Whether you are just starting out with family camping, or looking to bring your grandkids/nieces and nephews with you on a vacation this year, you are going to want to look for a family friendly campground. You can bring the kids bike’s along, but unless they have somewhere to ride them they won’t be of much use to them.
~ Rules: After you’ve determined that a campground will fit your basic needs (location, hook ups, site size, price, etc) check out the rules. These are a very good indicator of how kid friendly a campground is. I’ve seen places that do not allow bike riding at all, adult only pools, some that don’t allow kids to be off their site without an adult with them, and others that charge for each child you have at your site. If the rules are not something you can live with, it’s time to move on to the next place. Some campgrounds may not WANT to say they are only for adults but you can get a pretty good idea from the website if kids are really welcome.
~ Facilities: Kids like to keep busy. Parents like to keep the kids busy during the day so that they get worn out and sleep well at night. See if the campground has a pool, beach or playground. Are they in easy walking distance to the campsites, or will you need to drive them each time ?
We stayed at a nice little campground once that advertised a beach. We didn’t realize though that it was on the other side of the lake, about a 1/2 mile from our campsite. Without a toad and unwilling to cart 3 kids and all of their swim toys, towels, drinks and our chairs that far and back again, we weren’t able to take advantage of it.
~ Open Space: One of my son’s favorite things to do while camping is to play catch or wiffle ball. We also like bocce ball, frisbee and ladder golf. Check to see if the campground has an open area for the kids to play (NOT the dog walk area!). One of the best places we stayed had a little ballfield which was perfect for our needs.
~ Activites: Lots of campgrounds have daily activities for the kids on the weekends. Some Jellystone’s and KOA’s offer them during the week in the summer as well. Look for group games such as kickball, dodgeball, pool games, scavenger hunts, as well as arts and crafts, group sing-alongs and hayrides. Other things that are always nice are places for kids to fish, petting farms, ice cream counters and walking paths.
~Extras: Some campgrounds have onsite, or next door access to batting cages, miniature golf, gocarts, arcades, etc. These kind of activities cost extra, so bring some spending money !
Chances are you aren’t going to find a campground with ALL of these things (if you do please share it with me) but hopefully this gave you a good idea of things to look for.
Happy Camping,
~ Shannone
Check out the Family Camping forum on RV.NET