Car camping with kids can be a lot of fun and a great way to build memories. This is a great alternative to traditional tent camping and offers a lot more flexibility in your ability to get into gorgeous places. Kids will embrace the adventure that comes with car camping and enjoy being out in nature and seeing where the road can take them.
Start The Preparations Early
The key to car camping with kids is in the prepartion. This rule goes for pretty much everything with kids if I am honest. However when it comes to car camping with kids it is really important to plan ahead and be sure that you are organised in advance.
Tales of a Mountain Mama has a brilliant list of car camping supplies that you should take the time to gather. I love when others have curated the lists for me and I just have to gather the supplies. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything on the list. Just start where you are and with what you do have. The list is great for giving you ideas on things you might need but you can totally substitute or work with what’s in your home already.
Car camping is such a unique experience that requires a bit of a mindset shift. The confined space makes camping a little more intimate to say the least.
Talk to your kids about the plan you have for camping in the car. They are either going to be all for it and bouncing off the walls with excitement or think that you are insane. We recently tried car camping with our 3 year old and he was not impressed at the onset. He could not understand why we would want to sleep in the car. Cars were for driving and most definitely not sleeping. Now he asks most weeks if he can sleep in the car.
If you take the time to prepare early both mentally and by having all the required bits and pieces your trip is going to go a lot smoother.
If you are not quite set up for car camping or you don’t want to invest in anything quite yet, there are a lot of companies that you can rent a van that is fitted out perfectly for car camping. It can be a great way to test the waters so to speak.
Pick the Right Mattress
A good nights sleep is vital when camping. I know that when I don’t sleep well I am not a happy camper which means no one is happy.
A good car camping mattress is key. You can find our recommendations here. We have found that our upgrade from air mattresses to self inflating sleeping pads to be a total game changer.
The insulation level in sleeping pads is far superior to anything an air mattress can provide. I know that whenever we used air mattresses we would always be cold. This is because the air in the mattress is cold and laying right on top of it feels like laying on a concrete floor. Which can be fine during the day but at night it is not at all condusive to a good nights sleep. You will forever be tossing and turning trying to get warm no matter how many extra blankets you use.
A sleeping pad is filled with dense foam which traps the warm air in and makes it a lot similar to your home mattress. I was concerned initally at how thin most sleeping pads are. This concern however was never substanstiated. We really put out sleeping pad to the test when we had to sleep on an incredibly rocky site last year. It was truly amazing that we felt not a single rock under us.
When you are car camping with kids I would highly suggest investing in a self inflating sleeping pad. They are easily condensed now to next to nothing in size and require very little set up. We have a double size mattress that we can sleep 2 adults and our 3 year old on. If I was to purchase again for car camping I would buy 2 singles instead. I think that just offers a big more flexibility and more room to move things around when in storage mode.
Choose a Suitable Location
Location, location, location. The location you are car camping with kids really matters. We use an app called Wikicamps to help us decide on camping locations. You can read honest reviews of camping sites a long with tips for the area.
National parks are amazing places to go car camping with kids. Personally I feel like car camping isn’t really made for RV parks. A lot of RV parks don’t actually allow car camping either. You can read about the differences between National Parks and RV parks here. Car camping in my opinion is far more suited to places like national parks, state parks and other more isolated areas.
You might also want to check out Harvest Hosts. I have not personally used them as they are not available in our area currently. However, I have heard amazing reviews about their service. It is an app similar to Wikicamps where you can find places to camp, usually for free. Theses are places like wineries, farms, golf courses, museums etc. You are usually only able to stay for a night but it is a great option. General politeness means you would usually purchase something from the property if thats an option. I wouldn’t be able to pass up some farm fresh produce anyway!
Choose a car camping location nearby any attractions you might want to visit. Whether it be a hike you want to go on, a stunning waterfall or any other place that is on your list.
Do a Trial Run
This I feel is the vital step in successful car camping with kids. We did a trial run the the garage of all places! It was fun and I really learned a few things that we helpful. The first being that it is way squisher than I had thought it would be and can get very stuffy.
We ended up having to open the windows to allow some air flow. Once we did that we slept pretty well the rest of the night. Once you have your mattress in the back it leaves very little room for much else. The way our seats fold down leaves a good amount of room behind the front seats in our SUV and we could easily put a good deal of equipment in there. I also found that it would be very useful to have a small tent that could pop up and store items or if you are really wanting to invest in car camping one of these attachable tents would be great.
We though car camping with kids might just be for special one on one trips with our kids but I think these attachable tents offer a lot more flexibility. There is the extra space for additional kids so it is a good middle ground between tent and car camping.
A roof top tent is also a great option for adding extra space while maintaining that independence and freedom car camping affords. They aren’t cheap but they would make a great investment if car camping with kids is something that you really enjoy doing as a family.
So like I said a trial run is a good way to see how car camping with kids might go and to be able to iron out the bumps before you are in the middle of nowhere!
Keep Things Simple
Car camping can be elaborate. There are some pretty incredible and remarkable places that you can go car camping. When you are starting out with kids just keep things simple. Choose a location that has toilets so you don’t have to go digging holes. Also pick a place that they are going to really enjoy. Water nearby is always a winner.
When it comes to food when car camping the simpler the better. One of the best ideas for simple food while car camping is using freeze dried meals. Mountain warehouse does a huge range. You can even get bacon and eggs for breakfast! Just add hot water to rehydrate and they are as good as fresh. They are a great option because they take up minimal space, are delicious, nutritious and take very little work to prepare.
I think it is so easy to get caught up in having to have all the right equipment and tools etc that the whole process becomes overwhelming. Start where you are with what you have. If you don’t have something that is important then head to Facebook Marketplace or other buy, swap, and sell sites. You don’t need to go and spend big money.
Embrace The Wildness
This is not the time to worry about dirt and showers. There is no way that this is going to be a weekend away where your kids are going to be looking like show ponies. In all honesty they are going to look feral. That is all part of the experience and all a part of the fun so embrace it.
Embrace swimming in the creek instead of taking a shower and never brushing anyones hair. You might all return home a little…or a lot stinky and looking like you have been lost in the forest for 10 days but it will be some of the best memories you will have made with your kids.
It is all about relationships and memories. There is nothing better in this world that you can give your kids than a childhood filled with time spent together making memories. It is these memories and chances to nurture relationships that will hold you together when life starts throwing lemons at you.
