If your kids want to go camping, then you need this list. After camping with kids for over 15 years, I’m here to say, make it easy for Mom. When planning your camping trip, keep it within your comfort level. If you need hot water, air conditioning and flushing toilets, you can find those at a developed campground. If you want fun things like chandeliers and billowy down bedding, then consider glamping. Here is a packing list for camping trips and other top tips for camping with kids.
How to Camp Like a Mom
Keep your comfort at the top of the list. For me, I need an air mattress, a hot shower and hotter coffee when I am camping. And I don’t want to feel cold overnight. So I find campgrounds that offer bathhouses with hot showers. No biggie, really.
If you need air-conditioning, find it at a glamping resort. Or rent an RV for your getaway. Remember, there are no awards for suffering.
Keep it simple; it is the great outdoors. I’ve seen too many Moms trying to make scones at the campsite with a carful of gear. Just don’t. Who are you trying to impress? Your frustration is scaring the chipmunks, and the kids have scattered.
Top Tips for Camping with Kids
Here are my top tips for camping with kids.
Rent a Cabin—If it’s your first camping trip, skip the tent.
Make Fun Food—And s’mores are a must for every trip.
Ask around and Borrow Gear—Lots of people keep camping gear stored in their garage.
Prepare Food at Home–Chop those onions and potatoes, then put them in plastic bags.
Pack a Game—For a passing time or campfire fun
Give the Kids Jobs—One sets out the sleeping bags while one tends the campfire.
Skip Bath Night—The kids will get dirty, and no one will care.
Top Road Trip Food
Cooking and Eating Outside
Don’t plan for crazy, complicated food for your camping trip. Hot dogs and burgers are fine for the family.
Really. They taste better grilled on the open fire. If your kids need something to do, then hand them a weiner on a roasting stick.
Better yet, buy the best steaks you can find for the adults. Add some easy sides, like a can of beans, prewashed and packaged sugar snap peas, or even precut and packaged spinach. Green vegetables sauté up great in a cast-iron skillet with a cut-up bacon for flavoring.
Skip baked potatoes, too complicated to get consistent heat. Instead, cut up potatoes, onion, and garlic, then add seasoning salt before you leave home.
At the campsite, put the potato mixture in foil packs and set them on the campfire grate. Buy a loaf of French bread from the bakery department, the one wrapped in foil and put it on the fire grate as well.
My go-to for camp cooking is a cast-iron skillet, the black one. Place the skillet on the fire grate and heat it over the fire. Then slap those steaks on it; patties and wieners cook up great, too. Afterwards, wipe it down with a paper towel and a bit of oil. Scrub off bits of food with salt, then put it into a plastic grocery bag. Clean up done.
Don’t forget the marshmallows for s’mores. We changed up the candy over the years, so if you like peanut butter cups, try those on your s’more next time.
Breakfast Ideas
One of my top tips for camping with kids is to make a satisfying breakfast if you have the time. Pancake mixture in a shakeable jar works great for pancakes on the open fire or camp stove.
Breakfast tacos, or burritos, are another top breakfast item for us. However, scrambled eggs and sausage or bacon are great options as well.
If we plan to stay at the campground for a while, a good breakfast fills the tank with fuel for exploring. However, if you are packing up and moving out, granola bars and juice pouches are a good option.
Another must for my camping trips is individual boxes of cereal for the kids. I always have cold brew in a jug. If I have the chance, I can warm it up. Or pour it over ice.
100 Everyday Items You Need for Your Car
Packing List for Camping
After car camping for years, I keep my gear to a minimum. I store all my gear in a heavy-duty tote. Most of my gear is inexpensive. I trust reliable brands that have been around forever, which is another top tip for camping with kids.
Cooler
Butane Fuel—I pack a least two canisters
Stick lighter and back-up matches
Coleman Stove–You can find parts for Coleman stoves, other brands not so much.
2-quart pot (larger pots will take forever to heat)
1-quart pot
Pot holders—at least two
Sharp chef’s knife and paring or steak knives
Camp Mugs—Use for instant oatmeal or coffee
Baskets with Paper Liners-Less waste than paper plates
Real Silverware—Don’t eat a good steak with a plastic fork.
Can opener
Mixing bowl
Vinyl Tablecloth
Heavy-duty foil
Bread keeper–Because no one like smushed bread.
Other Useful Items on My Packing List for Camping
Assorted plastic bags
Wine bottle opener
Polycarbonate wine glasses
Roasting sticks
Egg Keeper
Plastic cutting board
Disposable dishcloths
Scrubbie
Microfiber drying towel
Biodegradable soap
Small container of bleach—I put a capful in water to sanitize
Multi-Purpose bleach spray
Plastic trash bags—One per day
Gas Lantern + Extra Lantern Mantles
If your campground is under a burn ban (no open fires because of drought conditions) then pack an electric skillet and a heavy-duty extension cord.
Cabin Camping Gear
I gave up tent camping because my kids wouldn’t help set up or take down the tent. Instead, I rent cabins, yurts and teepees. It’s all the camping fun with a roof over my head.
Sleeping bags
Pillows
Battery-operated lantern
Air mattress, just in case
Air mattress pump
Camping Gear for Kids
Each of my kids carries a backpack for camping trips. In it, I put some essentials.
Small flashlight
Carabiner
Board game or a deck of cards
Frisbee
Glow sticks
Blow up beach ball
Pencils
Toothbrush and paste
Bandana
Sun hats
Water shoes
Restrooms and Showers
Research the restroom conditions before making a reservation. Find your comfort level and stick with it.
Personally, I like hot water showers and flushing toilets. I can’t go more than 36 hours without a shower. Since I’m making the reservations, these are important features I need before committing to a campground.
Potty Pack
Toilet paper roll
Bleach wipes
Baby wipes
Hand sanitizer
Lysol travel size
Basic travel toiletry kit
Flip-Flops
Quick-drying or Beach towels
You Just Never Know
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the what-ifs. Plan for them instead.
Headlamp
Multi-purpose tool
Duct tape
Heater that can be used in a tent or cabin. It uses the same butane canisters you use for gas lanterns.
Rope
First Aid kit
Insect repellant
Sunscreen
Lip balm
Best Places to Camp in Central Texas
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