I’m packing for an overnight family camping trip with my 5-year old Alexander. We are going to Portola Redwood State Park. I also found a nice trail description at BAhiker.com, a great bay area hiking site (photo courtesy of BAhiker.com). My biggest pain point with travel with kids (especially travel with toddlers and babies) is figuring out what to pack. Well, I am going to blog all of my packing lists so I won’t lose them, and it speeds my packing the next time I take a similar family camping trip.

Packing List for Family Camping (1 5 yr old, 1 dad):

Shelter/Sleeping:

• tent, 2 person, with rain fly (note: does NOT work for 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 toddler/baby)
• tent pad
• extra tarp/pad (for putting stuff on in front of the tent and keeping it clean
• Thermarest inflatable pads (or if my wife is coming, I think she wants an air mattress!)
• Sleeping bags
• Pillow

Food Preparation:

• Coleman stove with propane
• Matches
• Firestarter
• Charcoal briquettes (Matchlight version for easier lighting)
• Plastic Tablecloth
• Duck Tape (to tape down the tablecloth on the table)
• Gallon water jug
• Ice Chest
• Pots and Pans (non-stick)
• Plates, cups, utensils, napkins, wips
• Detergent and scrubber/sponge
• Cooking Oil
• Trash bags
• Ziploc bags (gallon and quart; always have extra ziplocs, they always come in handy)
• Purell
• Paper towels
• Fork, Bowl, Colander, Knife
• Mini Cutting Board
• Cup (plastic, for hot liquids, can be purchased at REI)

Menu for dinner/breakfast:

• This time we are doing burgers and hot dogs, grilled over the grill at the campsite
• Last time we did spaghetti and meat sauce, with precooked ground beef in the ice chest, mixed into canned sauce
• Breakfast: pancake mix, eggs, cooking oil, maple syrup, strawberries
• Beverages: coffee (instant), hot chocolate bags

Evening around camp:

• Coleman battery operated lantern
• Headlamp (wish I had 2 of them)
• Flashlight
• Folding Chairs (from Costco)
• Down jackets/vest
• Comfy shoes (sneakers, Crocs)

Toiletries:

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Quick dry towel
• Wipees (Huggies are the best IMHO)

Emergency Pack

• Matches
• Knife
• Compass
• Rope
• Small emergency thermal blanket (can be purchased at REI, size 2″ x 2″ x 4″; I have carried it on 10+ camping/backpacking trips and never had to use it, but always feel better having it.)
• Spare shoelaces
• Cloth bandage for wrapping around sprained ankle
• Med kit: Neosporin, Band-Aids, Scissors, Pain relievers, etc.

Daytime activities:

• Hats
• Sunscreen
• Backpack
• Water bottles
• Snacks
• Good hiking shoes for me and Alexander

So that is it. Seems like a lot but I guess its no big deal since we are just car camping. And this one is easy because we are leaving the baby behind with mom.

Anything I missed?