Just because it might rain, that is not a good reason to cancel your trip or to refrain from camping. You can do it, and the kids will love it.
Here are some guidelines on how to have a great camping trip, with children, babies, toddlers, and children of all ages, in the RAIN! This article is about camping out with children, babies and other all-age children while you are experiencing bad weather, rain, storms etc.
First, the average reader would be thinking, why camp out in the rain? The answer to that is obvious. As humans, we camp out with children, throughout the season, and we have no control over weather. So, you might be out camping on a very beautiful day, and all of a sudden encounter an unnanounced, unpredicted rainstorm or other bad weather. Yes, you could have checked the weekly weather and known about storms or rain ahead of time, but the fact is that weather happens. And weather happens whenever it wants to happen, not just when the weatherman predicts it will happen.
So, you may or may not be caught in a storm, or rainy day during one of your longer camping trips. The way to make everything a great experience is to prepare ahead of time for that bad weather or storm. And, as an experienced camper, I share some ideas, thoughts and suggestions with you in the hopes that you might take what you need and leave what you do not need.
I write this article, not to frighten, but rather to prepare you for everything and anything, so that you will have a great camping experience in the rain and in the storms. Why do I really write this though? I mean, the obvious answer is to make your camping trip shorter and just go home when it begins to rain. Surely that would solve the problem of bad weather if you have already enjoyed most of your camping trip. But, what would you benefit of that if you had just started your trip and had not begun to enjoy anything yet? If you just pack up and go home, your camping trip might be considered a waste of time, since you came there to enjoy nature and to relax and enjoy the state park or private campgrounds. So, this article is for you, so that you will be prepared for any type of weather in your campgrounds.
Now, the preparation begins before you even make the reservation for camping. Yes, it begins that early. For example, if you are camping out and it begins to rain, or storm, you know that below your tent it will be very wet, and if you are camping out, your tent or tarp underneath will be very muddy. Yuck! Who wants a tent that is full of mud, even if it is the bottom of the tent floor? So, the way that you prevent that --before making your reservation-- is by choosing your particular campsite, within the campgrounds, and also by carefully choosing your campgrounds. In New York State, you have many choices of very different natural states, state parks and private campgrounds. If you are choosing to camp with children, toddlers or babies, you might do well to choose private campgrounds or family campgrounds. At these places, usually, they have all the comforts of home. Many of them have indoor rooms, that are packed with games, video games, and other things specifically for children. Most of them have pools and some have sprinklers that the children can play under. Most of them have the stores that will sell you everything from charcoal to umbrellas to cereal and other daily items. And even some have an internet connection. Many of them have activities for children and some even have babysitting services. So, as a family or as adults camping with children, babies or toddlers, your first choice, the choice of a campgrounds might be your most important choice.
So, say you decide to rough it, at a state park instead of going to a family campgrounds, can you still be comfortable in a storm or bad weather? Yes, and again, you choose before you get there and that makes all the difference in the world. For example, at one state park in New York, Wildwood State Park in Long Island, NY, you have choices of where to camp out. And your first choice is location --which would be either right near the restrooms or near the office or further out into the civilized wilderness (I say civilized because there are no dangerous wild animals there, like bears). You will see some deer, ahh, closeup with nature. So, you choose your location. If you are camping with children, perhaps camping not too far from the restrooms is in order. But your second choice, after you choose the location is choosing the kind of campsite that you want. This choice is most important in storms and in bad weather or just in case. If you are camping with older children, you might love the choice of having a campsite that has a platform, a wooden platform. Having this platform to set your tent up on is wonderful! You get past all the dirt, and the insects that normally would be climbing under your tent, and you basically have a clean platform, a natural wooden platform to set your temporary home on . Some campsites in other campgrounds might even have concrete platforms; those are usually for the dining areas. If you try setting your tent up on concrete you might realize you have more aching bones in your back the next day, so opt for the dirt instead of concrete.
Now, for the stormy part, you will have prepared ahead of time and packed some of these luxury items --when it comes to camping, these are not necessities but considered luxuries to campers that rough it. You can pack small portable televisions that run on batteries, and pack tv-radios, some child electronic games, some electronic books -- all with plenty of batteries. And perhaps the best idea is the crank-type radios that need no batteries. The kids will have fun taking turns cranking it up. I hear you, you are sitting there saying, hey, I came here to enjoy nature and to camp out, not to do what we can do at home! But wait, when I cam saying bring these things, I am not saying bring them, keep them handy where the kids can see them, but I am saying stash them in a secret bag that no one knows you have brought along. Your stash bag contains those items plus coloring books, crayons and some battery-lights. You can even bring along small keyboards for music. Do not worry, your neighbors will not mind the music if they are just hearing the sounds of the storm. Your music might be music to their ears!
So, first, this is your emergency camping bag, for your emergencies during the storm. This is not your first aid bag , but a separate bag just for activities for children and babies.
And, the most important thing about using this bag is that it is kept for this mild-storm emergency, in other words, if there is a mild rain, not thunder and lightening, but just a mild rainstorm, you can use these things to pass the time. Here is what you do, you use the items to pass the time, and then spend some time traveling to a fast food restaurant, preferably one that has a playroom. So you and the children will be happy and you will have things to do and you will be out of the rainstorm.
In the event of thunder or lightning, plan an unexpected trip to the nearest mall, and you will be safe indoors and you can browse the bookstores, and have dinner or breakfast at the mall. Spending a few hours there and the storm will almost be done. By doing this, your camping trip is saved. You have a little diversion, the children are happy AND you still have your tent standing and ready for your camping experience with nature.
I have used the mall-method once, when we camped out. We had a few hours at the campgrounds, and it was near dinner time and we had not yet set up the bbq. It started to rain, and I turned on the radio to find out that this rain was turning into a storm. I knew the storm would not last long, but I knew also that we did not want to sit in a tent under the trees while the lightening passed us by. That would be too dangerous. So, we got in the car and went to the nearest mall --instead of packing up all our gear and heading home, we saved the camping trip by just spending some time at the mall until it was safe to go back to the state park. Once back at the park, we were back to nature and we had a very awesome camping experience. At night it began to rain again, even though the storm was over. We just hung out in the tent, with our little lights, reading books and talking. We did have a great time, and it did not matter that our camping trip happened to be during a very real, horrible rainstorm, with lightning and thunder. We got through it and we had a good life experience.
Okay, right about now, some still might be thinking, YUCKK! , but the true campers are saying, YES! one camping trip saved! All I am saying is not to be scared and not to run off out of the campgrounds with all your bags packing at the sight of rain or at the sound of possible storms. Yes, by all means stay safe. Never, ever stay under the trees or in the state park if there is lightning and thunder. Yes, the time to get out is before it all happens. And if you plan your trip right, before you even leave the house, you can manage any storm, and still be safe and still enjoy a good camping experience.
In summary, here is a list of possible things to pack when going on a camping trip --using tents, while planning for that just-in-case storm:
Plastic tarps; these always come in handy, rain ponchose, small umbrellas, ziploc bags, food storage bags.
Individual plastic radios, or walkmans, mp3 players, electronical entertainment, games, nintendo ds, etc. Keep these in the car, not in the tents, when it is not storming. Do not store valuables inside your tent especially when you are not there.
Lots of coloring books, blank paper, crayons, pencils and pens, markers, and creative crafting items.
Extra water bottles, juice bottles, formula for babies, lots of cloths, diapers, bibs, wipes, creams, and everything else baby needs.
Baby pop-up tents for areas that have lots of mosquitos, bug spray and insect repellent for older children and adults.
Sleeping bags. Bring sleeping bags even in warm weather. You would be surprised how quickly the weather can change in the state parks and forests.
Grippers or Gophers, when camping with children these are great -as a help and as a game. Save your back and use the Grippers.
Cable ties; Do you want to keep younger children from going in and out of the tent 2,000 times a day. Take what you need out and then cable tie the zipper of the tent. Let them enjoy the outdoors fully while camping.
Set up a child pop-up tent for the younger children, right alongside your family tent. They can use this to play, and that saves your larger tent. They can go inside and outside this smaller tent as much as they want and you do not have to tell them to make sure the door is shut. It is their tent - for the day. At night, you sleep in the larger family tent together.
I think that one of the best things you can do for children is to let them get WET! Yes, let go, and say it is okay to be out in the rain if it is a little sprinkle. They will not melt. We have all seen those light sprinkling rains where it feels like a mist, and it is just wonderfully refreshing, especially in the forest or state park. As long as you have enough clean, dry clothes for later, then walking in the rain can be a great camping activity, as long as there is no lightning and no thunder. Do what is safe, and remember to do what is fun also.
Those are some of the things that will make your camping experience easier and more organized. I would love to hear from you if you have any more great ideas about camping in storms or camping with children, babies and toddlers. I welcome all comments.
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