Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michelle Keller on June 29, 2009 at 5:12pm

Absolutely, we consider the kids, but we too are just big kids! We choose campgrounds that have creeks, rivers, lakes and sometimes pools. We love swimming and fishing. There is one that we love that has two inground trampolines that can keep the kids intertained for hours! We don't do too much wilderness camping since we like to ride bikes, scooter, skateboards, etc....and it's nice to have other kids around to play with too!

Permalink Reply by Brenda Lance on June 29, 2009 at 6:51pm

For us, we are wilderness campers. Most of our camping has been rustic camping and backpacking. We took our two kids in 2007 at the ages of 10 and 11 on a backpack trip into the Strawberry Wilderness area of central Oregon. That was their first ever backpack trip. We love to camp near water, any water, where the kids can play; usually creeks, quiet rivers, and lakes are places we look to camp near. Plus, if you run out of water you can always get more from these areas. Just make sure you boil the water long enough and use a filtering system of some kind or tablets. We are planning on getting one of those fold-up enclosed showers with the solar bags for when we go on extensive camping trips. After using one on our backpack trip, we decided that would be our next major purchase. The kids do not seem to mind not having other children around. They have learned to love nature and the meaning of quiet by leaving behind all the daily activities of home. Sometimes we will camp in a larger campground where the kids can ride bikes, but even these places are pretty rustic with only an outhouse. Also another thing to keep in mind, is that when you have family, cost can be a huge factor. We have found that a lot of places that do not offer so many of the comforts of home are a lot less. Many times if you get into more wilderness areas the camping fees can range from free to $10.00 per night. Many of these places you need a vehicle that can handle some possible rougher road conditions, but it is worth it. We have found that if we go with any other families, most of the time we do need to go where there is a bit more civilization. There are not too many families, especially women, who enjoy the rougher conditions. Hope this adds to your site.

Permalink Reply by Kim ellery on June 29, 2009 at 8:02pm

Thanks Michelle and Brenda for you replies. You both bring up great ideas. Currently we do both, stay in rustic campgrounds and ones that have more "playthings" for the kids. I agree with the water... got to have it though have stayed in the middle of the desert and the kids loved it just can stay as long there. Brenda, I would love to get into more back pack camping, but my kids are only 9. How far did you back pack in? I love the idea of it so it is nice to hear that it is doable!

Permalink Reply by Mary Jane on July 3, 2009 at 12:09pm

I have found that a lot of states list kid friendly campgrounds and things to do. Our kids have been hiking since they could walk, so we try to find places where they can explore. Also, we are starting to get involved in geocaching, which makes it a lot of fun for the kids because the hiking actually comes with a reward. Our kids are still very little. We also bring a lot of things for them to do - they love their bug toys that have mazes for the bugs to walk through and magnifying glasses.

Of course, the best for us is when we go with friends, which we do about half the time. That really makes camping fun for everyone.

Permalink Reply by Webfoot on July 3, 2009 at 1:04pm

I've always found the National Parks to be the way to go. They always have a variety of activities and the trails are well maintained so there's always things to do with kids. We add other activities like geocaching. Geocaching gives us one more thing to do with the kids.

Permalink Reply by Sandra on July 5, 2009 at 11:56pm

I think it's all in how you prepare to keep the kids busy. There are plenty of books out there about how to introduce your children to nature. There's one I've used a lot that I can't think of the name right now, but I will look for it. Another is "Nature Specialist" and "Field Guide to Nature and Survival with Children" by Tom Brown Jr. (you'll probably have to order these). Also, there are "New Games" which is a compilation of great non-competitive games for children.

Permalink Reply by Peggy Hannah on July 12, 2009 at 8:39pm

I agree. We've been camping in the national or state parks for several years, and there's lots of things to do. Many of them have nature or adventure 'campfires' for families in the late afternoons. Most have self-guided hiking trails, and most of them are near lakes or rivers. One of our favorites is Calveras Big Trees, in central California. It's another giant sequoia grove that is gorgeous and on a river. It has flushing bathrooms (a must for me!) and showers. It also has some great self-guided hikes, one of which is handicapped accessible, and a tree stump that is almost as big as a house that you can actually walk on! There's a general store and an activity center. We never went to the activity center, since we were pretty busy hiking and swimming. We, too, are geocachers, and always have a list of caches on our way there and back, as well as ones pre-loaded on our gps units for while we are at camp. Our ten year old is only allowed his DS while we're driving, but once we get to camp, all electronics stay in the truck. He makes friends with other campers or entertains himself doing what kids do when camping - using his imagination! He's also a Cub Scout (WeBeLos II) and his dad and I are his den leaders, so we usually try to work on awards and other scout stuff.

Webfoot said:

I've always found the National Parks to be the way to go. They always have a variety of activities and the trails are well maintained so there's always things to do with kids. We add other activities like geocaching. Geocaching gives us one more thing to do with the kids.