Good morning! Today we are packing for our camping trip to Taos, New Mexico. I am so excited to see New Mexico for the first time. I don’t know about you, but I am in LOVE with visiting new places. The beautiful scenery, amazing local foods, and each place has its own culture. I am a huge people watcher! I love the different feel of each city/town. Its addicting. And…. I can NOT wait to try some authentic New Mexico cuisine! YUMMM!!!

Packing for a camping trip with kids is not an easy feat. Fortunately, we camp often and have perfected a system that works for us and I am going to share it with you. If you are reading this thinking “Tent camping with kids? Are they crazy?” You should check out my post on WHY we tent camp. Now, on to the good stuff…

One misconception to camping is that you must have the best, most expensive accessories made-to-man in order to be great campers. This is entirely not true. Well, unless you are camping in the extremes, then you must have the best to survive. But, since I highly doubt any of you are reading my blog post with a goal to camp at Mount Everest, I will continue with my thought that less is more! We camp regularly and most of our equipment is old, bought used, found on huge discount, or not ‘name brand’. In fact, we just recently upgrade our 17 year old tent that was given to us 13 years ago (only due to needing a tent that can accommodate colder temps and high winds). Now if you are planning to backpack and hike into your camping site, it is worth paying a little more to purchase lighter equipment to make the hike more manageable. For “car” camping, whether dispersed or campground, you don’t have to worry about weight.  Here is my list of must have items for camping with kids.

Sleep Essentials

• A tent.
  • Size: This can vary depending on what type of camping you will be doing. We have a small tent for backpacking and a larger tent for car camping (dispersed or campground). When choosing the size, it is important to consider your sleeping arrangements. We sleep on sleeping pads, so therefore we do not need a lot of space. If you are choosing to sleep on an air mattress, take the size of the mattress into consideration.
  • Weather: It is important to consider the season and what type of weather you will be having. If it’s going to rain, you need to ensure you have a rain cover/rain fly. If it is hot, you need to have good ventilation. Cold, you need to have more covering to allow less wind into the tent. We once mistakenly packed our summer tent for a mountain trip and it snowed with heavy winds. Saying we were cold through the night was an understatement (fortunately this was before kids or we would have ended up in a hotel for the night).
  • If this is your first trip, borrowing from a friend or family member is a great choice. Especially if its summer. You can make any tent work in the summer months.
• Sleeping pads
  • There are so many options; from small foldable or self-inflatable pads(which is what we use) to a full air mattress. Some people choose just to use their sleeping bag but remember that many campsites have uneven surfaces.
• Sleeping bags
  • Sleeping bags are even more important if you are camping with cold nights. We recently camped at an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level for our first Colorado camping trip. We under estimated the night time temperature. Our tent was not adequate but we fortunately had great sleeping bags. We put the kids between us to shield them from the wind and they never even realized the temp drop until they woke up the next morning. That is the value of a good sleeping bag. This does not mean you have to spend a lot of money, you just need to check the temperature rating. My husband and I have bags that are about 10 years old and purchased for backpacking (pre-kids when we actually had weekends to ourselves…. HA!) We recently purchased the kids sleeping bags when we found a 60% off sale. We have found that a 15 to 20 degree bag has been great for Colorado nights.
• Tent stakes, hammer (we use a rubber mallet)

Cooking Essentials

• Heat source. PRIOR TO LEAVING, PLEASE CHECK THE LOCAL FIRE/BURN BAN POLICY. This can restrict fires, charcoal grills and even propane grills. It is very important that you follow this. Not only can you cause a destructive forest fire, but you will also face large fines.
  • Camp fire – (remember, please check first for a fire ban). You will need wood, a lighter/matches, and some kindling.
  • Propane burner – This is a single small propane tank on a stand that allows you to boil a pot of water, use a skillet, COFFEE percolator (can I get an Amen!)
  • Propane grill – When we are camping at a campground we pack a large propane grill that folds down into a carry bag. It makes transporting easy though it is heavy. It runs off of a small propane tank or large tank and has a griddle attachment. We love the griddle attachment for breakfast items. It’s one we commonly see at campgrounds.
  • Propane cook-stove – When we are trying to pack less, we bring our table top cook-stove that uses a small propane tank. We have a cast iron griddle that also converts it into a grill top
  • Charcoal grill – This is an inexpensive choice. These can be hard to use if windy as it is hard to get the grill up to temperature, but create the best flavor.
• Pots, pans, percolator or coffee maker (if there is electricity. We have a cheap coffee maker we keep just for camping)
• Cooking utensils- Grill tongs, spoon, fork, spatula
• Aluminum foil
• Seasonings, salt, pepper
• Plates, bowls, forks, spoons, knives
• Paper towels
• Wash bin. When we are at a campground and have more access to water, we use 2, one for washing and one for rinsing.
• Dish cloths, drying cloths 
• Water when dispersed camping. We keep several 5 gallon jugs that we clean and dry after each trip. This allows us to have less waste and we fill up at home. We usually take 2-3 for the weekend. This gives us drinking water and some water to rinse our dishes or cook with.
• Trash bags

Miscellaneous Items

• Rope – This can be used for hanging towels to dry, hanging food high to keep bears out, extending your tent stakes, and so much more.
• Knives – Cutting rope or for cooking
• Hatchet – For making kindling for your fire
• First aid kit – We were once camping and a teenager in another campsite cut his finger with a hatchet. We thankfully had plenty of supplies to stop the bleeding for them to take him for stitches. We carry a larger kit in our car and a small one in our hiking bag.

Personal items

• Toileting items. If you are staying at a campground that has bathrooms you can skip this part. However, we often bring the over bucket toilet as we have little ones who often have to wake up in the night to use the bathroom.
  • Over bucket toilet. This is actually what we use. This is a toilet seat that fits onto a 5 gallon bucket.
  • Portable folding toilets.
  • Bags for containing your waste. You can find biodegradable bags that will fit your 5 gallon bucket.
  • Biodegradable toilet paper.
  • We keep a small trowel for when hiking. We can dig a hole and cover up.
  • We also use this female urinal when hiking. Having small children, this has been useful when in the middle of a hike.
• Bathing items.
  • Towels, shampoo, soap.
  • Wipes, if you are dispersed camping. Or biodegradable soap.
• Personal toiletry items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, brush, etc. If you wear glasses or contacts, do not forget to pack an extra pair of contacts.
• Clothing
  • LAYERS!!! I cant say this loud enough! If it is supposed to be hot on your trip, pack a long sleeve shirt and pants anyways. If you are camping in the mountains, pack a sweatshirt and sweat pants. We are big fans of base layer/ thermal layer/long johns, what ever you prefer to call them. We almost always pack a hoodie for camping. We are all early risers and its nice throwing a big sweatshirt on for the cool mornings. Also pack a winter knit cap. This can make a huge difference while sitting by a camp fire or a cold night in the sleeping bag.

Hiking supplies

• Hiking boots – This is very important to the success of your trip. This does not mean you need $200 boots, but you do want them to be comfortable. I choose waterproof boots as I become quite whiny when I have to hike with wet socks. HA. Our kids are wearing hand-me-down boots from their cousins, so that helps on cost. The main point is you want durable and comfortable. If you are hiking graveled paths, you can manage with tennis shoes. However, if you are hiking any trails with dirt, rocks, etc., trust me when I say, buy a pair of hiking shoes. Your feet will thank you!  
• Socks – This is as important as the boots. Buy a nice pair of hiking socks. We usually wear wool socks but our daughters choose cotton as they think the wool is “sweaty”. LOL
• Day pack – We personally use a day pack for each of us that has a water bladder to hold our drinking water and give quick access to water via a tube and valve. Our youngest has carried her own pack since she was 4. On occasional long hikes, we will clip her pack to mine or my husband’s pack to give her a break. Hey, even our dog carries his own pack.

• Snacks and plenty of water – We often pack apples, carrots and granola bars.
• Bear spray – We have this clipped onto our pack for easy access. Our dog has a bell on his collar to help make extra noise as we hike. Do not let the thought of animals deter you from hiking/camping. We have actually never had a close encounter with an animal, but we often educate our daughters on what to do in order to stay prepared.
• Bug spray – We personally choose to treat our shoes and socks to prevent ticks. . We also use spray. We check for ticks each evening and shower if we have a bathhouse where we are camping.
• Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat – This is an easy one to forget as we usually leave early before the hot part of the day. We keep sunscreen in our pack to reapply.
• Trekking poles – This isn’t a must, but we pack trekking poles for more difficult climbing hikes. Just a personal preference.
• Small first aid kit – This would be for small cuts and scrapes, bug bites, and the occasional blister!

I hope this list helps you and encourages you to get out into nature with your kids! What other supplies do you recommend? I love hearing from others and often find the best tips and gadgets from fellow campers.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my Camping with Kids series. Need idea of travel destinations? Check out our travel page. I’ve also included a section on our favorite camping meals.