Camping with your significant other or a child/children alone is very different from camping with other adults. We often do camp with friends. During these experiences, I’ve come up with some tried and true recommendations when considering making plans with others.

1. Find campsites next to each other, or a family campsite. This makes it easier to eat, have a central fire, and coordinate activities.
2. Be collaborative about set up and tear down. If you have tents, there is seemingly more work to get sleeping spaces ready. Set an expectation that helping is the norm for this situation. Other camping arrangements such as pop up campers or even 5th wheels can take a few hands to finish up on a Sunday.
3. Figure out when to tear down. This is important. Many people leave in the AM because of one of the following reasons:
   1. Heat: It gets hotter the longer you wait.
   2. Grey water and black water dumping at the station: Who wants to wait in line.
   3. Schedules: Getting home early to get stuff done. It may be that some folks leave earlier than others naturally. It’s good to talk about it prior.
4. Collaborate on meals. Taking turns at breakfast and dinner seems to work well for us. Lunches we bring ourselves and usually is sandwiches or a meat and cheese board with veggies and fruit. If you like cooking more than your counterparts, by all means, cook lunch, too!
5. Remember not everyone likes to do the same things. We have found that camping with folks who have similar interests makes it easier to do things while camping. No one wants to be stuck at the campsite when they are itching to get out into the park and vise versa. Some activities may include:
   1. cycling
   2. hiking
   3. kayaking
   4. playing yard games
   5. swimming
   6. fishing
   7. nature photography
   8. bird watching
   9. chilling by the campfire
6. Have back-up plans for in climate weather. If it is too hot, too cold, or raining, talk through ideas for alternative activities which are not outside. We’ve
   1. Played board games
   2. Napped
   3. Hiked in the rain anyway,
   4. Gone exploring in the area looking for Hidden Gem coffee houses, restaurants, or attractions.
   5. You an also watch TV / movie
   6. Pack up and go home early.
   7. Other times, it’s been Pokemon Community day and for a few hours, we’ve traipsed around a local town spinning stops and battling monsters.
7. Be flexible. Sometimes the best laid plans don’t fit the bill. It’s better to just go with the flow as needed.

Whomever you camp with, my hope is that these few suggestions will make the experience even better.

Let’s go outdoors!

DeanaOutside