Get Outside! How to Start Camping as a Family!

First Time Camping: A Family Guide

Outstanding! You made a big decision that is sure to bring years of joy to your family…you decided to start camping! Camping offers so many fun ways to enjoy quality family time. Just escaping your normal routine allows you to relax and unwind. Sometimes we are forced to completely unplug while other times we stay close a city or town with tons of internet access. Either way, escaping the “norm” is what it’s all about

The camping tent (pun intended) is so big it can be intimidating to figure out where to start. This How to Start Camping as a Family guide will share essential tips and advice on beginning your unforgettable camping adventure (including backyard campouts!) as a family.

TL;DR – How to Start Camping as a Family!

Choosing Accommodations: Start your family camping adventure by selecting the right accommodations. Whether it’s traditional tent camping, renting a cozy cabin, or experiencing the outdoors in an RV, there’s an option to suit every family’s preference.

Gear and Storage: Pack essential gear for cooking, sleeping, and outdoor activities. If space is a concern, consider affordable storage solutions for your camping equipment.

Destination Selection: Tailor your camping destination to your family’s interests. Whether it’s immersing in nature, enjoying theme parks, or exploring cities, there’s a campground for every taste.

Campground Considerations: Look for campgrounds with positive reviews and amenities that meet your needs, such as shade and proximity to bathhouses.

Meal Planning: Plan your meals in advance to ensure a mix of easy and diverse food options. Remember to prioritize food safety with adequate cooling for perishables.

Enjoy the Journey: Embrace the unique experience of camping as a family. It’s an opportunity to unplug, connect with nature, and create unforgettable memories together.

Where Are We Going to Sleep?

Start your first-time camping experience by selecting the right accommodations for your camping family. Whether it’s traditional tent camping, renting a cozy cabin, or experiencing the outdoors in an RV, there’s an option to suit every family’s preference.

I started out tent camping. My friend Greg and I would backpack our gear into a backcountry site, explore the area, sleep in a tent, and then carry everything back out. That worked for me and was fun. Yes, even when it rained or snowed. Okay, the snow was cold and made for a miserable night of “sleep”.

This sounds like an adventure, right? It is. However, I started off by “camping” in the backyard. My daughter and I went backyard camping at a friend’s house and we did not last the night.

What!?!

Well, the crickets were loud, the air was humid, and well I couldn’t sleep. So back indoors we trekked. I figured my camping days were done at this point.

So, I traveled a long road from scared of the crickets to sleeping in the woods of a National Forest…Don’t tell the Park Predators! I’m certain that show would scare me to death or at least not leave the house, like EVER!

Yes, tents are perfect for some campers. For me, I tolerate a tent to be in the action and explore places that are only accessible by foot.

My wife and family on the other hand, well not so much! We all prefer comfy beds (hello Tempur), nice cool A/C, running water, and a toilet. So, no chance I would ever ask my wife to visit a National Park and go tent camping.

Other Options!

If a tent is not your thing, then maybe renting a cabin in a State Park or Campground is more your speed? We rented a small one-room cabin at Falls Creek Cabins and Campground. The cabin had bunk beds and a full-sized bed along with a mini-fridge. Outside we had a picnic table and a fire ring. Our cabin was a perfect getaway and offered the feel of camping without sleeping on the ground! Plus it was a nice mix between a cabin and a hotel room (minus a bathroom).

Many campgrounds offer cabins, tiny houses, covered wagons, and even stationary rental RV’s. One of our favorite campgrounds, Santa Rosa RV Resort in Florida offers stationary Airstream camper rentals. The patios are super decked out complete with a firepit, BBQ grill, bikes, and plenty of seating for the whole family! This is a nice way to go!

Maybe you throw caution to the wind and just jump into the pool? You know, learn to swim while sinking to the bottom of the pool…Check out Our Journey Starts for how jumped right into this amazing lifestyle!

The RV Camper route offers choices between “tow” behind trailers and “drivable” motorhomes. Both have advantages and disadvantages. We have only owned a tow behind style, so I’m 100% unqualified to write about the virtues of drivable motorhomes. Although driving a giant diesel pusher would be like King of the Road! So, maybe one day, but probably not!

Tow Behind Trailers

Not surprising these come in lots of flavors as well. It’s like RV designers went to Baskin Robbins and loved the idea of 31 flavors and then said, “Hold my ice cream cone” and proceeded to develop like 437.6 flavors of RV towables. The best I can tell drivable motorhomes are similar in style count…

As a finance geek, I am mind-blown at the product line complexity created in the RV industry and how manufacturers maintain profitable lines. Thankfully, that’s not my problem! I appreciate the 437.6 flavors because we each get to choose what fits. So, what are the choices?

Small

Pop-up-style campers – These bad boys fold up like a Russian Matryoshka doll. They fascinate me when I see them because I can’t believe all that goodness fits in such a tiny box. Nevertheless, these seem to take work to set up and take down.

Tear-drop campers – these are basically an enclosed bed. Most seem to have some sort of cooking appliances on the rear of the unit. These are geared to the rugged, I used to camp under the stars kind of person. We rarely see teardrops in developed campgrounds.

When we began searching for RV’s these were kinda on the list until we stepped in one and literally we could not all fit at the same time. We are a small family of 4. Plus the price tag is hefty. Folding up into a tiny box is expensive!

Small – Medium (Smedium, I believe)

I define these as hard-sided RV Trailers that are under 20 feet long and 8 feet wide. Some are aluminum-sided while others are pressed panels of fiberglass. Some are even fiberglass molded. You might even get a slide-out in the main living space, which is the entire interior. These are good if you are cool with being close to your travel companions. They have beds, “wet” showers, interior cooktops, TVs, etc. Everything you want and need to “survive” for a weekend or longer.

Medium

In my view, campers in this range are 20 to 35 feet tall and weigh enough to require a “full-size” truck to pull it safely. Often, you can accommodate more guest and have more definition of your “spaces”. Like you have a couch to watch TV or read AND a table to eat.

Our first travel trailer was 33 feet with one slide. We had a “master bedroom” (it had a door) and a bunkhouse for the kids. We had a couch and table. Ours needed a full-size truck to tow.

Large

Any towable over 33 feet. These are super long and heavy. You are rewarded with tons of space and multiple slides. At this length and above you will need a bigger truck and might even be “sized” out of certain older National Park Campgrounds. We haven’t been concerned about this. But, if you think camping in the National Park is going to be “your thing” then factor that into your decision. We don’t live super close to the mega parks out west, so it didn’t concern us much.

Travel Trailer or Fifth-wheel

Both have advantages. Travel Trailers are far more popular on the roadway. A full-size pickup can handle towing most mid-size travel trailers. Whereas a Fifth Wheel needs a special hitch in the truck bed. This is fine, but you lose the use of your truck without some work to remove the heavy hitch.

Since Travel Trailer tow vehicle requirements are a bit easier to step into, these RVs can be an easier commitment upfront. Travel Trailers are definitely an easier way to start camping as a family.

After we realized we enjoyed RV Camping we “upgraded” to a Fifth Wheel. Our’s is about 40 feet long and weighs about 12,500 pounds. So a big step up from our 6,000 pound 33-foot Travel Trailer.

Here’s a comprehensive camping list for family trips, ensuring you pack essential gear for cooking, sleeping, and outdoor activities. Remember to consider storage solutions for your camping equipment.

Storing your Camping Gear

Whether you invested in gear for tent camping or an RV, you need to store your gear someplace. Maybe you’re lucky and have land or can store at your home, but many neighborhoods restrict RVs and other large vehicles from parking in your driveway or yard for long periods. At 40 feet long, our driveway is too short for our Fifth Wheel.

We were lucky and found a storage yard close to our house. Our facility is no frills, but does the job! Round-the-clock access and plenty of space to store our camper. As storage space goes, ours is affordable at $60 per month.

Choose the Right Camping Destination

Tailor your camping destination to your family’s interests. Whether it’s immersing in nature or exploring cities, discover the best family camping sites for your adventure.

Do you love visiting new cities and exploring urban jungles?

Do you enjoy the adventure of theme parks?

Or is getting closer to nature more your speed?

Camping offers options for all these travel types and more! Adventure and theme parks now offer campgrounds to bring you closer to action. Often these campgrounds are steps away from the entrance. Sometimes you get rewarded with early access to the park!

Getting closer to nature is an easy “go-to” place for camping. With an endless number of choices, it’s possible to stay in campgrounds at National Parks, State Parks, National Forest, County & City Parks and even private campgrounds close to natural areas.

How to Select a Campground?

When you start camping as a family, it’s difficult to imagine all the amenities that are important to choosing a campground or even a campsite. Over the years we learned having afternoon shade at our site is awesome! Being close to a bathhouse for showers…hello endless hot water! Privacy from other campers is nice as well. At times, pull-through sites are nice.

Sometimes this is easy to get and other times, something has to give. Good news there are tons of resources to help you make an informed decision. Check out tools like RV Life / Travel Wizard, Togo, Google Earth, and blogs (like this).

Look for camping family-friendly campgrounds with positive reviews and amenities that meet your needs, such as shade and proximity to bathhouses.

Let’s Eat!

Camping life generally centers around eating! In the morning the smell of bacon and coffee is wafting through most campgrounds! As campers fuel up for their upcoming adventures, the options for breakfast are endless. And at the end of the day, campers need some fuel to recover and restore their energy!

Plan your meals in advance, ensuring a mix of easy and diverse food options. Don’t forget to include camping games for the family to keep everyone entertained.

Unlike your neighborhood, you probably won’t have a grocery store 2 minutes away. So, you need to pack in your food and supplies. Keep this in mind if you rent an RV or stay in a cabin. Most rental units aren’t stocked with basic supplies.

Breakfast

Usually, breakfast at our campsite is more involved with bacon, eggs, sausage, and more. While breakfast is cooking, our campers get to slowly get ready for the day ahead. Or in our case, watch YouTube videos!

I like keeping breakfast simple with yogurt, granola, fruit, and toast. But, I’m less of a “breakfast” person. My family loves breakfast!

Lunch

For lunch, we like keeping things simple with sandwiches. Sometimes we plan ahead and make our sandwiches before we head out. This lets us enjoy a picnic while hiking on the trail.

Dinner

Now, onto dinner! Lucky for you there are tons of options. Our family loves the Blackstone Griddle. With one tool, Sara can cook an endless variety of dinners. Want steak? Want chicken? What a quesadilla? No problems!

Other times, we enjoy our pie-irons and make hot sandwiches over the campfire. Pie-iron pizza isn’t bad either!

Keeping bellies full is a sure way to have a great time as you start camping as a family!

Food Safety

Regardless of what you choose to eat keep food safety in mind. If you’re tent camping, coolers are your go-to. We have a couple of RTIC brand coolers that keep our food nice and cold. Maintaining proper temperature keeps your food from spoiling. Even though we have a fridge in the Fifth Wheel, cooling it down takes a few hours. Having a cooler is a must for our trips!

Enjoy Your Journey

Embrace the unique experience of camping with the family. It’s an opportunity to unplug, connect with nature, and create unforgettable memories together. We hope this guide to camping helps you make the most of your trip.

For more helpful tips and to follow our journey, join our email list!

About Us

Mike & Sara began RV camping in 2020 and instantly loved the lifestyle. We found the thrill of exploring new places, breaking our vacation routine, and crossing off all those “one-day” trips was a blast! At Our Campfire Unplugged, we enjoy sharing our experiences to help fellow travelers live their best lives. 
Keep up with all of our activities by joining our email list!