Let's go camping!
Family camping and outdoor recreation is all about campfires, roasting marshmallows and backcountry adventure. Getting the family outside and away from all the things that clutter our daily lives promotes responsibility and an appreciation for nature that our children won't learn from a TV. There are miles of wild wilderness out there to see, explore, experience and take-in with all of your senses, so grab your gear and let's go camping!
Camping gear that you need in order to...go camping!
Hey, you can't just show-up at the beach, or some mountain, in nothing but your flip-flops and a hoodie! You need some gear before you take the family camping, but you don't have to go crazy (at least until the camping bug really gets you!). Here's a list of essential camping gear to get you started.
- Tent. Yes, you can go hardcore and just sleep under the stars (or rain clouds), but if you are not hardcore other campers will instantly be able to tell, and they will laugh at you. If you are hardcore, there won't be any other campers around, so you won't care! A good tent has a "bathtub" floor that has no seams and comes up the side of the tent to keep moisture out. A good tent also has a rain fly that comes all the way down to the ground. Good tents are not available at your local superstore for $30!
- Sleeping bag. These come in all shapes and sizes (and prices!). If you are carrying it on your back, you will want to pay extra for a light one, otherwise something a little cheaper is probably fine. Be sure to tryout a "mummy" bag (contoured to the shape of your body, to save weight) in a store, before you buy one. Some people don't like the tight confines.
- Sleeping pad. Okay, I talked you into the tent but you're going to draw the line at anything called a "sleeping pad." Go camping once without one; you'll come around to my way of thinking! There are two kinds of sleeping pads; air mattresses and foam (good ones are covered with a nylon material). I prefer the foam pads because, well, when (not if) they get holes in them you don't care!
- Camp stove. Camping is supposed to be fun and nothing sucks the fun out of fun faster than a bunch of cold meals. Car campers have it made here, with big two-burner propane models that will have you grilling bacon and flipping pancakes at the same time. Backpackers will have to resort to something significantly smaller, but the best models will boil water in less than 4 minutes. Mmmmmm, oatmeal and coffee!
- Ice chest. I'm throwing the car campers a bone here, because a backpacker's ice chest is the lake or a stream. If you are car camping, though, an ice chest keeps your meat, eggs and drinks cold. New "5 day" and "6 day" models are good for at least 3 days, if you use a couple of 10lb. blocks of ice.
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Find a campsite online
Alright, you've got your tent, your stove and your ice chest, now it's time to find that perfect campsite! Unfortunately, there is no one-stop shop for campgrounds, but here are six sites that will provide you with the bulk of what's available out there. Check with your local city or county parks and recreation department, too - there just might be a great campground closer to home.
- Reserve America
- Reserve America operates a reservation systems for state-level public parks and some private campgrounds, like KOA and Thousand Trails. Note that there could be great city or county parks in your area and they might not be in the Reserve America system, so check with your parks & recreation department. Also, Reserve America does not show any first come, first served campgrounds, so check with your state (Google your state name and "first come first served campground" without the quotes).
- Recreation.Gov
- Recreation.Gov is just like Reserve America; in fact, they are both operated by the same company. Recreation.Gov only shows federal campgrounds (USFS, BLM, COE, etc.) that accept reservations. It does not display any first come, first served campgrounds.
- National Park Service
- Ready to hit one of our great National Parks? The NPS has a great website with plenty of good, searchable content.
- US Forest Service
- Search for those elusive first come, first served campsites. Also locate backcountry cabins and fire lookout towers that are reservable for camping.
- Bureau of Land Management
- Search by state for hard-to-find first come, first served campsites that are managed by the BLM.
- Corps of Engineers
- Much like the BLM website, search by state for COE managed campsites in your area.
Crater Lake, Oregon
Diamond Lake, Oregon
Upper Rogue River, O...
Klamath River, Calif...
San Simeon State Bea...
Ventana Wilderness,...
Wizard Island, Crate...
Bald Eagle, Huntingt...
Sailboats on Hunting...
Fountain at Joseph S...
5 Things to do Before Your First Camping Trip
So, you have made the decision to try camping and you have picked-up something to sleep in, something to cook with and an ice chest for your food and drinks, but there are still some important things that you should do before you head off on that first camping adventure.Setup your shelter. Whether you are camping in a tent or a million dollar motorhome, it is important to set everything up at least once, before you attempt to do it at a campsite. Discovering problems beforehand will provide you with plenty of time to replace that missing tent stake, or figure out how to remove the winterization bypass on the hot water heater.
Plan your meals. There is nothing worse than running out of eggs or pancake mix, one day into your three day camping trip. Put together a menu that covers breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner for each day of the trip. There is no need to get extravagant here; keep the meals simple and try to use as many common ingredients as you can.
Pack appropriate clothing. A common mistake many new campers make is not bringing enough warm clothing. Whether you are camping at the beach, the mountains, or the desert, when the sun goes down the temperature drops rapidly and it will feel a lot colder than the thermometer might indicate. Also, if you plan on swimming or showering at the campground, be sure to pack flip-flops and towels.
Pre-chill your ice chest. One gallon milk jugs of frozen water work very well for keeping your ice chest cool all weekend. To keep the water in the milk jugs frozen all weekend, pre-chill the ice chest a day in advance with ice or additional milk jugs. Also, pre-chill all drinks before putting them into the ice chest, so that they do not raise the interior temperature, melting your ice, when you first load it up.
Make a list. If you categorize your list by packing location, there will be no confusion about where an item is located and it will be easy to check items off the list, once they are packed. Common packing locations are the ice chest, "John's backpack" or "John's duffel", "tub #1", etc. If you are not backpacking, storage tubs are great for camping supplies.
Camping is all about relaxation and stress reduction. Ensuring that you have the appropriate gear, and that you know how to use it, will make your backcountry adventure enjoyable and worry-free.
Family Camping and Outdoor Recreation
Camping tips for the family, camping gear that makes backcountry camping more enjoyable and general camping-related news that might be of interest to the family camper.
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Lensmaster
shawna wrote
Great info! Spent the summer camping around south east Utah...with my husband, three little ones and our dog. I agree, a list is a MUST before camping as you said above! Check out http://natureforkids.net to see more of our adventures!
Posted October 21, 2008
KimGiancaterino wrote...
I don't do tents any more, but love to camp in our RV. This is a terrific lens... hopefully more to come! Squid Angel Blessed.
Posted September 30, 2008
fredo3303 wrote...
Went camping this summer to Arcachon SE France, Wish I had seen your very informative lens before we went. Still there is always next time.
Posted September 25, 2008
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
I love camping but I don't find much time for it anymore... Maybe next summer.
Great lens.
Lizzy
Posted September 22, 2008
Portable_eBay wrote...
Great camping sites... but definitely out of my reach...
Posted September 19, 2008
Ges wrote...
Nice lens, Roy. I've never been to California but Huntington lake looks beautiful.
Posted September 17, 2008
by Roy-Scribner
Roy Scribner is based in Silicon Valley, where he writes about outdoor camping topics for various online media outlets.
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