7 Things That Make Camping With a Baby Slightly Less Insane

Early this summer, I decided it was high time that my husband and I take our 2-year-old and 9-month old camping. Why? Because Instagram. Momfluencers filled my feed with dreamy reels of family camping trips, babies included. After two summers stuck at home, either pregnant or recovering, I was desperate for the woods and convinced camping with a baby and a toddler was doable.

So one Thursday night in June, after wrangling bedtime, my husband and I pulled off the most intense pack job of our lives. Two years out of practice, we had to first track down the basics—tent, camp kitchen gear, propane, sleeping pads, bedding, chairs, water jug—then pile on the baby essentials: pack-n-play, bottles, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, puffy jackets, toys, books, etc.

Packing (and even unpacking) all of this crap would actually prove the easiest part of camping with a baby and a toddler. The real challenges came at camp: Setting up a tent with a baby crawling around in the woods, stuffing pine needles into her mouth; wrestling kids into bed at 7 p.m. while the sun blazed until 9; and praying they’d sleep past 5 a.m. sunrise.

We lasted exactly one night. Shocker: The baby didn’t sleep, so neither did we. After a new kind of dawn patrol to remove our tired but awake—and vocal—kids from the innocents in the campsites around us, my husband and I called uncle. We were home by 11 a.m., exhausted and defeated. Was it worth it? If you go by time invested versus time enjoyed, no. No it was not. But I’m still glad we did it. The trip was a crash course in family camping. We learned we weren’t quite ready emotionally or mentally, but on the bright side, our camp setup was solid. For anyone bold (or crazy) enough to try camping with babies, here’s the family camping gear that can save your sanity.

7 Family Camping Essentials

Humongous Tent: The North Face Wawona 6

The first thing we learned about family camping: go big or go home. My husband and I used to make do with a tent that was just barely big enough for the two of us in an effort to save space in our car. But with two kids under two, all packability concerns went out the window. We needed a tent big enough for all of us—and our gear. That meant at least a 6-person tent to fit a double camp mattress, a single-sized sleeping pad for our toddler, and a pack-n-play for the baby. The North Face Wawona 6 worked well for our setup.

The 86-square-foot main tent held all our bedding and the crib, while still leaving a narrow walkway. Gear that didn’t fit inside went into the 45-square-foot front vestibule, which doubled as a lounge during a brief evening rainstorm. The tent’s two entryways came in handy when we needed to slip in or out without disturbing sleeping kids (when they actually slept). And a plethora of interior pockets integrated into the tent walls and doors were perfect for keeping diapers, wipes, and toys within reach but out of the way.

The Wawona 6 is a big tent, so you’ll need a decent-sized campsite and at least two people to set it up efficiently. But having that extra space made the chaos of camping with a toddler and a baby just a little more manageable.

Plush Camp Mattress: Exped Megamat Duo 

If you want to increase your chances of sleeping soundly when camping with babies, do yourself a favor and invest in a quality camp mattress. I was a troubled sleeper even before I had babies, so my husband and I splurged on the queen-sized Exped Megamat Duo. At four inches thick and nearly 60 inches wide, the Megamat felt like a luxury when it was just the two of us, but with little ones in tow, I’d call it a necessity.

The self-inflating design is a lifesaver when you’re trying to simultaneously set up camp and keep two kids from wandering into the woods. It does take a while to fully inflate, but you can let it puff up in the background while you tackle the rest of camp setup. The queen size turned out to be clutch, too. Kids inevitably end up in your sleeping space, and having the extra room kept us from feeling completely cramped. As for durability, our 30-pound toddler turned it into a trampoline while we pitched the tent, and the pad handled it without issue.

Baby Containment Device: Bumbo Multi-Seat 

Have I mentioned how difficult it is to set up camp while tracking a baby? That’s where our Bumbo Multi-Seat saved us. We packed it mainly so our baby would have a spot at mealtime, but it ended up being just as useful as a containment device when we needed both hands free.

The seat can be placed on the ground or act as a booster seat on a chair, has a three-point harness and a removable, stashable tray that easily wipes clean. Our designated campsite came with a sturdy wooden picnic table, which made the perfect perch—we plopped the Bumbo on top, put baby in, and she was happy as a clam snacking and watching us set up and take down camp. It’s a simple piece of gear, but on a trip with babies, anything that keeps them happy and in one place for more than five minutes feels like a win.

Baby Sleeping Bag: Morrison Outdoors Little Mo (40F)

The part of family camping that stressed me out most was figuring out how to keep our baby and toddler warm at night. Their regular sleep sacks weren’t nearly warm enough for the 40-degree lows we expected in Colorado’s high country in early June, but putting them in a full snowsuit didn’t seem comfortable, either. The Morrison Outdoors Little Mo baby sleeping bag and Big Mo toddler bag turned out to be the perfect compromise.

Available in a 40-degree synthetic version and a 20-degree down version, we went with the latter, which felt like the safer choice for three-season use. The Little Mo fit our nine-month-old with plenty of room to spare, and the Big Mo was the perfect size for our 2-year-old. Both were roomy enough that the kiddos could move but snug enough to trap heat.

In hindsight, though, I’d probably recommend the 40-degree versions of each bag to families who primarily camp in the summer. Most babies and toddlers run warm, and even in the high country, our kiddos were sweating when we put them down, which only made me more anxious about them getting chilled later in the night. If you do go with the less insulated bag, you can always adjust by layering pajamas underneath. Either way, having a sleep system designed specifically for babies and toddlers gave me peace of mind—and made the whole experience feel a little less daunting.

Reliable Camp Stove: Coleman Classic Propane Stove

 

When you’re camping with kids, the last thing you want is to fiddle with a finicky stove. Hungry kids don’t wait. I’ve been using the same classic Coleman two-burner propane stove for decades, and it’s one piece of gear I don’t see us replacing anytime soon. It’s incredibly durable, reliable, and easy to use—exactly what you need when you’re juggling meal prep with baby wrangling. The built-in wind shields keep the flame steady, and the two adjustable burners can handle a 12-inch and 10-inch pan side by side. With 20,000 BTUs, the stove boils water quickly and we had our pasta dinner on the table in about 15 minutes. It’s nothing fancy, just a workhorse stove that gets the job done—exactly what family camping calls for.

Comfy Camp Chair: Cliq EpiQ Lounge

Before kids, my husband and I never bothered with nice camp chairs. We’d sit just long enough to eat, then spend the rest of the time hiking or biking, so the cheap, uncomfortable ones were fine. But for our first family camping trip, I had this vision of curling up by the fire with my toddler and baby. That’s what convinced us to bring along the Cliq EpiQ Lounge chair.

Reality check: there was no lounging while the kids were awake. Still, the chair earned its keep. When the baby refused to sleep in the tent, I ended up coaxing her to sleep on me in the EpiQ, and it felt almost like being in our nursing chair at home—highback support, integrated pillow, and all. We didn’t get a ton of use out of it on this trip, but it was worth the space. At just 6.5 pounds and packed down to the size of a rolled-up beach towel, it barely made a dent in our already overloaded car. Like other high-end camp chairs, this one’s pricey. But for a cush camp chair that is also highly packable and portable, it feels worth it.

Portable Sound Machine: Roar

Using a sound machine while camping might seem ridiculous, but there’s nothing too ridiculous for parents desperate for a decent night’s sleep. Because campgrounds can be noisy well after dark, we brought along the Roar, a portable sound machine meets Bluetooth speaker that’s become our constant travel companion since having kids. With three sound options (rain, waves, and brown noise), adjustable volume, and a 20-hour battery life, we can count on it to lull the kids to sleep and keep them that way, no matter what’s going on outside the tent. It’s waterproof and durable too, which makes it a safe companion for camping.