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Home > Tips for Backyard Campouts
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Backyard campouts are fun and really require little gear other than some blankets and a pillow or two.
The backyard setting is a great place to try "camping" for the first time. It will provide great insight into what works for you and your family and what does not.
Tips:
Your children will love sleeping in the outdoors. If they are young, they will welcome your presence. If they are pre-teen or teens they will most likely want some independence.
Use some egg crate mattresses, or some of your patio furniture pillows as ground pads instead of renting or buying "official" ones.
Use some older blankets instead or renting or buying sleeping bags.
Sleep out on the ground under the stars and skip the tent. Many late summer and early fall nights are perfect to sleep out without a tent.
A backyard campout weekend is a great way to introduce children or pets to the camping environment.
Plan some games and other outdoor activities. Drive to a local park for a day hike or study the constellations during the day and locate them at night. Younger children will love to explore their yard looking for interesting plants and animals. Take a few blank pieces of paper and sketch what you see. Purchase a field guide for your area and help your children identify the plants, insects and animals in their own yard or neighborhood. Set up an obstacle course with some items from your home and have some races.
A fun craft activity for all ages is to make luminaries from brown paper lunch bags. Fold the bags and cut shapes into them, leaving about 3 inches on the bottom for the candles. Purchase a few glass candles from the dollar store and transform your backyard into a glowing campsite at night.
Backyard campouts are great to transition to car camping sites or backcountry sites. Pack as if you were going to leave home and try not to go inside for anything except to use the restroom. This way you will gain insight into what you need and do not need to take along with you when you go camping.
If you are going on a backcountry trip for the first time. It is easy to try a night in the backyard first. Pack your bags and unpack your camp as if you were in the backcountry and see how things work. What items did you forget? What items could you leave behind?
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