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Article 5 ways to have fun camping with family

By Shanna Berg
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23 Comments

If you are looking for things to do on weekends, then camping with your family is a fantastic activity that everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime.

Everyone has heard horror stories about camping with details such as being bitten by swarms of mosquitoes or having rainy weather conditions for the entire time, but if you plan carefully, then you can avoid these problems.

Go camping on a budget

When you are dealing with a tight budget for your camping trip, look for free camping spots to save money. There are national and state parks and wilderness areas that provide 100 percent free camping locations to park a recreational vehicle or to pitch a tent. Some of these locations will have amenities such as primitive or modern bathroom facilities that have toilets and showers.

Make camping fun for your children

In addition to finding the best free camping spots, you want to enjoy a variety of fun camping activities. Think about the things that you enjoy doing, but also, consider kids camping activities to ensure everyone has an enjoyable vacation. Your children might want to go on nature walks, use a fishing pole or roast marshmallows over a hot fire in the evening.

Pack your camping gear carefully

Some campgrounds will permit swimming in a local lake or rowing a canoe on a stream, and this means that you should bring along swimsuits and life jackets for everyone. Depending on the campground that you visit, there might be areas available to ride a bicycle, or the facility might have horses available for riding on trails. Whatever you plan to do while camping with family, make sure to plan ahead by packing everything needed into a vehicle before driving to a camping site.

Things to bring along

First, you need to have plastic storage containers to hold your camping gear in order to protect the items from moisture and carry the items to a camping site. Things that you must bring along include:

  • One or more tents and poles
  • Waterproof tarps to place on the ground
  • Sleeping bags, blankets and pillows
  • Esky filled with perishable food
  • Additional food that will not spoil
  • Cooking supplies and eating utensils
  • Clothing and footwear for different weather conditions
  • First aid kit
  • Drinking water or a water purification kit
  • Flashlights and batteries
  • A grill and fuel for cooking
  • Insect repellent
  • In addition, you might want to bring along items for fun camping activities such as flying a kite in an open field, looking at the stars at night with a telescope or balls and bats to play baseball.

Make sure to prepare for rainy days

 If it does rain, make sure to have books to read or board games to enjoy inside a tent to prevent boredom. No matter whether you are looking for inexpensive things to do on weekends or want to take a longer vacation with your family, finding a free camping spot is a great way to have fun.

Do you have any tips to add? Please share in the comments below.

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Comments

  • Im so not a camper. I need my comfortable bed

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  • This is a guaranteed memory maker. Camping is such a great thing to do as a family. Even if just once in a blue moon, everyone should give it at least one crack.

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  • Awesome ideas, thank you so much.

    Reply

  • We are so not a camping family. I didn’t do it as a child and I don’t enjoy it at all. My idea of camping is a van in a caravan park with a shower, toilet and some modern conveniences.

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  • This brings back fond memories!

    Reply

  • I love camping! Another great thing to invest in is a camping oven because then you can teach your kids all about cooking things from scratch over the hot coals – damper is a great thing for them to make and is very simple and cheap. Plus it tastes great – especially when it’s warm and fresh!

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  • We never went camping with our kids. The one thing what doesn’t attract me is not being able to sleep in my own bed, the whole preparation and set up and packing away again of all the stuff…makes me tired when I think about it ????

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  • My kids adored camping and the last time we went the youngest was about 18 months. They all went through the Cubs, Scouts, Rangers and Brownies, Guides, Rangers and they still camp to this day with their kids in tow.
    Thanks for your article – it has brought back many happy memories.

    Reply

  • Wow, not been camping since I was a kid. will have to take my own camping when they’re a bit older

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  • I have a 12 yr daughter and a 5 yr old Autistic Son and we recently went camping for the first time as a family.We took our motorbike and the boys got to bond over that aswell.. We were hesitant at first that things would go wrong or that we would forget a necessity but we hadsuccess !! My children didnt touch a iPad ir a phone the entire time (my 12 yr old tried at first…lol) We only went for a long weekend and all up including buying fuel for the motorbike, firewood and food aswell as campground fees it costs us less then $60 for 4 of us f or the whole long weekend. Plus the memories and the photIs are priceless.On our drive home we started planning our next camping trip and to be honest i cant wait

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  • I suggest you pitch your tent somewhere before you go away. Make sure it is complete, doesn’t need stronger pegs as one group of campers discovered (you don’t know what soil you might be camping on – it may be different to what you are told). It will also give you some idea how easy or otherwise it is to assemble and dismantle. Friends of ours got cust in gusty winds which normally come from the other direction. To save their tent, they dismantled it enough to lay it flat on the ground and put heavy objects on it around the edges. Luckily there has a community kitchen/hall and they took shelter in it. Some tents were left up and were damaged. A couple of them were going to be cheaper to replace than repair…..One very good reason to know exactly how to assemble, dismantle and pack up a tent quickly. Some have built in floors. If the area is rtocky you may want to put a tarp, heavy thick plastic or some other protection under your floor. Happy camping!!!

    • I agree 100% with the comment about pitching your tent before you go!! We actually went to a local park and had a ‘dry run’ to make sure everything was ready to go… it also helped us to be able to be quicker once at the campgrounds as we were fully prepared

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  • it was one of our best holidays with kids camping in the kimberleys.

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  • The only way I find camping fun is if I stay home.

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  • only been once, it was ok, will wait til the kids are older

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  • Definitely prepare for rainy days with games and activities.

    • Preparation is always the key to good camping holidays.

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  • We got back from 6 months traveling aust in a tent. Our two children 6 and 3 loved almost every minute of it.
    Make sure you always have a roll of loo paper with you, we found alot of the public toilets didnt stock it and have been caught out a few times.
    We used the camps australia book which have fantastic sites in it!

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  • Colouring books and books for reading are good to if the weather turns yuck. My son has a pair of kids binoculars so he can look at birds, etc.

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  • Yes, bring some board games too. Very nice to play together in the evening around a fire!!

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  • I have friends who go camping every year and love it. I’ve tried it a couple of times, but it’s not for me.

    Reply

  • We bought a camper trailer a d we are going to go soon

    Reply
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