June 17th, 2009 by john 
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Let’s face it. By it’s very nature, camping can be stressful. You are basically relocating your family and belongings into the outdoors, living in primitive conditions, and then relocating everything back home. All this, in the span of a few days. A little longer if you’re lucky! That just sounds stressful! And it can be. But there are some things you can do to make your family camping trip a much more pleasant experience.
When we first started camping years ago, it was an unorganized mess. We would spend hours trying to find all the camping gear. After arriving at the camp ground, late, we would unpack in the dark. AND then we would haphazardly go grocery shopping, spending way too much and forgetting necessary items. We didn’t have a plan. So along the way we started instituting the following 5 tips. These few simple steps have greatly reduced our stress and made all of our family camping trips much more enjoyable.
5 Tips For A Stress Free Family Camping Trip
1. Make Reservations Early
This may sound silly, but we have found as each year passes, the need to make our reservations earlier and earlier. My wife tried to book our usual campground for Memorial Day weekend, in December, only to find it was sold out! No kidding. December. Maybe it has to do with the economy? Where else can you stay for $15.00 a night? Luckily, we were able to reserve a couple of sites at another campground, on the same lake. In any case, there is nothing worse than planning on having a great, long weekend, only to find that it’s completely booked.
2. Pack Everything In Advance
This is a huge time saver and STRESS REDUCER. We bought plastic bins and store all of our camping supplies in them. We keep these, along with the tents, tarps and other necessities together in the garage. Gone are the days of trying to find and gather all that is needed for the trip. We just grab and go! Also, we pack all of our personal items, clothes and non-perishable food in the days leading up to the trip. This one step has made the entire trip less stressful and more enjoyable.
3. Plan Meals And Shop Prior To The Trip
We plan all the meals in advance and shop accordingly. About a month prior to the trip, I start buying snacks, canned goods and anything else needed, on sale. For instance, I buy hamburger in bulk, make all the patties and freeze them in zip lock bags. I buy chicken on sale, marinade it it for a day and freeze it in bags. When it’s time to go, we just throw the bags in an ice filled cooler. The payback on this is two-fold. We save a ton of money buying everything on sale and we are not cutting into our fun time trying to shop at some over priced camp store.
4. Plan Activities For Kids
I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a worse experience than sitting in the woods with whinny kids complaining they are bored! Depending on the campground, there are plenty of activities to occupy your little ones (or not so little ones). Some items you may want to consider: corn hole (bean bag toss), horse shoes, hiking, biking, swimming, roasting marsh mellows, making S’mores, camp fire stories, camp fire songs, bubbles, board games, deck of cards, star-gazing, hide-n-go-seek and the list goes on. Use your imagination. Some campgrounds we have visited have had swimming pools, tractor hay rides and live music. Call ahead and see what is offered.
5. Set Up Camp Site Before Dark
Our favorite campground is about 3 hours from home. We used to get off work at 5:00 P.M. on Friday and arrive as it was getting dark. Let me tell you, it’s no fun setting up tents in the dark. Before it was over my wife and I wanted to sword fight each other with the tent poles! One of the smartest things we’ve done to reduce the stress is taking turns getting off-work early. The “lucky one” takes one of the kids to the site to set things up. When the others arrive, things are just about done, just in time for dinner!
So there you have it. I hope you will give these tips a go and take your family camping! It incredibly fun and will create many lasting memories. For those of you who have already been bitten by the camping bug, what do you think? Do you have any other tips to share with us? We would love to hear it!
Here are some pictures from our 2009 Memorial Day Weekend trip:
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My name is John.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing your tips with us. I really like #3 on how you make all the patties and freeze them in zip lock bags. That is stress free and a great tip. I also enjoyed your camping pictures. That would be so fun in the water. I like your new blog look. Have a nice weekend and take good care!
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John reply on June 19th, 2009 7:30 am:
Thanks Robin. Yeah, buying ahead saves a lot of time and money. Camping on the lake is definitley the way to go! The theme I’m using right now is not permanent. I am having issues with my reg theme since upgrading WordPress. I am going to be busy this weekend, but hope to get things fixed next week. Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
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Have camped more times than I can count, and I never found it stressful.
I agree with some of your points, set up camp before dark. Set up camp before running to the playground or the pool, or fishing or other activity that be at hand.
We only took small things, and always did our shopping once we were there. We took spices, things you only need a dab of this and that. We took specialty items; but we found it made no sense to take up valuable packing space with something you could easily get once at your destination. We never bought more than a few days of food stuff at a time, that way ensuring a variety. And really who knows ahead of time what you’re hungry for, most people don’t. I don’t plan meals ahead at home, so why make it more stressful by adding an extra task when you’re on vacation? We often found taking time was helpful. Firstly, camp stores are just plain fun…and different. When you’re elsewhere it’s cool to eat differently. You mingle with the other campers, and locals and thats fun. AND…it’s a great activity when it’s raining, or the kids have been out in the sun too long. We generally would go into town and do the bulk of shopping; but would stop for odds and ends at the camp store.
Love the pictures, looks like you take a lot more equipment then we used to. We had a small dome style tent, small wallless canopy (didn’t even have it in the early years).
Our long trips were usually 3 weeks, so we would camp awhile 5 days or there abouts and then hit a hotel for a night. Great memories.
Sandy
hope you’ll swing by for a visit, welcome mats always out
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John reply on June 19th, 2009 7:55 am:
WOW! That’s amazing! No stress? No kids? lol I can’t imagine camping for 3 weeks. Our longest trip was a week. AND by the end of the week, we ALL wanted to get back to civilization. When I speak of packing food, I obviously mean a couple of days worth, not weeks! Yeah the camp store novelty is cool, but my frugal nature won’t allow me to shop there! Meal planning and budgeting saves our family several thousand dollars a year. It’s how we fund our vacations. Mingling with other camping families and visiting local attractions is a big part of the fun. We used to take the “inside the Dam” tour at one of our favorite camp grounds. However, since September 11th, it has been closed. Kind of like visiting Hoover Dam, but different.
When the kids were younger, we always worked in historical sights and tours. In any case sounds like your family enjoys camping as much as ours. Many great memories! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! Oh and btw I fixed your website url… 
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6th Tip: Don’t break a bone! Whoops- you knew that one already!
Seriously, great tips, John. It reminds me of a great, but very stressful 4 week camping trip my family took from NC to VA and then down to Florida, after my 4th grade. Kids got car sick, we often arrived after dark, father and brother had a hard time getting the tent up, Mom ran out of Sterno, and we had to shop at those horribly expensive camp site stores. We left Mountain Lake on a road, but the wrong road, which turned into a rocky trail with no place to turn around. A rock punctured the oil pan in Dad’s new Rambler wagon. I remember “showers” with spiders and daddy long legs. For every “bad thing” I remember about that trip, there are 10 good things. Is being awakened at 5:00 AM by the otters splashing around a good thing or bad thing? One of the best things was finally arriving in Florida at my grandparents house and getting a real shower, without the bugs. Too bad Dad didn’t read anyone’s tips before leaving! To this day, I love a crazy vacation where “bad” things happen. It’s not so “bad” if you don’t think of it as “stress”, but “adventure”. Even with planning, you can’t take the stress out of the experience when unexpected and unplanned things happen – you just have to see it as “adventure” – a great and memorable thing for kids!
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John reply on June 19th, 2009 2:32 pm:
Genie, sounds like a wonderful trip. I can’t imagine taking a 4 week vacation! If I’m gone that long from work, they probably don’t need me! You are very fortunate that your father was able to take off for so long. Someday, in retirement, my wife and I plan to travel around the country. I don’t mind the kind of stress you describe, at all. We have been lost on just about every vacation we have ever been on, until we recently got a GPS! We have driven in circles around Disney World. Taken the wrong exit in Buffalo NY, while visiting Niagara Falls. We feared for our lives! We found ourselves 20 miles down in a canyon on a clay and rock road, somewhere in Utah. We were racing a giant thunder storm. I was fairly stressed as we kept passing signs that read “Do not attempt to cross when raining” and “Warning, flash floods may wash out road”. We were all laughing hysterically, as the kids watched the lightening “chasing” us, through the rear view window. One time, we made a series of wrong turns when leaving Death Valley and ended up on the “Extraterrestrial Highway” headed to Area 51. When our daughter was about 7, on a trip to Canada, she answered all of the questions wrong at the border crossing and almost got us detained! On a trip to the Grand Canyon, our daughter got the flu. I won’t describe what happened at the breakfast buffet that morning after eating some eggs. Let’s just say that my daughter was probably not the only one to get sick. We spent one whole day in the hospital. I am no stranger to vacation “adventures”!!! All good times and some great memories!
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Thanks for the tips. I love camping and these look like 5 easy steps that can make it a lot less stressful!
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Nice article !
And very nice changes you got there. I hope you resolve all the wordpress issues
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I only experience camping once in my entire life. Back when I was just 15 years old. It was such a great experience that I’ll never forget. Thanks for the tips. Ill definitely remember it for my next camping. Hope it will be soon.
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Pretty cool post. I just came by your blog and wanted to say
that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon!
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I camp with my family for years so this is all well known. In this way, we see many places for little money and we have great comfort in our camping trailer. We mainly use the tents only on the beach.
Karen´s last blog ..The Benefits Candles for Weddings
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Family campings are all about thinking free and total relaxation. Following these tips will ensure you of those experiences indeed. Thanks
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