Camping with Kids

Making camp cozy with a folding coffee table and hanging solar LED lights. 

Our girls pulling a wagon of gear to the site at China Camp.

by Lisa Ferrier (Mandarin & Duckling mom)

It's time to make your camping reservations! As you know, Bay Area campgrounds fill up fast, so mark your calendars and make plans with friends and family.

We have been camping with our kids for about 4 or 5 years now. After every trip, we learn how to do it better next time. A few important tips when camping with preschoolers:

Plan for the weather. This is tricky in our unpredictable micro-climate area, but if your kids are like ours, hot sweaty camping is no fun. We usually look for shaded foresty areas mid to late summer, or at least a creek or lake access and convenient popsicles. Similarly, in the spring and late fall, we seek warmer locales to avoid freezing nights.

Stay close to home. We learned this the hard way driving for 3+ hours to get to campgrounds (in the Sierras and Pinnacles, etc). Kids don't need to be in a majestic landscape to enjoy camping and their hiking ability is limited to say the least. Plus, if your child comes down with a fever (as ours did) you are hours away from the comforts of home. We aim for sites that are no more than about 1 hr drive away.

Don't be afraid of "walk-in" sites - they are hidden gems. Many of these are a very short walk from the parking area and several that we have been to provide wagons or carts to haul your stuff. Since there are no cars around the sites, it's safe for kids to run around, ride bikes, etc. These can be some of the most kid-friendly places.

Bring lot of wipes. This may seem obvious, but I never realized how dirty it would be camping with children.

Bring a travel potty. Everyone laments the walk to the bathroom, especially early in the morning, and kids sometimes just can't make it! We put our travel potty right outside the tent in the vestibule, for just those occasions.

If there is interest, I will follow up with another post with more on gear, packing, food, etc.
In the meantime, here is a list of some of our favorite spots. Please add a comment to share your recommendations!

CHINA CAMP, San Rafael
Excellent spot for camping with little ones - plus it's just a short drive away. Sites are all walk-in (meaning you can't drive your car to your site), but it's just about the easiest walk-ins you could find. They provide wagons and carts to haul your stuff from the parking area, and it's not a far walk to the campsites. Since there are no cars, kids can ride bikes and run around without worrying if they are in the road, etc. Last year, they offered fireside interpretive programs (we saw the one on owls led by local high school kids).

JUNIPER CAMP, Mt. Diablo
This is the campground higher up on the mountain. As of last year, it appeared to be better maintained than the lower campground, and overall flatter (better chance of getting a flat spot for your tent). Spring or late fall is a good time of year to go, when it's not too hot. Especially spring, as that's when you might see wildflowers and green hills. The best part is that it is so close - only about 45 min-1 hr drive to the campground. It has easy walks/hikes and bouldering at Rock City which is great for the older ones (it's kind of treacherous). Because of the draught, you have to bring in your own water, and there are no flushing toilets or showers.

SANBORN SKYLINE, Santa Clara county park
Another great kid-friendly walk-in campground. Adjacent to a big grassy park, perfect for bike riding and flying a kite. Well-funded and well-maintained. Sites are shady in the redwoods, so won't get too hot in the summer. My husband claims that he didn't see any poison oak there last year. -There are a few other Santa Clara county parks with camping, and these seem to be well-funded as well (e.g. Uvas Canyon).

LAKE DEL VALLE, South of Livermore
This is a big campground, but if you like summer lake swimming, this will fit the bill. It's part of the EBRP system like Lake Temescal and Lake Anza. It can get hot out in Livermore, especially in July/August.

SAMUEL P. TAYLOR STATE PARK, Marin County
On the way out to the Point Reyes. Sites adjacent to the creek are said to be the best, but there is some road noise. Books up fast. Sites are all set into the redwoods.

A little further afield (1.5-2 hrs), these are inland from Pescadero or near Santa Cruz, so you can drive to the beach:

BIG BASIN
You have to book early as this is super popular. It's close enough to the beach in Santa Cruz for a day trip - but it can be hot. We did a walk-in site at Wastahi, and it was very close to the parking area, so you could easily go back and forth to get things. Some sites are a bit further up the hill, but still close.

MEMORIAL COUNTY PARK, San Mateo

PORTOLA REDWOODS PARK
A long, twisty road to get there. We went in October and went to a pumpkin patch and the beach during the day when it was too hot (campsite was forested and quite cold at night b/c it was Oct).

BUTANO PARK
Drive-in and walk-in sites.

A few more places we've never tried, mostly because we couldn't get reservations:
Pantoll (Muir woods)
Kirby Cove (Marin Headlands)
Steep Ravine cabins (just south of Stinson beach)
Mt. Madonna yurts (Santa Clara Cty park, west of Gilroy)

Our daughter loved the "Litter Getter" program at the CA State Parks.

Check fire restrictions - many parks don't allow fires due to dry conditions.