Camping with Little Kids

Want to see more of our camping posts? Click here to see posts with previous adventures and our gear suggestions. Or maybe you just want to come along with us on a day hike?

One of the things Calder and I are really looking forward to are camping adventures with the boys, but somehow we’ve had a hard time making time/plans for a trip this summer. Side note : since moving to Colorado, we’ve learned that you have to plan these trips in advance if you want to secure a site at a campground. Reservations are scooped up as soon as they come online! If you aren’t able to reserve a spot, there are some campgrounds that hold a few spots open for first-come-first-serve arrivals, but we’ve been too lazy to go through the effort of packing the car and taking the risk.  We know we could just head out into the wilds, but again, we’ve been lazy.

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As luck would have it, friends (hi Neha!) of ours were going on trip with a few other families, some sites opened up, and we were able to take one. Score! Alex is just a few months past his second birthday and Luc is four months old, so this was our first trip with both a toddler and an infant, and I thought it might be useful to share our tips/tricks for a super easy and enjoyable weekend camping trip. As you’ll see, we kept everything so simple for this trip. If you’re hesitant about camping with kids, I want to encourage you to do it and show you how it can be done without a lot of stress, tears, or baby gear. Of course, if gear is your thing, then pack on :-).

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Pack Your Bags : Van Camping

Hey there, we’re gearing (pun intended) up for a summer of travel and thought it would be fun to do a series of posts that focus on our gear. We aren’t highlighting the latest line of ultra-light-weight this or that. As you’ll see in this post, what’s important to us is getting out the door, so we try to keep the gear simple, functional, and relatively inexpensive.  I’m kicking off the series with the essentials that Calder and I keep at the ready for our road trip and van-camping adventures. Check back this afternoon and Sarah will share what’s in her camping pack!

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Calder and I love a good road trip. Alex? Not so much, but we’re working on him. Cash? He’s our primary co-pilot and sticks to the van like glue the moment he sees us start to pack.

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Early Spring Camping

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Surprise! We had to come back with a one-two punch, because what goes better with a maple syrup festival than camping?!

If you haven’t tried it yet, early spring camping can be a lot of fun. During our week-long road trip in early March, we spent almost as much time camping as we did sleeping indoors. Albeit our camping isn’t necessarily roughing it; the back seat of our van folds down into a bed big enough for the three of us (four when Cash curls up for a snooze). These were taken on the first morning in George Washington National Forest, just outside of Warm Springs, VA. 

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As you can tell, the morning air was freezing crisp and refreshing, with a beautiful layer of frost and ice crystals covering every surface. So first things, first, Calder made some coffee in the french press while I wandered off to check out the scenery. Soon I was back at the van, grabbing my coffee, and encouraging everyone to get out and watch the rising sun sparkle on the ice.

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