Planning for Family Camping
While we spend a heckuvalot of time outside, it would be a bit of a stretch to call us a camping sort of family. Lots of our friends are avid tent pitchers and small RV lovers and we LOVE to meet up with them around the campfire, at the beach or on the lake – one of our favorite parts of summer.
This summer we’ve been talking more and more about hitting the bush (well, more like the well-populated and very fun campground) and are working on getting our junk together – which is honestly no small task.
For me, it’s all about finding the great locations. So, I’ve been busy checking out Go Camping BC. There are tons of great places to camp on Vancouver Island. But, if we are going to pay the absolutely ridiculous ferry fees to get over to The Mainland, I’ve got to have at least a mild assurance that our locale will have a significant wow factor. I also loved The Traveling Mom’s post on the best BC family-friendly campgrounds.
After getting the picturesque factor and reservation making out of the way, it becomes about gear. We’ve got a tent, mattresses and some adventurous spirit. I remember seeing a cooler in the garage, some plastic cups and plates. I’m suspecting that isn’t going to cut it.
I am super newby at this and so went the “Please Teach Me as I have know idea what I’m doing” sort of route and found a great How-to over at Parks Canada. Check out their Learn to Camp section for the scoop on gear, tips and more. I loved it even when I actually already knew things.
Since I’m not entirely sure how well this is going to fly with the fam, I appreciated the tip about borrowing gear from friends and getting recommendations from folks about reliable yet reasonably-priced options.
Being fresh to this type of family adventure, we’re definitely going to start out with a few easy test runs including an overnight (or maybe a whole weekend) at Miracle Beach Provincial Park and a TeePee adventure at Horne Lake Provincial Park. We’ll break ourselves in with some fantastic BBQs at the Goose Spit too. I’ve got to get mentally geared up for it.:)
Then, it’s off to the races. While I know we won’t be packing in gear for a back country camp for at least a few years, this is a great way to spend some fun family time outside loving everything that is summer.
Now, off to finish the planning. I can’t wait.
Category: KIDS, NATURE & OUR HERITAGE, Outdoor Family Activities
About the Author (Author Profile)
Robin Rivers is Our Big Earth’s Publisher and Sr. Partner. Able to survive on coffee alone. Often can be found leaping tall buildings with the help of great friends. Predisposed to odd hats and the color orange. In love with imagination, her kids and that crazy guy who married her.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Kin Beach is a favorite with is, the kids even learned to ride their bikes there! and the price is right!
I find that camping is best done over two nights, as it gives the kids a full 24 hours outside. We like to go friday night, and come back sunday morning. But we have a system, as we have a small travel trailer, so it’s pretty smoothe. There is so much to explore, and so many “weekend friends” we’ve made from different places. Also, i love being “off the grid” for a few days, as we ban electronic devices for the duration of the whole trip. I have really enjoyed seeing the kids catch crawfish, build boats out of the pieces of foam computer pieces are shipped in and float them around on strings, and try to make weapons out of twine and twigs (before we knew how to tie knots)
I like the way camping slows every process down, from food preparation, to clean up. I relish my 10am nap, followed by a read in the hammok, some outside games and then a campfire
enjoy!
We LOVE camping! It can be a bit of an extra “load” with teeny ones, depending on what they need, but oh so worth it
And after a few trips, what you think you need, turns into to oh, we didn’t need it… eventually, we figured it out and brought less (less packing/work/cleanup is good in my books!) There are SO many amazing places to choose from! Our fav “local” place, due to price, spur of the moment LETS GO CAMP TONIGHT and stuff to do is Kin Beach! Only one caution: ITS ADDICTING! Happy Camping! 
Ayyy I hear you, Robin. My idea of camping is a Hilton, because the rooms are so small! But now I seem to be raising two kiddies who want the full bush experience so lead on and let us know how it goes.
You’ll have fun once you are out and doing it! There are so many Forest Service sites that are low cost and also a few Regional Park ones and forest company ones on the north island as well. Natalie & I have clocked in a lot of time at Patterson Lake behind CR, and that was a free site! We are going to Rathtrevor this weekend and can’t wait. Her first time in a tent she was 3 months. They get used to it fast. Good luck!
PARKSVILLE is a must..park sands resort, has all hook ups, hot showers and proper toilets, plus its on the beach. you have to book the year before usually or at the very start of the season.
We’ve adopted the 4-night minimum rule in our family. It takes 2 full nights for daddy to slow down and relax! I was a canoe-or-hike-in camper pre-kids and our first family trip was NOT a resounding success. Kids need more than I thought! We’re pretty good now (only took 7 years of practice!) and the kids can’t wait for this year’s trips. A fave is Buttle Lake. Bit of a drive but beautiful and great for kids (mind the goose poop at the water’s edge). A couple of years ago I took them to Pachena Bay. They loved it but that drive can be nasty. We’re planning for a full week this year, to make up for all the dust. I have a feeling you’re going to love camping!!
I was just commenting to my husband that when we go camping (tent trailer), we only have a couple of toys we take along plus bikes and scooters, but we NEVER hear “I’m bored, there is nothing to do” when we are camping. We have a whole house full of toys at home and we hear at least once a day “I’m bored, can I watch TV?”. Camping definitely gives the kids a taste of life with a different vibe: rules are relaxed, bedtime is when its too dark to ride your bike, dinner is when you are hungry, etc. Its an experience that I treasured as a kid and I am glad to be able to give those types of memories to my kids as well.
Coombs Family Campground. A beautiful oasis of family fun….I don’t think we’ve actually ever ventured out to Coombs once.
There are a bunch of books by Linda White; eg. Cooking on a stick and Sleeping in a sack.. great for ideas for camping with kids. My guys love the whole “spider dogs”, s’mores, bannock, etc. .. yummy stuff you can cook on a campfire. ’cause.. really.. the food is one of the main highlights, right? Have fun!
Good for you guys for venturing out. It can be intimidating not knowing if you have the right gear or not so a camping trip close to home is a good way to work out the kinks. Even for seasoned campers, like us, we usually need to ‘get our camping legs’ again each year.
Last year we ‘limited’ our camping drive to less than 2 hours from our front door…we camped all summer at different spots. It was magical.
Our system is totes and a closet just for camping stuff.
Some of our Must-have’s are: A BBQ (table top Weber) and I don’t know how we camped without it now. A hammock, especially with baby. A muddy buddy for the crawling folk (even in the summer). Toques, bikes, lots of coffee, a good book, pillows, warm sleeping bags + extra blankets, and a clothes line. Oh and way more food than you think you will eat.
Our family lives for camping. Both my boys have been camping since they were just weeks old. Happy camping everyone!