Tent Camping with the Family: Getting Started
by Michelle Jones

Although we don’t consider ourselves camping experts, we have learned so much in the first few family outings that I have a wealth of information to share with anyone just starting out.  After reading this article you should be able to gather the most critical supplies needed for your first family camping trip, or what we call… adventurous and inexpensive family fun!  (Our favorite campground, a state park at a nearby lake, is only $14 a night.)

After years of thinking and talking about exploring the family camping adventure, my oldest son Joshua joined the cub scouts last year and guess what their first activity was...  an overnight tent camping trip!  When I was in the girl scouts, years (and years) ago, the council provided tents for us… but I guess things have changed because our son had to bring his own tent. It turned out to be an incredible blessing though; we were catapulted into finally getting started with family camping.

 Finding the Perfect Tent

So, off we went to the store to buy our first tent.  We hate to admit it, but my husband insisted on one of those pop up kinds that all you have to do is unfold them and they literally pop up and need very little work to set up.  The problem is, these kinds of tents are much more expensive, and really not necessary.  Since this was a trip just for Joshua and my husband, I purchased the least expensive one I could find, a two-person tent.  It served it’s purpose just fine though, and now we have an easy set-up tent for future scouting trips.

However, in order to take the entire family (of 6) on an overnight outing, we needed a REALLY BIG tent!  Over the next few months we continued to watch the store ads for tents on sale.  Finally, we secured the biggest one we could find at a reasonable price, a 3-room/6-person Hilary tent from Sears.  It’s big enough for all 6 of us and after setting up the sleeping bags we still have room for most of our supplies, the rest we keep in the trunk of the car... things like beach toys and extra food, which the later is important to keep stored out of sight so critters won't visit you during the night!

Our 3-room tent comes with room dividers, which are really just sheet-like curtains that hang on hooks inside the tent from the roof.  We’ve only used them once though, they make the tent seem so much smaller.  For privacy to change clothing, we either take turns inside the tent, or take a trip to the bathroom and change there.  (We always pick a site close to the bathrooms!)

One of the most important things when choosing a tent, is that is has a rain-guard covering, and yes, ours does!  If you need to purchase a tent on sale or end up borrowing one from a friend that doesn’t have a covering, you’ll need to buy a tarp to cover the tent when it rains, and chances are, it will rain.  You’ll also need a tarp for underneath your tent to protect it from dirt and rocks, but we made several trips without one and our tent survived okay.

Though most of these camping items can be found at garage sales, we’ve decided to purchase new ones, hoping they will last longer.  When we’re done using them, if any of them are still in good condition, we’ve got four kids to pass them down to.  I would recommend borrowing some of your equipment for the first time though, if at all possible.  After your first outing you’ll probably know if camping is for you or not… for us, we love the challenge of surviving outdoors with our kids and getting the chance to spend time with them away from Nintendo, TV, telephones, computers and our busy schedules... we love it!

Sleeping Bags are Nice, but Not Necessary

So far, we have 3 sleeping bags.  Because we don’t want to purchase the cheap ones, we’re taking our time to invest in ones that will hopefully last for many years to come.  We still have small children so there's no hurry to have all the sleeping bags right now, but as they grow older it will be nice for everyone to have one. The inside of the tent will stay pretty clean (keep an old towel or mat in front of the tent opening so most of the dirt and rocks will remain outside), so it’s okay to use a bed roll made out of a comforter from home.  Since we have the three bags, we can use them either individually, as a base for two of the children with a comforter from home on top, or as a covering over an air mattress or foam padding that my husband and I insist on using for ourselves. 

For some reason, we always wake up in the morning to a damp tent and bedding… meaning we have to air dry everything before being able to pack up on the last day, a bit of a pain.  On this last trip we took at the beginning of August, it was a little warmer than usual and we were able to keep the side windows of the tent open about 10 inches or so (no more than that in case it rained during the night).  We were pleasantly surprised to wake up in the morning to a DRY tent! 

Remember to air dry your tent and sleeping bags before putting them back into storage or they will mildew; our previous trip was so damp we had to lay the open bags out on our front lawn for several hours after returning home...  we sure miss that sun when it’s not around!

 Staying Out of the Rain, Adding a Porch Covering

Speaking of rain, the latest thing we added to our camping ensemble, was a canopy porch… because during the previous trip it rained for several hours during the afternoon and we had to sit inside the (hot - zipped up) tent until it stopped.  You only do that once, then you buy a porch canopy.  Prices range anywhere from $12 - $120… I found a nice sturdy one for $30 at Wal-Mart, and it worked just fine.  Although since we are a large family, I think the larger $120 type would be wonderful too.  I just won't pay that kind of money on a tarp!

Seating Arrangements

Those collapsible camping chairs that we purchased for our kids’ t-ball games are just perfect, and I highly recommend them!  Although we only have four of them so far and the kids are starting to fight over who gets to sit down in a nice comfy chair... instead of on the picnic table bench (that’s provided by the campground) or on the lid of the large cooler we have.  Any kind of outdoor chairs will work... beach chairs, stackable garden chairs, whatever you can fit into your car, just be sure to bring something. 

The collapsible camping chairs come in several different styles and sizes.  The small cheap ones (priced at $5.00 – $6.00), won’t hold up as well as the bigger, more expensive ones… but they work just fine for the younger children.  On our recent trip, our camping neighbor had one of those collapsible chairs that even had a built in footstool, now that's relaxing!  We also have a small collapsible table that has 4 drink holders built in, I think we paid about $6.00 for it, again, at Wal-Mart.  

Cooking with Charcoal, Gas Stove, Sterno and Fire

We have yet to purchase a gas camping stove, though it’s on our list to purchase one soon.  Currently, we use the campfire ring that’s usually provided at the campground, and we bring our own charcoal, lighter fluid, and waterproof matches (found in the camping section of your local stores).  You can also use inexpensive Sterno cans, but they don’t provide much heat and it takes a long time to boil a pot of water for coffee or hot chocolate.  We used them on our first trip, but now we just bring them along in case our other cooking methods get messed up. You might want to try the charcoal cooking first, then if you find yourself camping a lot, go ahead and invest in the gas stove.

Iron skillets are great for camping if you have one, I happen to have two well-seasoned skillets that are really coming in handy… if you need more information on this just let me know.  The stores have special camping pots that work great and aren’t too expensive.  You can get by with just one, you don’t need a whole set.  Whatever you do, don’t use your good kitchen pots, they are not meant for cooking over hot coals!

Although you’ll be using charcoal for cooking food, you’ll still need firewood for the campfire at night (for roasting marshmallows and making s'mores of course!)  You can purchase or gather your firewood (and starter wood if possible) either before coming to the campground, at the campground, or if it’s dry, you can hunt for some in the woods depending where you’re at… campgrounds usually have very few pieces that haven’t already been gathered up.

S'mores…

Sandwich a roasted marshmallow (heated over the fire with a long stick, or untwisted wire coat hanger, for several minutes) in between two halves of a graham cracker with a small piece of a Hershey bar.  Let sit for a minute so the marshmallow (if hot enough) will melt the chocolate.  Limit intake to 2 or 3 per person if you don’t want anyone to get sick!

I'll share some more of our favorite camping recipes with you soon.

Other Miscellaneous Items You’ll Need

- Pillows

- Extra towels (for who knows what might happen, we always need them)

- Dish soap, dishcloth and hand towel

- Paper plates, bowls, cups and utensils

- Plastic bags, garbage bags

- Picnic tablecloth (the inexpensive vinyl kind)

- Rain ponchos, or at least one

- Lanterns, flashlights

- Cards, 1 or 2 games, books (for the children and adults)

- Small broom for sweeping out the tent to keep it clean (and for when you roll it back up, you’ll want to sweep it out first)

- Camera, journal

- Two pairs of shoes for everyone!

- Expandable clothesline (available in camping section, about $1.00)

- Special camping mallet for putting in and taking out tent stakes (comes in real handy, and the kids love to help because it’s so cool looking)

- Gallon of drinking water that doesn’t have to be kept in cooler

- Empty gallon jug for getting wash water if needed

- A little bit of cash, at least $20

Okay, what do you think?  Are you ready for your first camping trip?  I’ve given you the basics to get started, plus several more tips that we’ve learned so far.  Now it’s just a matter of getting some equipment together, getting your calendar out and calling your state park or nearby campground to make reservations for your trip… have fun enjoying the great outdoors with your family!

Copyright 2001 by Michelle Jones

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For more great tips on Family Camping, read... A Summer of Family Fun