Useful Tips for Preparing for a Family Camping Trip

Camping is a great way for families to bond and spend quality time together. Being away from the hustle and bustle of everyday city life, disconnecting and enjoying the peace and serenity of the great outdoors. This chance to enjoy the ‘simpler things’ in life with your loved ones is a refreshing experience that any family should at least try once, if not even make a habit of doing regularly from time to time. 

Preparation is one of the most important aspects of camping, it could dictate whether you’re more likely to enjoy a lovely time with family amongst nature, or if you’ll spend a few inconvenience-filled days in discomfort. Especially for first time campers, it can be very easy to inadequately prepare and ruin a potentially great experience. Here are some tips to help you sufficiently prepare for a family camping trip 

Select The Right Location  

Before you can start planning and organizing things for your camping trip, you must first decide on the right location. If you and your family members are novice campers, it’s probably best that you search for a campsite in an established campground like a national or state park. This way you can ensure that amenities and emergency services are easily accessible, and that you’re generally closer to civilization. 

If you have some prior experience camping, or you would prefer to try your luck being totally self-sustainable, maybe a more remote campsite might be good for you and your family. You’ll get a more isolated experience and would likely be spending more of your time at or near the campsite you choose. It’s also important to note that if you have any activities planned, it’s best to be close to the location of said activities for the sake of convenience. 

Pack The Essentials

Once a location has been chosen, your next priority will be making sure you have purchased/packed up the right essentials for your camping trip. Preparedness is key to ensuring a comfortable and convenient experience in the wild, information found in this article on tents are a great way to assess and choose your purchases. Here are some of the most important items you’ll want to have with you on your trip; 

• First Aid Kit 
• A tent(s) with a ground cloth and rain fly 
• Sleeping Bags 
• Camping Mattresses or foam pads 
• Rain Gear (especially lightweight ponchos)
• Flashlights 
• Extra Batteries 
• A camping stove or Grill (with respective fuel sources)
• Cutlery and Cooking Utensils 
• Water Storage Containers (drinking and washing separate)
• A Cooler(s) and enough ice or ice packs 
• Sunscreen 
• Insect Repellent 
• Blankets and Rugs 

The list provided above are the main essentials that anyone would need to have an enjoyable family trip, if you wish to take more equipment with you that’s fine as it’s usually better to have too much than too little. Just make sure you keep everything organized and stored adequately. 

Organized Storage 

So you’ve chosen your campsite and purchased all the necessary items and equipment, the last step you’ll need to take before heading out on the road is organizing your storage. The more gear you have, the more of an effort it will be to set-up, dismantle and pack everything. Storing your camping gear in pre-labelled boxes is a great way to negate this problem. 

Pre-labelled boxes, for cooking equipment, food, camping gear and miscellaneous items will not only keep things organized for use, but will also make packing them in and out of your car far more efficient. Using these boxes will also help keep the elements and wildlife out of your gear and food during your stay. 

Designate Campsite Responsibilities  

One of the most enjoyable aspects of camping is the sense of community and teamwork. It’s a good idea to split up all tasks and responsibilities amongst your family members, so that everyone feels like they’re doing their part to make the experience happen. 

Responsibilities and tasks around a campsite usually consist of the following basics: 

• Cooking 
• Cleanup and Dishwashing
• Gathering Firewood 
• Starting a Fire 
• Hauling Water (if near a clean water source)
• Setting up and Dismantling Tents 

The group effort of camping not only keeps family members occupied, it helps ensure that everyone feels involved. This sense of interdependency helps build the bonds that keep families together. Not to mention, camping offers many opportunities to learn and perfect new skills that all members of the family can benefit from. 

Plan For Some Activities   

As enjoyable as the experience of camping in itself can be, it’s advisable to consider including some activities to enjoy whilst you’re on your trip. This is especially true in the case of young children, who may be more prone to get bored of the mundane campsite tasks quickly.

This could be just about anything from board games, tug of war, hiking, kayaking and more. You can easily find some ideas of activities you can do whilst out amongst nature camping online, or by contacting the institution responsible for any established campgrounds. The range of activities at your disposal will also rely heavily on your location and the weather conditions. 

Don’t Overplan  

It can be easy to get lost in all the planning and organizing whilst camping, it’s really important to remember that giving yourself and your family members the time to simply kick-back and enjoy what nature has to offer is necessary. 

Camping shouldn’t feel like a mission or a burden all the time, so be sure to take the opportunity to just let everyone do their own thing. At the end of the day, we leave the city and our everyday lives behind for a chance to disconnect, relax, and take in the tranquility nature has to offer. 

Preparedness and planning are the main keys to having a care-free camping experience, it can be the difference between having a trip to remember or having a trip to forget. By following the simple tips mentioned above, you should hopefully have a smooth and enjoyable camping trip for the whole family. Regardless of where or when that may be.