One of our family goals this year is to travel more together, taking both short weekend trips and longer, more adventurous trips. With our kids’ current ages (between diapers and driving), we feel a sense of urgency and excitement to explore the world together and create bonding moments together for our family. By working together, playing together, and accomplishing goals as a family unit, we are creating a strong family bond.
One way we do this is by taking family camping trips. Camping gives us an opportunity to disconnect from our daily lives and enjoy spending time outdoors and in nature. Our kids love setting up a campsite, hiking, and building campfires together. We love hiking and exploring nature together. There’s something truly special about gathering around the campfire and sharing stories under the stars.
As my children have grown, I love seeing how camping together develops perseverance and resilience. We see this the most during hiking adventures. Tackling long trails as a family teaches us all the importance of pushing through challenges and the sense of accomplishment that comes with reaching our destination. Camping together as a family shows us how the journey often shapes the experience.
Camping also offers countless practical opportunities for skill-building—whether we’re whipping up meals with limited resources or learning to build a fire from scratch. These valuable lessons not only equip our kids with essential life skills but help develop confidence. Every trip is an adventure, and we always come away with stories and a deeper connection to each other.
Over the years, our family has gone on quite the journey when it comes to camping gear. Each camping trip has been an opportunity to experiment and refine our gear for cooking, sleeping, hiking, and other essentials, plus how to keep children engaged and entertained. As we’ve gathered our favorites, I am sharing a list of gear that has worked wonders for us, hoping it helps you find what will work best for your own fun, family camping experiences.
All of the items listed are recommended for car camping.
In this blog post:
- Family camping gear for sleeping
- Family camping gear for cooking and eating
- Family camping gear for hiking
- Family activities for camping
- Family camping gear for wet and cold weather
- Other family camping gear
- Other nature activities from Treehouse Schoolhouse
Family camping gear for campsites and sleeping
These are my favorite items for setting up a campsite and sleeping areas when we go camping with children.
- Tent
- Hammocks
- Hammock rain tarp
- Adult sleeping bags (Also great for cold weather.)
- Kids sleeping bags
- Sleeping pads – I like these affordable air mattresses for kids and these for adults. This is another good option.
- Battery-powered sound machine
- Inflatable travel pillow
- Puffy camping blanket
Family camping gear for cooking and eating
One of my favorite parts about camping is planning and preparing our meals. During our trips every participates in meal prep and cleanup.
- Two-burner propane camping stove
- Folding table
- Aeropress or French press for morning coffee, or this coffee maker.
- Kitchen utensils – tongs and spatula.
- Cast iron skillet
- Cast iron dutch oven
- Dutch oven lifter and stand
- Insulated coffee mugs
- Kettle
- Waterproof table cloth
- Camping mess kits or paper plates
- Cooler for storing food or keeping things cold.
Related: Summer Homeschooling: 6 Rhythms for Intentional Enrichment
Family camping gear for hiking
On camping trips we love hiking. We put on hiking shoes, grab our day packs, and hike through the woods together as a family.
- Trekking poles for climbing up and down steep trails.
- Day packs for adults and kids.
- Hiking socks – we like Darn Tough.
- Hiking boots – there are lots of great options but I love Merrell, On Cloud, or Keens.
Related: 3 Reasons to Try Family Backpacking
Family activities for camping
I try to bring activities for everyone, including sports, portable games, and coloring activities for the little kids. Here are some things that my children have loved on family camping trips over the years.
- Frisbee
- Football
- Outdoor games
- Card games – Uno, Taco Goat Cheese Pizza, Taco vs. Burrito, Skyjo, Skip-Bo
- Bug catcher kit
- Water guns
- Magnifying glasses
- Binoculars
- Scavenger hunt game
- Water Wow!
- Coloring books
Related: 30+ Nature Play Ideas for the Early Years
Family camping gear for wet and cold weather
- Handwarmers
- 20 degree sleeping bags
- Tarps for covering or making shelters.
- Foldable chairs
- Canopy tent
Other family camping gear
- Small wood axe
- First aid kit for inevitable little scrapes.
- Headlamps
- Portable lights and lanterns
- Pocket knife for kids
- Car topper for transporting everything to and from the campsite.
View all of my favorite items on my Amazon storefront.
Other nature activities from Treehouse Schoolhouse
If you love spending time outdoors and teaching children about nature, you will love Treehouse Nature Study. Treehouse Nature Study is a year-long seasonal nature study curriculum designed with family-style learning in mind. It is a gentle guide meant to invite various ages to connect with each other and the world around them through living books, nature notebooking, hands-on projects, and beauty subjects such as poetry, picture study, and folk songs. Available in both Primary and Intermediate Years, Treehouse Nature Study will provide years of rich education for the whole family.
Treehouse Nature Study, Primary Years
Treehouse Nature Study, Primary Years is a seasonal nature study curriculum designed with family-style learning in mind. It is a gentle guide meant to invite various ages to connect with each other and the world around them through living books, nature notebooking, hands-on projects, and beauty subjects such as poetry, picture study, and folk songs.
From preschool through upper middle school, it appeals to every age and is easily used with multiple ages at the same time.
It would be a great fit for your preschool or kindergartener’s core curriculum or your whole family’s home education Morning Time and Nature Study. It also provides supplemental work for your children’s language arts through poetry memorization, recitation, copywork, and notebooking.
Related: Six Core Values of Treehouse Nature Study
Treehouse Nature Study, Intermediate Years
Introducing Treehouse Nature Study, Intermediate Years geared towards grades 4th-8th. Experience a seasonal study that invites your older children to connect with each other and the world around them through living books, nature notebooking, hands-on projects, poetry, and picture study. Deepen your child’s learning through advanced language arts and scientific experiments.
It would be a great fit for your upper elementary or middle schooler’s science curriculum or your whole family’s home education Morning Time and Nature Study. It also provides supplemental work for your children’s language arts through poetry copywork, creating an Illustrated Science Dictionary, creative writing prompts, notebooking, and internet research.
Related: Overview: Treehouse Nature Study, Intermediate Years
Do you go camping with your family? Share your favorite tips in the comments below.
