Outdoor camping trips with family create some of the best and most fun memories. Growing up in Minnesota, many great moments came from sleeping in big tents at simple state parks. Later, switching to camping trailers and RVs made the whole thing feel like a job. Hauling extra stuff became a pain, and setting everything up dragged on forever. It’s crazy how often things get packed away and then vanish just when needed. People who love nature and easy adventures will get why keeping it simple makes camping way more fun. Keep reading to find out how staying low-tech can bring out the real camping magic.
I try to make our family camping trips as simple as feasible. We load every little thing into our tiny Subaru station wagon. I have a Thule freight carrier for the roofing system. Whatever is absolutely organized.
I begin my planning by creating a basic list of needs to have products:
- Tent
- Sleeping bags
- Inflatable bed
- Camp oven
- Camp light
- Standard chef package
- Pressure cooker
- Warm mitts/potholders
- Wok
- Standard consuming tools
- Plates, bowls, cups
- Bathroom tissue
- Lighter
- 5-gallon water container
- Flashlights
- Clean basin
- Hatchet/hammer
- Rope
- Hands-on coffee mill
- Coffee drip cones as well as or French presses
- Large shielded cooler
The more stuff that you take, the more of a hassle the trip becomes. Maintain it simple.

Storage
Everything that we bring is stored in rectangular plastic storage boxes. We load 4 of them right into the rear of our station wagon. It makes it so very easy to set up camp. We just draw the storage boxes out and also grab what we require when we need them. During the night, we position them safely in the back of our station wagon. All of our sleeping gear enters the cargo box on the roofing system.
Cooking Set
Our cooking kit is our pressure cooker. We save our bowls, utensils, mugs, as well as anything that hangs inside the pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are awesome for auto camping due to the fact that points like beans and also rice can be cooked very fast. My partner adds a premium Kitchen frying pan for all stir fry specials.
Food
You do not need special camping food. We often tend to consume in the same way that we eat at home. We buy great deals on fresh fruits as well as veggies at regional markets. We bring a various variety of entire grain pasta, dried out beans, brown rice, as well as our renowned very porridge breakfast grains. My spouse calls this our kitchen. We have sea salt, whole peppercorns, soy sauce, warm sauce, and lots of our preferred things that we may not have the ability to acquire on the road.
Cooler For Perishables
My other half found this great Coleman 70 quart cooler that maintains food cold for up to 4 days (honest!). We acquire fresh poultry, fish, beef, fruits, and veggies when driving as well as store them in the cooler with a block of ice or dried ice.
When you have the appropriate tools, your family camping trips will certainly be so much a lot more pleasurable!
However, even if you have the best tools readily available, your journey will not be enjoyable if you do not plan on doing things that your family members take pleasure in. The trip is not a race! Take your time and decrease.
We have 2 young children. We bring bug catchers for them to play with. My partner loads great deals on small toys as well as publications for them. They see DVDs when we are traveling for a prolonged amount of time. We do all the junior ranger programs for our children. They enjoy them! I take them for moon strolls at night. Even if there is not a moon, the young boys want the adventure of walking in the evening with flashlights.
We such as to stay at each campground for at the very least 2 days. It makes the experience great when you are not setting up camp every day. We bring some lightweight easy chairs for my better half and me. Simply sitting back, drinking coffee, as well as checking out books suffices as home entertainment for us.
Camping for our family members is a time bonding and relaxing from the normal everyday regimens in your home. This summertime we will certainly be going on a 3-week family camping journey to northern California and the Oregon shore. Head over to CabinsBySundance for more camping tips.
Campgrounds:
We tend to prefer the primitive National Forest, National Park, and also State Park camping areas. They provide fantastic worth for the money. Some also have showers!
