Camping With a Toddler

How To Camp with a Toddler

We are very outdoorsy people and love to camp, hike, canoe and kayak. We want our son to experience all of the wonderful things nature has to offer so we started to introduce him to camping at very young age…he was a month old when we first took him camping. You can read all about how that went here.

Since we survived camping with a newborn we thought camping with a toddler was going to be a breeze…. we were mistaken… camping with a toddler was a lot more work than we expected. So here are our tips for camping with a toddler.

1. Keep them Busy.

My son is a very busy boy ( but aren’t all little boys ) and was curious about everything! He wanted to explore and see what was around and under every leaf and stick. I recommend taking your little busy bee for nature walks and hikes and just helping them explore this strange world around them. You can also turn the walk into a learning experience by explaining what everything is. Showing them all the different plants and trees and showing them all the little bugs too! They will love learning all the cool new things that might not be around in the city.

2. Play Pen.

We brought with us two different playpens camping. I know what your thinking shouldn’t you pack light? Well yes, you should but these two playpens are different and have very different uses. The First one is the regular playpen that he would sleep in. The second one is an outdoor playpen by summer infant. The summer infant pop’n play play yard. This playpen folds up like a chair and has a UV dome tent that clips on top. Its all mesh sides and takes two seconds to put up. This was amazing! We were able to put Noah in there while we were setting up, making food, starting the fire etc. This was very useful for keeping him safe and contained while camping. If your camping with a toddler I highly recommend this.

3. Portable Highchair.

A high chair is a must! We have a travel high chair that works wonders for camping with a toddler. It folds up super small which is perfect when camping and trying to pack as light as possible. The one we have is Cosco simple fold high chair. It was easy to store away at night and compact. Perfect for camping with a toddler!

4. Activities / Games

Plan games and or activities ahead of time. If you plan your days ahead of time everything will go a lot smoother. Of course, there might be some adjusting if your busy bee crashes from the fresh air but having an idea of what you are going to do every day will help you stay organized and keep your little one from getting antsy.

Plan a day trip to the beach or an outdoor craft maybe even a day where your little one helps with all the meals. You can even make up a scavenger hunt where the whole family can join in. We brought Noah’s sand toys and did a day trip to the beach as one of our activities.

5. Snacks.

With all the fresh air from being outside all day, your toddler will probably be hungry all the time ( like they aren’t already ). Having quick and easy snacks on hand will be key! Prepare some of their favourites at home before you leave to make it easy to grab and go. We had pre-cut strawberries and raspberries in little containers. We also packed some Toddler mum mums and organic granola bars so we could easily grab and go.

6. Baby Wipes.

Baby wipes will be your best friend while camping with a toddler. There’s no running water so right there you know it’s going to be a messy sticky dirty camping trip. Baby wipes are perfect for everything while camping and I guarantee you will use A LOT of them. We packed two packages of baby wipes and we used both for a 3-day camping trip.

7. Johnson’s Aloe Vera Cream.

This stuff is amazing for anyone! It helps keep the blood sucking mosquitos away from your baby. It’s not harmful either like bug spray plus it’ll help keep their skin nice and soft and smelling good.

The bugs were really bad when we went so as an added precaution I would spray his clothes with bug spray before dressing him just to make sure.

8. Baby Carrier / Wrap.

If you like to hike like we do then a baby carrier or wrap is essential. There’s no way that your toddler will be able to walk the whole way or even stay awake the whole time so that’s where the baby carrier will come in handy! We like to go on dusk/evening walks while camping and by that time Noah would be getting tired so our baby wrap came in handy for both last years camping when he was a newborn and this year. A baby carrier/wrap is a great investment!

What To Pack When Camping With a Toddler

• Play Pen/’s ( + Bedding )
• Portable High Chair
• Toys
• Baby carrier/ Wrap
• Warm Clothes
• Summer Clothes
• Shoes + Sandles
• Swim Suit ( + Sun Screen )
• Hat
• Socks
• Pj’s
• Diapers + Wipes
• Johnsons Aloe Vera cream
• Baby First Aid Kit
• And all your regular essentials ( toiletries, Tent, Air mattress etc )

These are some of our Tips Tricks and How To’s on Camping with a toddler Hopefully, they help and it’ll make camping with a toddler a little easier for you! Leave a comment below and let us know how camping with a toddler went for you!!!