Are you thinking of taking your kids camping soon? Helpful hacks to make camping with kids a fun experience! Taking your kids camping can be both a challenge and a great time, but with these tips we’ll ensure camping with kids is a stress-free adventure. How to prepare for your trip & camping tips for once you’re on site. Plus camping ideas for families.

Anddd…. if you need some fun ideas to have on hand while camping, this 104 page activity bundle will be a perfect addition to your adventures (and they’re also great for when the kids are stuck inside or complain “I’m bored.”)

Taking Your Kids Camping? Genius Camping Tips You Need For Your next Camping Adventure

Are you thinking of taking your kids camping? Whether it’s your first camping trip or 20th camping adventure with the whole family, these camping hacks may change the way you “rough it” when you go camping with kids  in tow.

Picking a great kid-friendly camp site for your next family vacation is the first part, but packing the right supplies is just as important to ensuring camping fun!

I grew up camping. We didn’t have a lot of money for vacations but could set up a couple tents, roll out the sleeping bags, prepare homemade meals for camping and have a blast playing in streams, setting up near a lake and exploring the great outdoors.

My husband on the other hand, had a different childhood. He had never camped once before we had kids and I practically had to drag him so I could share the same camping experiences I grew up with.

Before our first camping trip with kids, it was clear by his anxious questions that he was worried about what he was about to partake in.

He asked things like “what if the kids got poison ivy,” or “what if the kids don’t sleep at all,” or “what if there are bears?”

Clearly, he was nervous about his first time camping – and to top it off, the first time camping with twin toddlers.

Of course he had no idea what to expect, and to bring two kids with us who lived by a daily routine and set bedtimes into the forests of Colorado seemed incredibly…. HARD, for lack of a better word.

It wasn’t until we got back from taking the kids camping that he finally relented and admitted he had a great time, and how much fun the kids had out of the house and in nature.

He may have initially had visions of watching our toddlers like hawks so they didn’t eat a pile of rocks and dirt, but when I pulled out these camping hacks to set up a kid-friendly campsite and the entire experience was a blast, he relented that he was ready to take the kids camping again.

Camping with kids can be an awesome way to bond as a family and create memories that will last a lifetime. But let’s be real—it can also be a little overwhelming.

When you throw kids into the mix, camping goes from a relaxing getaway to a high-energy adventure with extra logistics.

The good news? With some smart planning, you can make your family camping trip enjoyable for everyone—yes, even for you!

Here are my top tips for a smooth, fun camping experience with kids. I can’t claim responsibility for all of these genius camping hacks, but I can share that they work well and you’ll be grateful to have tried them.

Psstttt… if you need a camping checklist so you don’t forget anything your next trip, you can download it here at the bottom of this article. 

Get Ready to Go Camping with Kids: 5 Tips (Before the Genius Camping Hacks) to Help You Prepare 

1. Keep It Simple, Especially for the First Trip

If this is your first time camping with kids, less is definitely more. You don’t need to head deep into the wilderness for a week-long camping extravaganza. Instead, start small. Choose a local campsite that’s family-friendly, preferably with amenities like restrooms, running water, and maybe even a playground. The shorter drive and more convenient setup will ease everyone into the experience.

Keep your first trip short—maybe just a night or two. This way, if things don’t go according to plan (because, let’s be honest, they probably won’t!), you won’t be stuck for an entire week. Once your family gets more comfortable with camping, you can plan longer or more adventurous trips.

2. Plan Ahead to Avoid Frustration

When you’re camping with kids, preparation is everything. Before your trip, create a list of everything you’ll need. I like to divide it into categories like shelter, clothing, food, and fun. Start packing a few days before the trip to avoid any last-minute scrambles.

Make sure you’ve got the essentials: a tent that fits everyone comfortably, enough sleeping bags and blankets, weather-appropriate clothing, and plenty of snacks. Trust me, hungry kids are grumpy kids, and grumpy kids will not make your camping experience fun. Pack easy, no-cook snacks like trail mix, granola bars, and fruit.

One more thing—check the weather forecast! Nothing can throw a wrench in your camping trip faster than unplanned rain or a dramatic drip in temperatures. If the weather looks iffy, bring extra layers, rain gear, and maybe some indoor activities like card games or coloring books to keep the kids entertained in the tent.

3. Bring Kid-Friendly Activities

While the idea of camping might be enough to keep you entertained, kids often need a little more stimulation. Make sure to bring along some kid-friendly activities that are easy to pack and don’t require too much setup. Here are a few ideas:

• Scavenger Hunt: Before you leave, print a simple scavenger hunt for the kids. Include things they can find around the campsite, like a pine cone, a bird feather, or a specific type of leaf.
• Bug Catching Kit: Kids love exploring, and a small bug-catching kit can turn an afternoon into a full-blown adventure.
• Outdoor Games: Frisbees, soccer balls, or even a kite can keep them entertained for hours.
• Nature Crafts: Bring some string and glue to help them turn leaves, sticks, and rocks into cool nature crafts they can take home as a souvenir of the trip.

The trick is to have activities that engage them without overloading your packing list. A mix of unstructured play and a few organized activities will keep them busy, happy, and far away from any potential “I’m bored” meltdowns.

4. Get the Kids Involved in the Camping Experience

One of the best ways to make camping fun for kids is to let them take part in the camping process. Let them help with age-appropriate tasks like setting up the tent, collecting kindling for starting a fire, or packing their own gear. It not only gives them a sense of responsibility, but it also makes them feel more invested in the trip.

Older kids can help with meal prep—whether that’s assembling sandwiches or wrapping potatoes in foil for roasting over the fire. Little ones can help with simpler tasks like gathering small sticks for the fire or holding a flashlight when it gets dark.

5. Embrace the Mess and Imperfection

Camping with kids isn’t going to be picture-perfect, and that’s okay! Things will get dirty, you’ll probably forget something, and bedtime might be a bit chaotic. But that’s part of the adventure! Let go of the idea that everything has to be perfectly organized or on schedule. Instead, embrace the messiness that comes with kids, dirt, and the great outdoors.

When you’re relaxed, the kids will pick up on it and have a better time, too. The most important thing is that you’re spending quality time together, away from screens and the everyday hustle. Focus on the fun moments, the laughter, and the memories you’re creating rather than any hiccups along the way.

6. Safety First—But Don’t Stress

It’s natural to worry about safety when you’re out in nature with your kids, but don’t let that turn into stress. You can plan ahead and take precautions without hovering over your kids the entire trip.

• Set boundaries: Establish clear rules about where your kids can and can’t go.
• First Aid: Bring a basic first-aid kit with band-aids, antiseptic wipes, and any medications your kids might need.
• Water safety: If you’re camping near water, make sure kids know the rules, like staying in sight or wearing life jackets when necessary.
• Bug Spray and Sunscreen: Kids are prone to bug bites, so make sure to apply deet-free bug spray regularly and keep tweezers for possible tick removal.

Camping is a chance to teach kids about the outdoors, and that includes how to stay safe while still having fun. With a little preparation and some common-sense precautions, everyone can enjoy the trip without worry.

11 Genius Camping Hacks – You’ll Never Go Back! 

Camping with kids might take a little more effort than your usual camping trip, but the memories you’ll make are more than worth it. Whether it’s roasting marshmallows under the stars, telling campfire stories, or just watching your kids explore and discover the natural world, these are the moments that will stick with them for years to come.

So grab your gear, pack up the car, and get ready for a family adventure you’ll never forget!

1) PACK EVERYTHING IN CLEAR TUBS FOR EASY CAMPING ORGANIZATION

Organizing your camping supplies before you head out is the key to staying organized when you arrive at your campsite and the first step to ensuring your experience is enjoyable!

Organize your camping supplies so that once you get to your camping spot, everything is labeled and easy to find. Just like your house, your campsite is your home away from home and you’ll need everything to be in an easy spot to identify and grab it when you need it, or for the unexpected.

Organize bins (large plastic tubs that you can label and then stack and store afterwards are ideal) in  the following categories:

• Kitchen Supplies
• Food & Snacks
• Bathroom & Bathing
• Toys
• Tents & Sleeping Bags
• Clothes & Laundry
• Music & Entertainment

When you have labeled bins, this helps everything that gets taken out, be put back in the right bin so no further organization at home has to happen. This is a tremendous time-saver when you’re preparing for your trip and can easily store the bins when you get back home.

You’ll also know exactly where your dirty laundry is to wash, kitchen supplies that need cleaned and food that is salvageable when you get back home.

2) SET-UP A HAND & FOOT WASHING STATION

A hand and foot washing station is absolutely essential for every campsite, especially when you are camping with kids.

To set-up a hand and food washing station, just bring a double water jug that has an open/close spout which controls the water flow. You can find these at your local big box store and sometimes in a local grocery store. These collapsible water jugs (make sure you get more than one because you’ll need it) work too and are reusable.

Bring a washing basin – a plastic bin or even a baby bath with a flat bottom – adults and kids can step into and wash off dirty feet. Set the washing basin on towels or a blanket so that when you step out of the basin, you can immediately dry off feet and won’t be tracking dirt or mud into your camping tent and into sleeping bags.

There’s nothing worse than sweeping out dirt from your tent and picking pebbles out of sleeping bags when you’re dead tired.

Be sure to bring extra water so you have enough water for drinking, cooking, bathing and a hand and foot washing station. You definitely don’t want to run out of this one important supply!

Also, pack hand soap, along with dishrags or wash cloths to help scrub the dirt off – especially helpful for little fingers and in between tiny toes when you take your kids camping.

I bought a pack of these foaming hand soap containers for my house, but then saved two of them for our camping bins. When it’s time to go camping, I fill them with a mix of water and a few tsp. of Branch Basics concentrate to use for hand soap, body soap and shampoo (this is the ONLY non-toxic cleaner I use for EVERYTHING and swear by it. I make hand soap, shampoo if you need for camping, dishes, laundry, stains, floors, etc. and it works like magic. Plus, it’s completely safe, fragrance free and non-toxic.)

3) MUST HAVE WHEN CAMPING WITH KIDS: A BATH STATION 

If you’re at a campsite without showers there will come a time that baby wipes just won’t cut it (though, be sure to bring a half-load of baby wipes for all the other times you’ll need them.)

Bring a plastic baby bath for babies (flat bottom baby baths have more space) or an extra plastic tub for bigger kids that you can fill with water.

Warm bath tip: fill up the bin in the morning and let it sit out in the sun to warm up (be sure to cover it too so there aren’t any bugs, dirt or pollen that’s flying around.) A fully-washed and clean baby and child often times leads to a better night of sleep!

For adults, a solar-heated shower bag will do the trick when you can’t take it anymore and need to scrub off the dirt.

4) LOAD UP ON BABY WIPES & ANTIBACTERIAL WIPES

Bring several packs of baby wipes and non-toxic antibacterial wipes (do not load kids up with hand sanitizer – so many are being recalled right now because they are dangerous and this goes straight into the bloodstream within 20 seconds of applying) for those times when you need to wipe the kids down but won’t be able to give them a full bath.

Wipes are great to clean hands and feet before they crawl into sleeping bags too.

Always set out a blanket or towel in front of camping tent doors so you can sit down and wipe feet, hands, faces, arms and legs without tracking in dirt into the tent (as well as your foot bath.)

You’ll also want to make sure you bring along bug spray or bug wipes (the non-toxic and deet-free kind!) to keep the bugs and bug bites away.

5) SETTING UP SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

If your baby is still used to sleeping in a crib, bring a portable pack and play and an extra sheet to throw on the top so you can keep bugs out during naps and nighttime. There’s also the option of bring a pack and play with a breathable zip top to keep bugs out (and good for hanging in your backyard or trips to the park in warm weather, too.)

Pack and plays are great because you can move them around so while you’re making easy camping meals, you can put the baby in it while you prepare food hands-free but still keep an eye on him.

If you have a baby, a portable bassinet is a good option for this age.

If you’re an avid camping with kids who are older, a double camping cot that’s like a bunkbed (like this one) can save space in your tent and can be taken apart into two single cots. It’s more expensive, so if you use it, it’ll be well worth the investment. Our kids like using it at home too!

If your kids are sleeping on the floor, a super easy way to add an additional layer of softness is to set up a  soft floor mat at least 1” thick underneath the sleeping bags. You can also use a yoga mat which is the same material but much thiner.

Sleeping bags are important to keep kids warm, so make sure the camping temperature listed on the sleeping bags matches the overnight temps you’ll be staying in.

A jacket like sleeping bag makes sure kids aren’t crawling out of sleeping bags and shivering at night. Coleman makes a good mummy bag for kids down to camping in 30 degree temps and are build much better than in-house sleepover bags you find at most box stores.

SUPER CAMPING WITH KIDS TIP: One of my favorite tips to share for camping with our kids is to bring pillow cases without pillows.  That’s right. Here’s what we do instead.

Stuff jackets in the pillow cases if you’er camping in cooler weather so the pillows are soft and fluffy. If if you have to make middle of the night or first thing in the morning potty runs, you can find and throw on your jackets quickly and then tuck them back inside the pillow cases when you get back.

6) CAMPING WITH CHILDREN: BRING ALONG ENTERTAINMENT

If you’re taking kids camping, there is only so much dirt, rocks and bugs that’ll entertain kids before they can tend to venture  into trouble or complain they’re “bored.”

The best solution is to pack a tub full of toys to bring with you that are camping friendly and electronic free and then your camping trip with kids will be a total breeze without getting into mischief or poison oak.

Camping Entertainment Toy Ideas:

• Squirt Guns
• Balls – Soccer, Football, Lacrosse Sticks & Balls
• Bubbles
• Chalk
• Binoculars
• Camping & Outdoor Exploring Camp Set (so cute!)
• Coloring Books
• Water Pen Coloring Books (these are great for flying and traveling with kids too!)
• Crafts (Decorate Your Own Walking Stick, Make a Snack Necklace)
• Print and bring along these two free Outdoor Scavenger Hunt or Nature Sensory Scavenger Hunts
• Camping Bingo – Free Download Here
• Magnifying Glasses
• Bug Catcher Case
• Card Games (Old Maid, Go Fish, UNO)

Bring an extra tent to use as a designated play area.

This way, your kids can play with their toys and you don’t have to clean up the sleeping and changing tent from left out toys. We bought an inexpensive two-person tent just for this reason, and at home, sometimes the kids will set it up in the house for “camp outs” so it definitely gets it’s fair share of use.

It’s nice to have the spaces separate from one another and don’t always have to worry about cleaning feet before they climb into the “play tent” like you would the sleeping tent.

Plus, it’s another shaded area if you need to get the kids out of the sun for a while.

7) NIGHT TIME SAFETY IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT – ILLUMINATE SPECIFICS

Glow sticks are easy to find (check the $1 bins at Target or Michaels) and work great for kids to string together and wear as a necklace, anklet or bracelet so you can keep track of them when it gets dark. Throw glow sticks into water bottles for more illumination or if you have a handful of water bottles, this could be a a fun game of night bowling before bedtime.

Headlamps are fairly inexpensive and worth the cost to make sure everyone has their own. Another neat little trick is to put a headlamp around a a jug of water for a homemade glowing lantern on tables and inside your tent.

I have a few attachable / hanging rechargeable camping lights to put inside the tent and around our camping spot to keep things illuminated for the kids. They work pretty well and are really helpful when it gets dark outside or you’re looking for something in the tent.

One of our favorite camping hacks is to bring along glow in the dark rope and glow in the dark tent stakes so that no one tripes over these parts of the tent that stick out when it gets dark and especially during the middle of the night bathroom trips when you’re half asleep and wondering in the woods.

8) A NEAT TRICK FOR CLEAN CLOTHES & DIRTY LAUNDRY

A Hanging Clothes Organizer lets you set out outfits for everyone so you’re not sorting through a tub or suitcase full of clothes. Each person can get their own cubby or you can do one for each person in a different color.

Unpack all the outfits into the hanging clothes organizers once your camp is set up.

This organizes your clothes but also empties the bin you packed all the clothes in, so when the clothes everyone wears become dirty, just throw them back in the bin and it turns into your laundry hamper.

Once you get home, everything in the laundry tub goes straight into the washing machine and there’s no sorting through bins to find all the dirties!

9) PACKING FOOD CAMPING HACKS 

A couple quick tips for packing food and water when you take a family camping trip:

• Invest in a rechargeable light for your cooler so you can open your cooler and find what you need without juggling a flashlight and sifting through things, especially at night.

• Keep your matches dry in a mason jar container with lid. Don’t risk it rain, leaks or coolers which can all soak matches and ruin the fun (and s’mores)

• Freeze jugs of water ahead of time and they’ll act as ice for your coolers and to keep your food safe, but when they melt you have drinking water for your family. (Fill them up 2/3 of the way to give room for when they expand as they freeze.) 

• Chips such as Doritos and Fritos that have a bit of grease on them can be great fire starters to throw in with your kindling and work faster than the traditional methods.

• Fill up tic tac containers with spices for cooking so you don’t lug your kitchen pantry around with you.

• Repurpose condiment containers (ketchup, mustard) and fill with pre-made pancake mix for easy breakfast in the morning. The next time you have an empty container at home, just wash it and toss into your camping bins for your next camping trip. Take off the labels and use a permanent marker to label the container so you know what’s inside.

• Invest in a 12-in-1 Camping Tool – it has scissors, screwdrivers, can opener, magnet, wrench, fish scaler, nut cracker, jar wrench, wire stripper, wire cutter, bottle opener and knife) so you only have to bring this one tool instead of all 12. It’s worth it!

Need easy meal ideas? Here are 30 Easy to make Camping Meals Your Entire Family will Love.

10) INVALUABLE & HANDY CAMPING SUPPLIES 

• Battery Operated Sound Machine
• Camping High Chair
• Solar Powered Charger for Cell Phones and Electronics
• Whitelabel Drop Waterproof Speaker Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Portable Speaker
• Anti-Bug and Safe Mineral Sunscreen
• Lotion with Insect Repellent (Fragrance Free is the key!)
• Complete First Aid Kit (keep this in your car at all times no matter if you’re camping or not.)

11) STASH YOUR VALUABLES

Keys, wallets, phones, chargers, electronics… store them all in ziptop plastic bag (the large freezer kind). This keeps them safe from spills and food, but also easier to keep track of once you get to your campsite and things get a little chaotic with the kids running around.

When everything is bagged together in one spot, it’ll be easier to stay on top of.

More Camping with Kids Resources:

• Handy Printable Family Camping Checklist (for Fun Camping with Kids)
• Camping with Kids: 21 Camping Games & Activities to Entertain Kids
• 30 Stress-Free & Easy Camping Food Ideas
• 10 Essentials for Camping with Kids You Don’t Want to Forget
• Keep Your Family Safe: Tick Prevention & Safe Tick Removal
• What to Look for When Choosing a Safe Sunscreen