How to Go Camping with a Toddler – The Best Advice

Does the thought of camping with a toddler give you a little anxiety?

Yes? Maybe more than a little anxiety?

Same. Same Same.

But if you love camping, you will love it with your toddler.

I LOVE camping. I love waking to the sun shining in my tent, experiencing new places in nature, being outside, and escaping real life.

Toddlers love different things about camping. But they love it. They love seeing new things, playing in the river, cuddling up with you in the tent, running around outside, and they love adventure.

You can do it. You can absolutely go camping with a toddler – and enjoy it. I’ll explain it all in this guide.

We have now taken our daughter on 3 camping trips, the last of which was a 5 night camping roadtrip. We all had a blast.

Also, I have a post about how to camp with a 1 year old. If that’s your kiddo’s age, head there. While 1-3 year olds are all considered toddlers, I feel that camping with a walking toddler was very different from camping with a 1 year old and warrants different advice.

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 Camping with a Toddler Jump to:

Top Tips for Camping with a Toddler:

For your first camping trip, pick a campsite that isn’t too far from home. If you have to bail, you can get home quickly.

Enjoy the little moments. Camping can be tough at times. Setting up the tent, cooking, etc… it’s work! But immerse yourself in the good moments. Watch your toddler run with joy. Listen to their giggles as they put their hands in a cold water creek. Take a deep breath of gratitude as they hold your hand as they (hopefully) go to sleep.

Make meals as easy as possible. Don’t overcomplicate mealtimes. Use the least amount of dishes possible. Stick to easy recipes. Or maybe just buy takeout or go out to eat. Make it easy. We’ll talk more about meals later in the post.

Talk through what camping is like before you go. Toddlers are smart! And they will do better if they know what to expect.

Let them help. Toddlers love to help. Give them easy camping tasks like unrolling the sleeping bags or carrying things to the campsite or filling the pot with water. They’ll feel more included, and it will keep them occupied.

Check the weather. If it’s going to downpour the whole time, consider cancelling. Soggy camping with a toddler would not be much fun.

Print or download maps ahead of time. If you’re going somewhere that’s out of cell service, make sure you’ll know where you’re going. Often, GPS still works on your phone, but you don’t want to get lost anywhere.

Get to your campsite early. Having to rush to put your campsite together is not fun with a toddler. You want to have the patience to answer their “what’s this?” questions, and that’s hard to do if you’re on a time crunch for getting the tent set up. Give yourselves plenty of time.

Keep them warm at night. I have a whole post about this, but spoiler alert: The Morrison Sleeping Bag Sack is the best way to do it.

Advice for Sleep

My first bit of advice on this subject is to mentally prepare to not get great sleep. A toddler is used to their room at home, so don’t expect them to drift off quickly while in a tent. There are some ways to make sleep better while camping with a toddler, though. Read through my advice and pick what will work best for your toddler. All toddlers are different.

• Try to get them to burn as much energy as possible during the day so they’re tired by bedtime.
• Allow a later bedtime. If it’s mid-summer and bright out, your toddler might not be ready for sleep yet. Try to be relaxed with this.
• Bring some sleep items from home. Blankets, stuffed animals, pillow, etc. that they usually sleep with in their crib or bed.
• Do your usual bedtime routine. Sub bath wipes for a bath, put them in their pajamas, brush their teeth, read stories, sing, cuddle. Do all the things so they realize it’s bedtime.
• Use a portable white noise machine. We use one that lasts all night on its charge; you can charge it during the day in the car. But you can also use one you already have and plug it into a portable charger to make it last all night. Our toddler was very distracted by the noises of other campers, and white noise helped quite a bit.

Here are some options for where your toddler could sleep in the tent:

1. Consider using a pack n play in your tent. Yes, this seems a bit crazy, but if your tent will fit it this can be better than letting them roll around the sleeping pads on the ground of the tent. We tried giving our toddler her own air mattress, and she would not stay on it. Also, if you use the pack n play method, you don’t have to stay in the tent once your toddler goes to bed. You can just be nearby.
2. Consider using a slumber pod over your pack n play. YES, this seems even more crazy. A tent within a tent?! Yes. The slumber pod is a blackout tent, and I promise it helps get them to sleep earlier and gets them to sleep later in the morning. It can be bright until late and bright super early; the slumber pod helps to keep them in the dark, which equals more sleep for everyone.
3. Or you can get them their own air mattress, and give them their own space in the tent. They sell ones with blow up sides, so it feels a little more like their own cozy bed. This didn’t work for our toddler; she just rolled out of it, tried to share my sleeping bag, and neither of us slept.
4. Or if you all co-sleep at home, just sleep on a big air mattress together. Sounds cozy. And because they’re used to it, your toddler will probably be less amped about getting to sleep next to mom and dad. This might work great for you.

What to Do for Naps

If your toddler is still taking an afternoon nap, this will be tougher while camping. The tent can get quite hot once the morning sun is hitting it, and you won’t be able to have them nap in a hot tent.

You might have other ways to get your kiddo a nap, so utilize those while camping.

Try a car ride (especially if you’re doing a camping roadtrip – time the driving for naptime), a carrier hike (this works like a dream for our toddler), or a stroller walk somewhere.

And if they skip their nap, that’s ok. Roll with it and aim for an earlier bedtime.

Clothing

Pack lots of layers! Weather can change a lot in a day, so be prepared for everything.

Pants are helpful to prevent bug bites. Bring t-shirts, long sleeves, and sweatshirts. If you’re camping in really cold weather, bring warm clothing – hat, mittens, warm coat, fleece pants, etc.

I stressed A LOT about how to keep our kiddo warm during cold nights while camping. And I’m now obsessed with this Morrison Sleep Sack. It’s a wearable sleeping bag for 20-60 degrees. Our toddler rolled around so much, she wouldn’t have stayed contained in a regular sleeping bag. This sleep sack was perfect, and I didn’t have to lay there and wonder if she was cold.

I have a whole post about how to keep a baby or toddler warm while camping in cold weather if this hasn’t convinced you.

We also love these sun hats and this rain suit for our toddler while camping.

And don’t forget a swimsuit if there’s anywhere to get in the water!

Meals while Camping with a Toddler

Key word here: EASY.

I promise you will not want to make complicated, time-consuming meals while camping with a toddler.

It always takes longer than you think to cook while camping – you can never find all the supplies, the water seems to take longer to boil, and before you know it everyone is hangry.

Pick really easy recipes, make things your toddler will eat, print the recipes so you don’t have to keep looking at your phone, and don’t make things that equal a lot of dishes. Doing the dishes while camping is not fun.

I’m not a fan of disposable dishes, but if using a few paper plates while camping will make your time with your toddler better, do it. Another option is to put dirty dishes in a sealable bin in your car and wash them when you get home.

Meal Ideas:

• Campfire Nachos
• Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, and Corn on the Cob
• Spaghetti
• Grilled Cheese using a hoagie pie maker
• Mac n Cheese
• Foil Packet Meals – throw a protein and veggies in foil, seal it and put it in the fire for 20 mins
• Oatmeal, bagels, etc. for breakfast

These extendable marshmallow/hot dog sticks are awesome.

Bring ALL the Snacks

Do not let your toddler go hungry while on a camping trip. It’s not fun for anyone, they’re less likely to listen, and you will be tired and less capable of dealing with it.

Toddlers might not like the camping food, and they get easily distracted by their surroundings. Our toddler just didn’t eat as well at mealtimes while camping.

Bring so many snacks. Always have them available.

We had lots of options: bananas, pouches (helpful for fruits and veggies!), granola, apples, crackers, toddler cheese puffs, breakfast bars, carrot sticks….

Snacks for you are important too! Just make sure your whole family is well-fed, and you will have a happier time.

The Best Toileting Advice for Camping with a Toddler

I feel like I REALLY aced this part.

Pit toilets are mildly terrifying to 3 year olds – and why wouldn’t they be? They could literally fit in there and fall into a poop abyss. And most camp bathrooms are not the most hygienic.

You can absolutely use the regular bathrooms with your 3 year old. Mine has….

BUT – and this is my top camping with a toddler tip – you can also pack a travel potty with a bag that fits into the potty, let them use that, and then throw away the bag. They can poop or pee anywhere, so you don’t have to walk all the way to the camp bathroom every time they need to go. It’s also helpful in the car if you’re road-tripping to a campsite and there are no bathrooms around.

If your toddler is still in diapers, just bring lots of diapers and wipes. Have garbage bags to put them in, and dispose of them properly.

Toddler Items for Camping

This will obviously change depending on where you’re camping, what you’re doing, the weather, etc. But this is the gist of what to pack for your toddler. 

Head to this Camping with Toddlers Checklist for Packing + Free Download for everything you need to bring with you.

• Clothes: Tops, bottoms, underwear or pull-ups, socks, hat, pajamas. Usually we let our toddler wear her pajamas for more than one night, but I recommend bringing a clean pair for each night. Jovie would wear hers in the morning and get them dirty.
• Warm stuff: If it’ll be cool in the evenings/mornings. Warm hat, warmer pants, jacket, mittens.
• Rain gear: I love this rain suit.
• Swim Stuff: Swimsuit, floaties/life jacket, towel.
• Shoes: Sneakers, water shoes, boots if needed.
• Morrison Sleep Sack: if it will get cold overnight. This is the best way to keep them warm.
• Sleep Surface: Pack n play, air mattress, etc. + the Slumber Pod if you want to go that route
• Some Toys: You definitely don’t need to bring a lot of toys, they’ll occupy themselves in nature. Bring some water/sand toys if you’ll be near either, bubbles, and a drawing board.
• Usual Sleep Things: blanket, stuffed animals, pillow, book before bed, etc.
• Travel Potty with Bags: SO helpful. Or diapers.
• Toiletry Items: Toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, wet wipes, bath wipes, ponytail holders, soap/shampoo.
• Water Bottle, utensils, plate, bowl.
• Sun Stuff: Sunscreen, sun hat.
• White Noise Machine
• Their own flashlight
• A carrier or hiking backpack
• First aid kit

Safety while Camping with a Toddler

Please be safe when camping with your toddler! Please.

Explain safety issues to them: don’t get close to fire, don’t go near cliff edges, stay near your campsite, etc.

Be aware of where they are and what they’re doing. We had eyes on our toddler at almost all times.

Bring a First Aid Kit. Pack itch cream, alcohol pads, band aids, gauze, etc. Falls and scrapes just happen more often when you’re outside.

Don’t let them fall off high cliffs or into water.

I hate to say this, but you never know who you’re camping near. Don’t just let your little one wander off.

How to Camp with a Toddler in Bear Country

Keep all smelly things in bear lockers or locked safely in your car. Do whatever the campground says.

Do not let smelly stuff in the tent. If your toddler spills a plate of spaghetti on their clothes, don’t let those clothes in the tent.

We didn’t want our toddler to have a huge fear of bears. We explained that bears don’t want to come by us, so we have to keep our food locked up so they’re not tempted. She was very concerned about a bear coming to eat all our peanut butter, but it did help her to understand why we were being so weird about smelly things.

Also, teach your toddler to never approach wildlife.

That’s it! Now you can go camping with your toddler 🙂

If you’ve taken your toddler camping and have advice that I missed, please comment below. And if you’re new to camping with your toddler and have questions I didn’t address, please ask in the comments!

I write these posts because I genuinely want to help people do these cool things outdoors. If there’s anything I can do to help you out, let me know 🙂

Happy Toddler Camping!

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