Planning a Camping Trip with Kids

January 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Reenactment of the surrender of Detroit at the...
Image via Wikipedia

ContentThere are few things as rewarding as sharing a new experience with your children. Camping is an activity that becomes even more fun when you do it with your kids. However, it requires a bit of extra planning to take your child with you on your camping trip. Learn how to prepare yourself and your child for an exciting camping adventure.

First, ensure that your child is interested in camping with you. Some kids hate the outdoors, to the point that they aren’t even open to trying something like camping. If this is the case, you may want to work your way up to a camping trip. Start with a hike, a campfire, or spending the night in a tent in the backyard.

Be sure to choose a family-friendly campground for your camping trip with your children. Don’t choose a campground that allows open alcohol bottles, markets to party people, or serves alcohol at night. That’s the recipe for a disastrous trip with your child. Instead, choose a campground that has kids’ games, a shallow pool for kids, and different arts and crafts activities for children.

Plan a short camping trip as your first trip with your kids. A camping trip that lasts a full week can be too much for kids, especially if they decide early on that it’s not fun for them. Go for one night or for a weekend. Even better, plan your trip at a campground close to home. If they get homesick or uncomfortable, you can return home if it’s what will make them feel better.

You can create a fun family tradition of camping. It all starts with your first camping trip with your children. Plan a trip that’s short, close to home, and full of kid-friendly activities. They’re sure to look forward to the next trip!

Filed Under: Hiking, Sports Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Camping for Couples

December 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ContentWho wants to spend the night in an expensive hotel when you can go camping instead? As far as romantic weekends go, camping is one of the less traditional options, but it is a fun way for a couple to spend time together.

To ensure that you and your partner have fun on your camping trip together, be willing to compromise. This is particularly important if one partner has been camping for years and the other partner is new to camping. Start with a short trip together to ensure that both people have fun. Another factor to compromise on is where you sleep. If it is the first camping trip for one of you, sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent might be too much of a shock. Instead, consider sleeping in a camper or a yurt. A yurt is a Mongolian-style hut that is a bit less rugged than a tent.

Find a campground that has couples-friendly activities. A campground located on the waterfront is perfect, since there’s plenty of space for romantic canoe trips and sunbathing. Additionally, a campground with camp sites that aren’t too close together is a preferable choice. If the camp sites are practically on top of each other, it’s hard to sit with your honey and have romantic fireside talks. Look at a campground’s marketing to determine if it’s a good place for couples. If there are lots of activities for children, keep looking. Rowdy kids aren’t conducive to a romantic camping trip, especially if you’re looking for a weekend away from the kids!

Most importantly, have fun with your partner. Eat s’mores, sleep in, and unplug yourselves from technology. A break from answering emails, texting, and taking phone calls is fun too. This can make for the perfect camping trip for you and your partner.

Filed Under: Camping Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Preparing for a Camping Trip

December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ContentEveryone looks forward to a camping trip; whether you are going with friends, family, or a romantic partner, it’s the best way to unwind and take a break from real life. To get the most out of your camping trip, plan ahead and prepare appropriately for your trip.

As early as possible, plan the days that you’ll be taking your camping trip. During busy season, campgrounds fill up very early and very quickly. The earlier you pick your dates, the better selection of campsites you can select from. Waiting too long can get you a bad campsite, or worse, no campsite at all.

Make packing lists early, especially if you are camping with children. Nothing ruins a camping trip faster than having to go home because you forgot a toothbrush, glasses, or tent poles. Even better, give each person their own individual packing list. As they pack each item on the list, cross it off.

Stock up on delicious camp food. Camping is a vacation, so feel free to splurge on foods that you usually can’t afford or don’t allow yourself to eat. Sugary sodas, candy, and s’mores are all camping staples. Ensure that you have enough food storage for whatever you bring; not having a cooler can leave you with warm sodas.

Shortly before leaving for your trip, check all of your camping gear. It is far too easy to leave out an essential tent part and have no place to sleep when you’re camping. Check your cell phone and ensure it has a full battery; if there’s an emergency, you don’t want to be more than a phone call away. Write down the address of the campground as well as your camp site number. Have everyone in your group carry it on them at all times; if there’s an emergency, they’ll need that information to get help quickly

Filed Under: Camping Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What to Bring on a Hiking Outing

December 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ContentHiking is one of the most rewarding and physically exerting outdoor activities available. You spend hours or even days removed from civilization, so it’s important to be prepared for a long hike. To start, be sure you have all the hiking equipment you need to be safe and ready for any occasion.

One of the most important things to bring is water. You never know how far you’ll be from a safe source of drinking water, so bring as much water as you can comfortably carry. Inflatable water bottles are perfect for this; although they hold their shape like a regular bottle when full, they lie flat when empty. This saves space in your bags.

A hiking backpack is the perfect tool to sort all your hiking gear and carry extras of everything. Keep your gear as well as clothing within your bag. Pack enough clothing to be prepared for sudden weather changes; this is particularly important if the area you are in is susceptible to sudden heat waves or cold snaps. You should also have a pair of high-quality hiking boots to go with your hiking clothes.

Energizing foods are a hiking staple. Granola, granola bars, dried fruit, and trail mix are all healthy foods that are packed with nutrition. Don’t bring junk food or sugary, salty snacks; they’ll just drag you down and keep you from feeling your best. Bring enough to cover you if your hike happens to go longer than intended; it’s better to have food left over than to run out.

Being prepared for a hiking trip is incredibly important. It helps you stay safe, be prepared for any emergencies that come up, and have enough supplies for your fellow hikers. By bringing the right gear and supplies to your hike, you are doing everything you can to stay safe.

Filed Under: Hiking Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Where to Find the Best Camping Spots

November 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A campsite at the Iverhuron Prov. Park
Image via Wikipedia

Finding the best camping sites can be quite a feat. There are so many different places that offer a wide range of camp ground offerings, views, space and crowds that it can be hard to find just the right one for yourself and your family. So how do you find the best camping spots?

Here is a guide that will help you find those camping spots so that you can enjoy your next camping trip.

Internet. The internet is the first place that many campers go to when they look for great camping spots. There are many review sites, camping forums and other places that allows campers to share their experience and knowledge about various camping spots. This can help you make a decision to try out a spot or to pass it up in favor of a different one.

Call the Local Park Ranger. If you are considering camping in a national park or forest, a park ranger can help you with various camping sites that are allowed and have what you are looking for. Sometimes these sites might be directly inside the national park or forest while others might just be surrounding it. No one knows the area better then the park rangers and they can help direct you to where the hot spots in camping are.

Phonebook. It’s a bit old school but the phone book still provides a great resource when it comes to finding those camping spots that you are looking for. While there are no fancy reviews, first hand knowledge or help from a ranger looking through the yellow pages can help a person find various camping spots in the area of their choice.

Finding the best camping spots can be a bit tough. However, with the right amount of research and use of resources you’ll be able to find a perfect camping spot for you and your family.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Camping, Outdoors, Sports Tagged With: , , ,

Don’t Leave Home Without These Camping Trip Essentials

October 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Eilean Nan Ron. This Photo was taken on an ove...
Image via Wikipedia

Camping is a great way to spend time with the family, enjoy nature, breath in the fresh air, and see new places. No matter if you are camping at a local family campground or going on an adventure in another state, a little planning in advance will make sure you packed all the camping trip essentials. Here is a camping trip essentials check list:

Food:
• Granola bars, trail mix
• Bread
• Cereal
• Crackers
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Milk
• Hotdogs
• Hamburgers
• Bacon
• Sandwiches
• Fresh fruits and veggies like apples, bananas, carrots, celery
• Canned beans, soup
• Peanut butter
• Water
• A few chocolate bars

Cooking and eating supplies:
• Frying pan
• Boiling pan
• Spatula
• Knife
• Tongs
• Silverware
• Paper plates
• Paper cups
• Aluminum foil
• Can opener
• Plastic bags or containers
• Dish soap
• Paper towels
• Sponge

Camping equipment:
• Tent
• Ground tarp
• Rope
• Mallet or hammer to drive tent spikes into the ground
• Matches/lighter
• Trash bags
• Camping stove or small grill
• Fuel, charcoal, fire starter

Personal needs:
• Sleeping bags
• Pillow
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Clothes, such as True Religion jeans
• Swimwear
• Rain gear
• Towel
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Razor
• Toilet paper
• Medication

First Aid:
• Band-aids, bandages,
• Tape
• Antiseptic wipes
• Sunscreen
• Bug repellent
• Insect bite medication
• Burn ointment
• Aspirin, Ibuprofen

Miscellaneous:
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Camp chairs
• Camera, charger
• Cell phone, charger
• Sunglasses
• Coins for showers and vending machines
• Playing cards

NOTE: Make sure at least one relative knows your itinerary, cell phone number, and your vehicle’s license plate.

Of course, these are just suggestions and your list may change depending on your camping needs.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Adventure, Outdoors, Places Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Camping Safety

October 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A person in a sleeping bag
Image via Wikipedia

For many, the word ‘camping’ is practically synonymous with adventure, wilderness and hiking. The desire to stretch their muscles, breathe fresh air, leave civilization behind and live off of the land is what drives people to go camping. A getaway, a retreat. That means that hiking and camping are supposed to be fun, right? To ensure that you spend your trip actually having fun instead of worrying about what might go wrong, take a look at these camping safety tips.

Pack What You’ll Need

What will you need? If you don’t know, you need to seriously think before you go one step further. Camping and hiking place you in the wilderness with nobody but your group of campers for sometimes hundreds of miles–you need to anticipate everything you might need during your trip and bring it along if you’re likely to use it. A first-aid kit, sealing plastic bags to scent-proof waste, sunscreen, changes of clothes, sleeping bags, tents, food, water, a map and compass and a pocket knife are some essentials to get you started.

What you don’t want to do is to overpack and take along every little thing in case you might need it. If you can live without it for a few days and it doesn’t help in an emergency, you should probably leave it behind.

Know Your Destination

Read up on your camping area before you arrive. Get a feel for what kind of climate, wildlife, terrain and temperatures you’ll be dealing with. Ensure that you aren’t camping during storm season in this place. Check your campsite for signs of bears, fallen rocks or flooding, and if any of them are present, camp somewhere else.

Don’t Take Risks

Play it safe–don’t sneak up on wildlife to get photos, climb trees for fun, wander off by yourself, or drink water directly from the river. Store food and other smelly things in a bear box or hoisted in a tree. Prevention is the best way to avoid trouble of all kinds in the wilderness, and if you think ahead now, you won’t have to think fast in an emergency later.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Outdoors Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Campground Manners

October 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Most people go camping to get away from society and most of the people that form it, but unless you travel to somewhere extremely remote, you’re bound to run into somebody else out in the wilderness regardless. Campgrounds and wilderness areas are visited by around 13 million people per year in the United States alone, and even if every one of them wanted seclusion and to be in a place with no other people for once, they would still have to share their camping grounds with others who have just as much of a right to camp there as they do.

Treat others as you want to be treated. You probably learned this advice from your parents; it’s true, particularly where camping is involved. Would you want some stranger walking into your camp and talking to you out of nowhere? Neither do the other campers, so generally even if you sight somebody else, you should leave them be unless they’re in some kind of trouble. Would you want strangers to cross through your campsite? Probably not! Make an effort to walk around other campers’ campsites instead of crossing through them.

The same rule applies for blaring loud music or laughing/shouting/singing loudly (particularly at night), using anything that flashes bright lights or burning a large bonfire at night that others might see from far away, playing games or using electronics that are noisy enough to hear from afar, leaving trash or even food scraps behind that others who come after you will know is not part of the wilderness, and dozens of other situations.

Use common sense and be considerate of how your wilderness neighbors will think of the situation rather than your side of things. The music is nice to you, but your neighbor is a captive audience to music they might not even like, and they’re in the middle of the wilderness so it’s probably the only sound for miles!

Finally, extend your courtesy to the wildlife as well, and do your best to avoid them so that they do the same for you. Remember, you’re a guest in their homes.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Outdoors Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Domeland: Putting the “Wild” in Wilderness

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

For some people, “camping” means leaving all civilization behind and living off of the land. No public restrooms, no running water, no cars or other luxuries to make life easier. If it’s easy, it isn’t really camping. If you’re one of these people, the kind that goes camping to feel like they’re the only person for thousands of acres of untamed wilderness, then Domeland Wilderness should be your next camping destination.

Domeland, located 55 miles off of Bakersfield, California, is an enormous chunk of rugged, untamed landscape named for its numerous dome-shaped bedrock formations. Domeland Wilderness is known for an abundance of colorful wildflowers, as well as extreme heat during the summer months. Due to the latter, the wilderness is much less traveled during the summer. Elevations of the wilderness areas range from 3,000 to nearly 10,000 feet, and some parts are much more rugged than others. Over 74,000 acres of Domeland were burnt in the Manter wildfire during the July of 2000.

As per the laws of a wilderness, no motor vehicles are permitted within Domeland; this includes cars, trucks, trailers, and even mountain bikes. Visitors are allowed to bring up to 25 head of stock per group, and groups may be up to 15 people in size, making Domeland an ideal place for those who want to truly live off of the land and rely on pack animals to cover the nearly 100,000-acre landscape. Hunting and fishing are even allowed under State regulations.

Wildlife includes several large herds of deer, brown, rainbow and golden trout, mountain lions, bobcats, American black bears, and a high population of rattlesnakes. Visitors to Domeland place themselves into isolated, very wild surroundings; you should always check with the local Ranger Station for any current hazards or conditions of the landscape before heading into the wilderness. Domeland requires no permit to enter the wilderness as a guest, but you must have a campfire permit for stoves, gas lanterns and campfires, so you should see to those beforehand as well.

Activities in Domeland include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing (seasonal), day-hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, rock climbing and hunting.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Adventure, Outdoors, Wild Trip Tagged With: , ,