Advanced Planning
If you are like me and have camped with children, especially teenagers, you have heard the complaint, “I’m bored, there’s nothing to do, etc.” So, I put together 5 family camping trip ideas. I can tell you, I found out that camping with children takes advanced planning. Guess what mom and dad, this is not the time to relax and ignore the children, you can do that in your living room at home. This a time to build lasting family memories.
5 Camping Trip Ideas
To avoid the “I’m bored” complaint, you are going to have to put your thinking caps on and come up with ideas that will work for the whole family, as a family. Yes, as a family, get the kids involved with the entire trip planning. The following are some of the trips that the Rye’s have used as a family.
- Beach camping trips- Southern California, (where I raised my children), has some beautiful beach campgrounds, like Malibu, Carpinteria, Ventura, Santa Barbara, just name a few. These destinations are very popular and require advanced planning, you must be on the phone to Reserve California, six months before your planned weekend, but it can be worth it. One of my personal favorites with my children was, El Capitan in Santa Barbara County. This campground has water and showers. Carpinteria State Beach Campground has non-hookup and full hook up sites available. Another state that my family vacationed at was the Oregon coast, and I can tell you they have some spectacular beach campgrounds, I particularly enjoyed one in the city of Depoe Bay.
- Lakes- Camping at a lake where swimming is allowed can bring many hours of enjoyment for a family. Dad may even get to teach the children how to fish, just remember that fishing will not hold a child’s attention the way it does Dad, so keep that in mind.
- RV Resorts- There are hundreds of RV resorts that you can camp at. These resorts have various amenities like swimming pools, hot tubs, volleyball, horseshoe pits, game rooms, playgrounds, stores, etc. Which resort you choose as family would be dependent on what kind of activities your family enjoys.
- U.S. Forest and National Park Campgrounds- Most U.S. Forest campgrounds are in the mountains and have hiking, mountain biking, and dirt bike trails nearby. Some are located by rivers, lakes, or specific points of interest. Most National Parks, like the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, or Yellowstone in Idaho or Montana, have campgrounds in the park or you can find a resort campground near the park.
- BLM or Bureau of Land Management- This is government land that may allow people to camp on the land. Usually there will be no water or hook-ups, total dry camping, and you may need to get a permit or permission to camp on BLM land. Typically there is no cost to camp on BLM land. It is worth checking out.
The Camping Trip
A memorable family camping trip takes advanced planning, yes I know I said that before, but it a good point. The best family trips the Rye family took included the following:
Trip Planning- The children were involved in all aspects of the camping trip. Food menu, snacks, shopping for the trip, where we were going, activities that we would be doing, and helping Dad to pack the truck.
While camping- The children helped set up camp, cook meals, and clean up. As a family, we even made a game out of cleaning up the camp site at the end of the trip, which included receiving a prize for the person with the most trash in their bag. The prize can be easy actually, how about the left over Oreos, yeah!
Indoor Activities- Card games like Uno, Five Crowns, Rook, Canasta, Rummy 500, and add your favorite. Videos if we have hook-ups. Board games if you have room for them. Charades? Story telling.
Outdoor Activities- Fishing, hiking, biking, toss across, volleyball, badmitten, rope tying, fire craft, kid type crafts, horseshoes, smores around a roaring fire, etc., again add your own activities.
Conclusion
Camping is way for families to create lasting memories, to reconnect with one another, for learning how to care for one’s self away from home. My adult children still talk about various places we camped at, the activities we shared, and unfortunately the travel mishaps. Plan the trip as a family, where you are going to, food, cooking chores, clean up, packing, and activities. The choices of where you can camp are endless, beach, lake, RV Resorts, U.S. Forest or National Park, or backyard. Go out and make memories!
