Tent camping for the 1st time - any tips?

[ksjayhawks]

We take air mattresses and sheets with a light blanket. We have the double high ones--singles for each of us--that have a built in pillow. They are great to have around home, too, for extra company, sleepovers, etc. We sleep great! Blanket can get double duty to wrap around us if chilly at night and for sleeping. We take travel size pillows as well. Don't forget a pump to blow up the air mattresses.

We always get electricity, so have an old electric griddle that we use. Take along some pans--they can go on top of griddle and a dishpan. Take cooking spray--helps with clean up. Plenty of paper towels and small trash bags-we like to get rid of trash often. We used paper/plastic to help with clean up. If we can't get electricity, we have a coleman camp stove.

Definitely a rug of sometype for shoes--we have an old outdoor carpet that we have cut down. A tarp for under the tent and one for over. We take a canopy to put over the picnic table as well. Take clothespins and tablecloth holders for the tablecloth on the picnic table. I put all silverware, utensils, salt, pepper, etc in a plastic "shoebox". Don't forget dishsoap and sos pads, dishclothes and dishtowels.

Flashlights for going to bathroom at night. Flipflops to wear in shower. Definitely bug spray and citronella candles. Matches in waterproof container. I put a lot of this in a camp box; keep camp box in tent to keep stuff dry. Rubbermaid containers are great for clothes, easy to open and get in, keeps stuff dry as well. I take another small shoebox size plastic box for billfolds, money, keys, etc.

Take less clothes and food than you think. Plan easy meals.

Have fun!

 

[eeyore45]

Dig a little trench around the perimeter of the tent in case it rains. Get a straw mat to put in front of the tent for everyone to wipe their feet on and not drag dirt inside.

Please dont dig a trench - it does more harm to the environment than helping the rain - today's tents are waterproofed - not canvas - esp the floorings of tents - just do stake the tent with long poles, and do have a rain fly on your tent - -

and I second (third fourth etc) the air mattress suggestion - Target has a coleman one that comes with a battery operated pump - and a screened in tent for the eating for me is a must - be careful, the cheaper ones have so many poles etc it takes longer to set up than the tents!!

Also do your meal prep work at home, chop and dice and put into ziplock bags - if you can pre freeze some stuff too - to help keep the ice chest cool!!

 

[eeyore45]

also for flashlights - get the ones that fit on your head - yes you may feel "dorky" but nowadays they are inexpensive and can be found everywhere - so everyone does have them (about 5 years ago dh was the only one with a head lamp - now he has I think 4!!!)

That headlamp is a must for middle of the night bathroom trips - that and a pair of crocs to slip into!!!

eta - You think a battery operated fan is a must - a Dis'er posted her trip report - they tent camped at FW, and had a/c!! AIR CONDITIONING!! They of course had a site with electricity and had this > >

ACBOOT - - http://www.acboot.com/cart/index.html looks like you can buy a tent installed for $179!!

 

[SDFgirl]

Don't forget lawn chairs. They're great for sitting around the fire.

I also agree with the small broom/dust pan. All kinds of sand and dirt will get tracked into your tent. It's especially helpful when you're packing up to go home - you don't want to leave all that stuff in your tent.

Other things we always pack:

-line for drying towels, suits, etc.
-hatchet for splitting firewood into kindling
-biodegradable soap (can find in the camping section at Wal Mart) and old dish towels
-flip flops
-bug spray
-lantern for picnic table at night
-plastic tablecloth for picnic table

Also - a great treat to make over the campfire is Silver Dollar Treasures. Get tin foil packets and add ground beef, potatoes, onions, carrots and tons of salt and pepper. Cook next to the campfire, turning occasionally, for about 45 minutes. Good!!!!

 

[bevtoy]

Before dusk be sure to zip up all the tent doors and windows, if you don't the dew fall can make all your sleeping gear damp, and that is miserable!
Has anyone else experianced this?

 

[shortbun]

You may want to bring some kind of bug spray. I spent a few nights on the beach there (this was 20 years ago though) & the horseflies were biting like crazy!! (Hmm...don't even know if they make a bug-spray for horseflies, but you've been warned).

That was my 1st thought-horse fly bites. Bring lightweight long pants and long shirts too. It gets cool at night on the water. You'll need to borrow a tent, a lantern and some good sleeping bags. I do not sleep on the ground anymore either so I would have my trusty selfinflating air mattress. Flip flops for hot sand and camp showers are a must.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Before dusk be sure to zip up all the tent doors and windows, if you don't the dew fall can make all your sleeping gear damp, and that is miserable!
Has anyone else experianced this?

That is Standard Op's for sure!

On top of that we store things in the car, keeps the dew off camping chairs, tennis shoes, whatever you don't want damp in the morning and animals out of your stuff.
For a 3 day trip, I would keep the snacks in the car in a tote.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

A HAMMER!!!! Very important for hammering in your stakes.

Or for the head of whoever had the bright idea to camp in the first place. I'm with the hotel crowd.

 

[tkd lisa]

Having camped at Assateague (with Girl Scouts), you'll really need the long stakes. It's soft sand, so the hammers not quite a necessity, but it helps.

And you'll NEED the bug spray. LOTS and LOTS! I alway use lots of aluminum foil at camp, as well as zip lock bags. I just keep them in my camping box.

All food needs to be in completely sealable containers. Those horses are sneaky! In fact, we put the coolers in our vehicles because they didn't have a secure closing mechanism. Our food was in a rubbermaid tub that had closing handles, so it was okay.

Instead of a trench, bring a drop cloth for under your tent. I just buy a big sheet of visqueen (like you'd use for painting drop clothes) and cut it to size. It's fairly windy there, so even if it rains things can dry out. It POURED our first night, and some of the kids bags got wet. They were all completely dried out by mid-day.

Bring smores stuff. As a different way to make them (not so messy) try mexican smores. Use the soft tortillas, spread peanut butter on them, drop in chocolate chips (or chunks of a hershey bar) and mini marshmallows. Roll it up and wrap it in foil. Set it around the fire for a few minutes so everything melts, then an adult can pull the foil off. The fillings stay inside the tortilla much better than graham crackers, and I personally like the Peanut butter taste (you could leave it out though). I've also added bananas to it.

It's a really nice place to camp. The beach is nice, the wildlife is very accessible. There's a fairly nice visitors center at the entrance, and some nice mini-golf places nearby. The only down side for me is the bugs. But if you're oceanside, the breeze helps keep them away.

Have a great time!

 

[Iott Family]

We are avid campers. After so many camp outs you kind of learn as you go.....Laughs!

Tarps are a must. Put one under your tent and one in your tent on the floor before setting up beds, etc. Helps to keep the damp/rain out. Also, to keep the damp out make sure nothing on the inside of the tent is touching the tent walls or that item will be wet as well as the tent wall itself. Drip, drip!

Tarps also make good sunshades, but then a screen house would, too!

Bugspray, sunscreen, first aid kit, ziplock bags, heavy duty aluminum foil and a sturdy oven mit are a must. We carry all our shower stuff in a bucket and dont forget a cheap pair of flip flops to wear in the shower. It is a public shower, after all!

One more thing about packing. Pack everything in rubbermaid like totes. Keeps the weather and bugs out and easy to handle. We pack all of our clothes in one, food in another, kitchen items in one, games, etc in another. You get the idea.

Cooking outside is the best and sooo easy. Just plan ahead. You can cook entire meals over charcoals in the heavy duty aluminum foil. If you want or need recipes just message me. If you have electricity and a crockpot you are in good shape! If not open fire cooking is great, too. Hamburgers, chicken, steak, hotdogs, etc!

Anyways, having grown up in girl scouts and having a junior gs we have done a lot of neat cooking.

If you are camping with kids be sure to bring sand toys for the beach, a book to read, crayons/paper and maybe even a few crafty things to do.

HTH!

 

[Spoisal]

WOW! Lots a great ideas here - thanks so much!! I never even considered some of this stuff. I am hoping we like it, but i'm a resort kinda girl .....being on the beach got me to agree. 3 days camping can't kill me, right?