What to Take on Your First Camping Trip as a Family

This post has been sponsored by Coleman®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hey friends! With camping season coming soon, Brandon and I have been talking about how we can make camping more fun and easier for our family. I’ve noticed that a lot of my friends who used to camp before having kids, don’t camp now that Junior has come along. Camping with little kids can seem really hard, but it doesn’t have to be if you are prepared with the right gear! So here is my list from an experienced camper of some of our must-haves when we camp with our kids. We want you to be able to still enjoy the fun of camping, but as a family!

1.A Good Tent- Your tent is where you store your stuff and, most importantly, sleep! This is one of the biggest adjustments that a lot of couples have to make when bringing kids along camping. Not only do you have to bring more gear along, but you also need room for another person. There are a million different tents with a million different designs and features out there, but let me make it really easy for you and show you the coolest tent to get if you’re camping with kids.

We recently discovered the amazing-ness that is the Coleman® Dark Room Tent from Target. This tent is seriously amazing for exactly what the name tells you – it becomes a dark room. It blocks 90% of sunlight and reduces heat, no joke. One of the hardest parts about camping with little kids is that they have so much trouble sleeping. Nap times are almost impossible with how bright it is inside a tent, and bedtime is hard because it’s not always dark out when they’re ready for bed. Worst of all, though, is how little kids pop out of bed at the crack of dawn, while you’re still recovering from the late night s’mores. This tent solves that very problem by simply being incredibly dark inside. It’s great on the outside:

And awesome on the inside:

Your computer isn’t messed up, it’s just that dark inside. Seems too good to be true, but it’s not. Perfect for a nap after a long hike or a full day of boating. You can even see on the picture I took of the outside how dark the inside is.

Being dark isn’t the only thing we love about the Coleman® Dark Room Tent. It’s got all the durability you know and love from Coleman, plus pockets and places you can roll down the windows to make it brighter inside. It also has an access spot for electricity and was insanely easy to set up (Brandon and Sawyer set it up together and it only took them maybe 5 minutes max). There is plenty of space inside for a queen airbed with room to spare. I would say you could definitely fit a portable crib in there easily, which we have done many times while camping. This is the tent to have if you are camping with little kids and it will last through all of your future father-son campouts, Memorial Day retreats, and decades of camping; it’s that well-made.

This tent will have some awesome deals going on at Target, including an Ibotta rebate that can save you money so you have more in your pocket for camping snacks!

2. Lights (and batteries) – The first time we went camping with kids, my brother-in-law’s kids all had small, child-sized flashlight lantern things. The next year, we got one for each of our boys, and they are one of our must-haves every time we camp. The boys love being in charge of their little light, and the ones we got have dimmers on them so the boys can turn it down and use it as a nightlight at night. Like I said in the last item, sleep is a big issue for kids when camping, and having their little lights helps my kids feel more secure when they’re away from home. Don’t forget extra batteries.

3. Comfortable Beds – I know, again with the sleep-related items, but it can really be a problem. How many times have you camped and woken up on a flat air mattress? I feel like everyone has some kind of camping bed-went-bad story, which is part of the reason why we try really hard to take good care of our air mattresses, starting with choosing the right ones. You don’t want to be that guy who turns on an air pump at 3 am, waking everyone else in the camp up (yup, that happened at one of our family reunions a few years ago). Whenever we have a camping trip coming up, I like to stop by Target. They always have everything I need and at the best prices. While Rhett and I were there a few weeks ago, we picked up the Coleman® QuickBed Air Mattress Single High Queen with Pump. Coleman’s products are always versatile and made to last. I love that they have air mattresses with and without pumps because we have bought multiple air mattresses in the past, and none came with pumps. Make sure you have a pump because you don’t want to try and blow it up without it.

4. Toys! – My kids love being outside and we love when they are totally enveloped in the outdoors, away from everything else. That being said, we do always bring a few toys along when we camp. The toys we take are always something that will just facilitate more outdoor fun, like shovels so they can build or fishing poles so they can (try to) fish.

5. A Fun Location – Don’t get me wrong, being in the outdoors in and of itself is fun. However, being outdoors somewhere where you can swim or run wild or see something cool is extra fun. If your family is resisting the idea of camping, try adding on something cool like camping by a lake (we camp once or twice a year on an island in the middle of a lake, only reachable by boat) or camping near some neat hiking trails. We even have family who have camped at concerts and at restaurants before their opening night. There are no rules that say you have to be in the middle of the woods. We have been dying to go camp on the beach sometime soon. Kids love having something like the lake or the beach to enjoy during their camping trip too, it gives them something more to do and enjoy while you’re gone.

I hope these ideas get you thinking about finding somewhere neat that you want to take your family and maybe even your friends to. There are some really cool places out there, you just have to find them! We live in Georgia and would love to go to new places, so let me know in the comments what the coolest place you’ve ever camped was – we’d love to check it out! Also, don’t forget to head to Target and check out this Ibotta rebate offer on the Coleman® Dark Room Tent. I have a feeling they are going to sell out fast!