The writer’s nephew’s family headed to the bonfire at their family campfest at El Chorro Park. Everyone got matching shirts.
Kudos and good camping karma to every adult — parent, grandparent, or other — who has made the often-Herculean effort to take kids camping. You deserve a merit badge! You’re giving those kids gifts that will last their lifetime and hopefully be passed on to their kids: curiosity, nature skills, memories, resourcefulness, knowledge of the physical world, resilience, independence, and self-reliance. And you just thought you were making s’mores and playing the ukulele! Yes, it’s a lot of logistical work. Yes, you’ll be asked a hundred questions. Yes, you’ll need to take someone to the bathroom at 1:45 a.m. Yes, occasionally these trips go sideways. Yes, they’ll forget “leaves of three, let it be” and will bring home a good case of poison oak. But it’s all worth it and you’re doing a great job!
Most young families we see in campgrounds are tent-campers, with kids from newborns to tweens. I love watching the adults navigate the myriad duties of family camping — unpacking, cooking, supervising, storytelling, disciplining, teaching, first aid, consoling, fire-building, more first aid, de-tenting, repacking, and so much more!
I admit, as a single mom I was hesitant to wade into camping when the kids were little. I waited until they were 8 and 10 before I rustled up the courage. A friend of mine invited me and my kids to her annual camping weekend at Refugio State Beach near Goleta, just for moms and kids. Such a great idea! Over the years, it had grown from two moms to over a dozen. I’m forever grateful for that invitation! Thank you, Dorothy.
My backpacking years had given me a love of being serenely in nature and I feared camping with kids would be a bit of chaos mixed with catastrophe. It was not! It was delightfully successful because of the help and support of those experienced women who had camped with their kids for years. It was the catalyst for our many, many years of family camping. Subsequently, both my kids have carried on their own camping traditions, including teaching their adult friends how to make wildly popular Backpacker Biscuits. All it took was that invitation, and a trip to Big 5 for tent, sleeping bags, camp stove and lantern that all got jammed into my sedan along with the kids and our new golden retriever puppy, Poppy.
From backpacking to car camping to RVing in our little 24-footer, our experiences in nature have evolved along with the family. For me, one thing remains true, four decades later — camping is my happy place, my way of relaxing, quieting my mind, and reconnecting with the natural world. Luckily, I married a man who feels the same.
In this world of fast-paced schedules, high-tech gadgets and dwindling attention spans, my heart smiles every time we walk by a campsite where kids are riding regular bikes, learning how pinecones ignite in the campfire, or pointing to a satellite gliding by. Or making Backpacker Biscuits on sticks over the coals! Bravo and brava to the adults who are making the effort to raise well-balanced kids. Thank you. You’re leaving a legacy that gets a gold star from Mother Nature, and she’s been understandably skimpy with those lately!
You still have time to plan a summer camping trip with the kids, unless your heart is set on hugely popular places like Yosemite. Many campgrounds fill within minutes of the 6- or 7-month reservation window opening because people discovered the extreme fun of camping during the pandemic. That said, I want to remind you of three great family campgrounds within a 30 minute drive where you can usually find a campsite with so many exciting things for kids to do that they’ll be in their sacks and happily dreaming by 8 o’clock — San Simeon State Park, Morro Bay State Park and El Chorro Regional Park.
Check out my full posts on these amazing local treasures, as well as other campgrounds, at www.debbienobleblack.com/rv-camping-in-your-own-backyard . And get ready for that little kid in you to have a blast too! But your biggest reward will be seeing the grins on the faces of the next generation of campers—your kids!
