More than 40 million Americans took camping trips in 2013, according to the 2014 American Camper Report. So many of these people had a good time that almost all of them – 99% – say they are either likely or very likely to do it again. For many families, camping is a happy time. At least 95 percent of parents say their kids are happier when camping, according to a study by the Institute of Education at Plymouth University. When you are looking for kid friendly vacations, a family camping trip is a great option.
Tips to Planning Great Camping Trips:
Use storage bins for your belongings. Plastic storage bins are great for camping trips. They are sturdy. They are easy to pack and stack. They are also waterproof. You can put everything from your clothes to your food in plastic storage bins for great kid friendly vacations such as these.
Bring extra blankets. If you are going to be staying in a tent, you can use the extra blankets as padding under your sleeping bags. If you go for one of the cabin rentals, you can use the blankets as padding for seats when you are sitting around the campfire. Either way, you can never have too many blankets when you are camping.
Bring clothes for every kind of weather. You will need to prepare for the weather you want to have and you should bring some for the weather you hope you do not get This means you should pretty much plan to dress in layers. In many campgrounds around the country, it can be very warm during the day and then get very cold during the evening and at night. You should be prepared for all kinds of weather.
Bring a first aid kit. Scrapes, cuts and bug bites are all things that happen when you are on a camping trip. You should be prepared for these things by having a first aid kit with you and ready for these problems. Make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen. Many kid friendly vacations have been made a lot less fun by a bad sunburn. Add some aloe vera, preferably with lidocaine, to your first aid kit to be ready for sunburns.
Keep the bugs from biting. Bring some bug spray or some tea tree oil. Mix some water with the tea tree oil and put that in a spray bottle. You can spray this on your belongings and skin. Bugs hate tea tree oil! It is natural and it smells great. If you get a bite, have some vinegar with you to help the itch. Take a cotton ball and saturate with vinegar. Apply that to the bite, before you scratch it, to ease the itch.
Plan for rain. Even the best planned trip can end up a wash if it rains. You can bring some games along so that you have something to do. Talk to the staff at the campground, they may know of some fun things for your family to do indoors in the area or at the park. All kid friendly vacations should include some games so you should be prepared for rain.
Take care of some of your food preparation at home. You can chop up vegetables, pre-cook some potatoes and prepare your hamburger patties all at home. The more of the food preparation work that you are able to do at home, the less you will have to deal with on your camping trip.
Be a good neighbor. When you are packing for your trip, make sure you pack enough garbage bags. Pack extra garbage bags. You are going to want to take everything that you brought into the campground back out. The whole goal of your packing up is to leave as little traces of your stay in the park as you possibly can. You want the next people to enjoy the park the way you found it. If you see litter, pick that up, too.
Turn off the devices. Your kids may balk and you may get twitchy but you should detach from your social media channels while you are on your trip. You will get more out of the experience.
