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Heather sent me over this question yesterday and since I don’t consider myself an avid camper I thought I’d pass it on to all of you! Here it is:
I have a question that maybe you could address. My family is going camping for the first time next weekend, (12-boy, 8-girl, and husband). Any suggestions to what is nessessary for our trip? We will be camping on a lake with not a lot of stores nearby. Thanks!!
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give to Heather to make sure her family has all the essentals for her trip!
Dori says
Here are some of the things we do in addition to all the wonderful advice already given. I always precut onions, tomato and lettuce before we leave, so at lunch times all we have to do is slap the sandwiches together. This is great if you are not at your campsite. For breakfasts I take quart size freezer Ziploc bags, put each persons favorite ingredients (bacon, sausage, onions, mushrooms, etc.) in it and keep them in the cooler. Right before cooking I put 3 beaten eggs into each bag and put all 4 of our bags in a pot of boiling water. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes, then pop them out of the bags onto plates and you all have fresh, hot “omelets” that everyone can sit and eat at once instead of one at a time in a pan. Hope this helps!
Carrie says
@Dori- what a cool idea. I’ve never heard of that. I’m surprised the bags don’t melt.
Great suggestions here. I’d also be sure to bring a first aid kit,including tweezers. We ran into ticks in March already and couldn’t find a pair anywhere to buy in nearby town (they wouldn’t come out any other way). Doctors wanted us to come all the way back to Denver if we couldn’t get them off! I ended up with CO tick fever from a stowaway 2 weeks after our trip. Be sure to check yourselves, especially hairline and ankles.
Jennie says
You all never cease to amaze me with your advice…thanks everyone!!! 🙂
Kristin L. says
Hi Heather! You are brave camping in CO this early…it’ll be cold if you’re in a tent…we camped at Grand Lake last summer in July and it was still very cold at night. My kids had sweats and socks on at night to sleep in. Need warm sleeping bags, not the kind the kids use for sleep overs. Bring extra blankets, too for over the top. And the ground can be hard and uneven, so if you have pads or blow up mattresses, they are a must. We got rained on and learned some stuff. Don’t try to set up in the rain…try to wait til it stops. Me and the hubby were wet and hard to keep stuff dry. Next time we go, we are going to have one tent to sleep in with our sleeping bag and clothes, and another tent to keep our extra stuff in. We had it all in the car and were in and out of the car so many times, our battery was dead when we went to leave! Make sure your tents are waterproof and have the waterproof tarp kind of bottom. We had one that was not, and it got water in it and got all the kids’ stuff wet…so we had to stay that night in a motel. Next day, we had to air dry all that stuff. We have a canopy that we put our table under for eating, or put it over the table that is already at the site if there is one. I bring a vinyl tablecloth if we are using a table that was already there. Bring lots of extra clothes; lots of socks. Extra jackets and shoes and towels. Flip flops for the bathroom…if there is one at your campground…the floor and showers can be pretty gross. The best breakfast we had was made by the people camping next to us, who had pre-made burritos with eggs, ham and cheese at home–wrapped them in foil and put them on a grate over hot coals on campfire to reheat. Bring extra food/snacks that don’t have to be cooked in case you run into some prob. w/ your campstove or something. A broom is a good thing to have so you can sweep out your tent at the end before you pack it up..we always end up w/ a lot of dirt in there. Double check everything before you leave. Amazing how many times we have been like, oh yeah, we almost forgot something. Bring indoor type games if the weather’s bad for the kids to do and are stuck in the tent. We said no to any electronics, so we had coloring, board games, and cards. Hope that all helps!
Nicole says
Definitely don’t skip the bug spray & sunblock (lakes breed mosquitoes!). In case you run into bad weather (I can’t count how many trips I’ve had at least a day of rain) make sure to bring a pack of cards or card games (Uno, Ratuki, etc). And don’t forget extra trashbags to carry out your trash, or to waterproof things if your tent seams sprout leaks (have I mentioned I’ve been camping in the rain alot???)
Amanda says
Heather, email me directly and I’ll send you my checklist of items we always take–
[email protected]
We love camping!
Tracey says
Heather – First I probably have questions such as are you fishing in the lake? Cooking out? Are you tent camping? The mountains here are still cold so make sure that your sleeping bag is rated for cold weather or your have a camping heater for your tent. Take some warm socks to wear at night 🙂 If you plan on having campfires, you will need some firestarter and some real cheap and easy fire starting material is dryer lint (stuff a bunch in a ziploc), or newspaper. Aluminum foil if you are cooking on a campfire. And you could make ahead some packages of food to put on a fire for meals such as hobo stew. It is super easy hamburger patty with potatoes, carrots or other vegetables of choice and season to liking close pack and lay on fire. They are great. Graham cracker, Hershey, and marshmallow of course! Bug spray and sunblock. Camera, binoculars, ball or other outdoor game, card games (regular, go fish, Uno). If you kids don’t have cameras I would consider something inexpensive at their age so that they can each take their own pictures. It would be fun to see their first trip through their own perspective in the future. A little tripod if you have a camera is so useful to take a family picture if you don’t have other people going with you. Extra shoes and slip ons if you have a nightime bathroom run. Clothes for kids that can get dirty or messed up. You may be running into a lot of snow or wet ground still so just think along those line. A finally clothes that can be layered are most helpful to be prepared for any weather. Have fun! If this was too basic or not what you were looking for let me know, we are all avid campers, hunter, fishers and happy to answer questions.