper pulls. The Bugaboo II measures 12 by 6.16 by 9 feet (W x H x D) and weighs 21 pounds.
Key Features:
* Sleeps 5 campers
* GoBe Dry ultimate rain protection system
* Camp Port to allow easy passage of cables
* Cyclone venting to allow for better air circulation when rainfly is in use
* 2 external storage lockers, internal pockets, cupholders, and gear loft
* Color coded fiberglass poles and sleeves for easy setup
* Polyester taffeta body and rainfly
* Weighs 21 pounds
About Columbia Sportswear
Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear Company has grown from a small family-owned hat distributor to one of the world's largest outerwear brands and the leading seller of skiwear in the United States. Columbia's extensive product line includes a wide variety of outerwear, sportswear, rugged footwear and accessories. Columbia specializes in developing innovative products that are functional yet stylish and offer great value. Eighty-year-old matriarch Gert Boyle, chairman of the board, and her son, Tim Boyle, president and CEO, lead the company.
Columbia's history starts with Gert's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, when they fled Germany in 1937. They bought a small hat distributorship in Portland, Oregon, and named it Columbia Hat Company, after the river bordering the city. Soon frustrated by poor deliveries from suppliers, the Lamfroms decided to start manufacturing products themselves. In 1948, Gert married college sweetheart Neal Boyle, who joined the family business and later took the helm of the growing company. When Neal suddenly died of a heart attack in 1970, Gert enlisted help from Tim, then a college senior. After that it wasn't long before business really started to take off. Columbia was one of the first companies to make jackets from waterproof/breathable fabric. The company introduced the breakthrough technology called the Columbia Interchange System, in which a shell and liner combine for multiple wearing options. In the early 1980s, then-60-year-old Gert began her role as "Mother Boyle" in Columbia's successful and popular advertising campaign.
The company went public in 1998 and moved into a new era as a world leader in the active outdoor apparel industry. Today, Columbia Sportswear employs more than 1,800 people around the world and distributes and sells products in more than 50 countries and to more than 12,000 retailers internationally.
Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.
Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three-season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.
For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four-season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.
Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.
Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.
Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.
Product Description
Designed for weekend family camping, it has many features typically found in hightech backcounTR tents. The cohesive GoBe Dry rainprotection system includes an elevated floor, sealed seams and more. The 800mm fly and 1,000mm floor are made from polyester taffeta with fully taped seams. Strong winds are no match for the sturdy 9.5mm fiberglass poles. Keep your belongings neat and accessible with the four pocket organizers, hanging cup holders, storage lockers and hanging gear loft.
* Spacious dome tent with sleeping space for up to 5 people
* Cyclone venting system increases air circulation within the tent
* GoBe Dry rain protection system keeps rain from seeping inside
* 2 external storage lockers, gear loft, and cupholders
* Measures 12 x 6.16 x 9 feet (W x H x D) and weighs 21 pounds
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