Before having kids, my husband and I spent our anniversaries camping on an island off the coast of Washington State. We’d pitch our tent in the woods and wake to the sound of harbor seals splashing in the waves. Then, when I was pregnant with our firstborn, we went camping in the nearby national forest. I spent the lazy days reading in a hammock by the river, and in the evenings, we sat by the fire, imagining the family camping trips we’d soon take.
The next summer, we returned to the national forest with our six-month-old. Not only did we forget to bring firewood, but within an hour of falling asleep, our daughter woke up inconsolable. Eventually, we packed up our gear and left, grateful the next morning to wake up surrounded by all the comforts of home.
We waited a year to try again and were pleasantly surprised at how fun it was to camp once our daughter was a bit older. Over time, we’ve figured out what works (and doesn’t work), and now family camping trips are one of our favorite pastimes. Here are six things we’ve learned…
1. It doesn’t take much to have fun outdoors.
Our favorite state parks have amenities our kids enjoy, like playgrounds and paddle boat rentals and ice cream stands, but we have the same amount of fun at campgrounds without much entertainment. We’ve learned to pack accordingly. We bring a frisbee and whiffle ball to the campground with the big grassy field; we bring a kite and sand toys to the one with the beach; and we always bring our field guides and binoculars (plus a monocular, which I’ve found is easier for kids to use). With freedom to explore, our kids usually make their own fun. And, this may be breaking all the rules, but when we camp at state parks on the San Juan Islands, we make a vacation out of it, heading into town to browse the bookstore and get coffee and pastries or to (gasp!) eat at a nice restaurant.
2. Camping with children looks different, and that’s okay.
When our youngest was born, we upgraded from our two-person backpacking tent to a family-sized tent (similar), which the kids named Bluey. We also bought a used pop-up camper, which has made camping even more comfortable. (We switch off between the two, depending on the campsite.) When our kids are older, we’ll take them on remote backpacking adventures, but for now, I appreciate the ease. We decorate the camper with stickers from every campground we visit. Older couples walk by and tell us, We used to bring our kids here. Tucked into the camper at night, listening to the sounds of my family breathing, I think, this is all I need to feel at home.
3. Group camping trips are like a big sleepover.
Every year we go on group camping trips with friends, and we always come away from these weekends saying, this is why we camp. The big kids race their bikes in loops around the campground and lead the younger kids in sprawling games of make believe. And it’s fun for the grown ups, too — we enjoy the unhurried time to hang out. Every meal is a potluck, and if you run out of sunscreen or forgot to pack ketchup? There’s always more than enough to go around. After the kids fall sleep, someone puts another log on the fire. Some of us drift off to our tents, and some of us stay up, talking and laughing quietly until it’s time to douse the embers and call it a night.
4. Park rangers are the best.
We’ve found that some state parks have ranger-led nature activities for kids, so it’s something we ask about when checking in. One of my daughter’s favorite memories is the time a park ranger stopped by our campsite with booklets filled with nature-themed puzzles and activities. He promised that once their booklets were completed, they could earn their ‘Junior Park Ranger’ badges. My daughter, who was five at the time, diligently colored her way through the whole book. On the last day of our trip, we stopped at the ranger station. Not only did the ranger on duty bring out a box of wooden badges, he led a very official swearing-in ceremony. I teared up as our kids pledged to care for the land, waterways, and wildlife around us.
5. It’s helpful to take notes for next time.
When it’s time to start packing for a trip, I open the camping checklist I keep in my Notes app. The list keeps getting better over time, since I’m constantly adding anything we wish we’d brought. For food, we chop, dice, and measure out ingredients at home and make as many meals ahead as possible. Because I’m extra, I also like to bake blueberry scones, which we reheat over the fire to enjoy with morning coffee. We use a cast-iron camp cooker for egg sandwiches, which makes breakfast almost as fun as toasting s’mores. While walking around the campground, we keep a note of sites we’d like to reserve for next time and jot down what we liked about them. State parks book up early, so this helps us in late winter when our group chats start buzzing about making reservations.
6. Best of all, our kids remember the good stuff.
When we swap stories about past camping trips, we’re always surprised by what our kids share. They remember the way the stars looked at night while walking to the bathroom, not the runny nose that kept them up late. They remember drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows before breakfast, not the time I cut my palm slicing bagels with a dull knife. They remember listening to audiobooks with their stuffies in the backseat, not the miserable hour my husband and I spent breaking down the campsite in the pouring rain.
Back at home, when our kids wake up and climb into our bed under the eaves, they reach their hands up to touch the low ceiling that slants like a tent above us, and say, It’s just like camping.
Kaitlyn Teer’s debut essay collection Little Apocalypses: Essay on Motherhood, Climate Change, and Hope at the End of the World is out today! She is the senior editor of Big Salad (and you can read her recent Big Salad interview and garden tour here, if you’d like). Kaitlyn lives with her husband and two kids in Bellingham, Washington.
Now, I’d love to hear, do you enjoy camping? What traditions do you look forward to every summer?
P.S. 10 readers share their favorite outdoor activities, and five family vacation ideas.
(Top photo by Dave Hoefler/Unsplash.)
