Tips for Camping in Your Backyard

Nature

Maybe your kids have BEGGED you to do some backyard camping, or maybe you’re just seeing if you can even handle camping for one night and want to stay close to home. For us, it’s usually about breaking in the new camping gear! Whatever your reasons, below you’ll find some experienced tips for camping in your backyard! If you’re considering buying a camper, read this first.

You can absolutely just throw a pop up tent in the backyard and call it a day – and we still do this when the kids are just out having fun. But if you’re planning a dry run for a camping trip then you definitely want to take the time to have a plan and think ahead.

The great thing about camping in your backyard is that you have literally everything at your disposal! If you run into any thunderstorms, broken tent gear, etc. you can just sleep in the house! The biggest downside to camping in your backyard is not being prepared. Let me explain.

The first few times my kids decided to camp in the backyard we just popped up a quick tent and then left to back to our regular routine. We didn’t stop to check the weather which would have told us to take the extra few minutes to put a cover on the tent so it wouldn’t rain inside.

We didn’t bother weighting the tent down because we were in a hurry to let the kids have their fun so we could go back to our chores….let’s just say wind + unweighted tent = an interesting experience! So you see, even though you are “just” camping at home there are still some things you need to take the time to do!

Tips for Camping in Your Backyard:

1. Check the weather! I’m not even kidding you, I can’t tell you how many times we just popped a tent up without a consideration if there was a lightning storm or rain storm headed our way! It left us scrambling and with some very wet items and disappointed kids!
2. Clear the ground. The first thing you’ll want to do before you even put your tent up is to decide where in the backyard you want to camp! Consider things like street lights, safety, the type of ground you will be sleeping on (gravel, sand, grass, concrete, etc), and inclines. Check for piles of ants, clear sticks, any seed pods/fruit tree debris and rocks out of the way before starting.
3. It might not be a bad idea to add your rain fly on for cover just in case it rains along with checking the weather! We have woken up in the middle of the night to surprise rain storms so it wont hurt to add your rain cover on!
4. Weight your tent down. We’ve all seen those horror stories about kids being tossed through the air inside an unweighted tent or bouncy house in a wind storm. Don’t be that person! It’s SO easy to forget basic camping safety measures when you’re in your own backyard! Use tent stakes if possible or weight down your tent with gallons of water or other heavy objects.
5. Consider protection. It doesn’t matter whether I’m camping in my own yard or camping in the middle of nowhere, I always have some sort of protection with us. Whether it’s a stray dog or raccoon, someone walking by the property in the middle of the night or any other number of things, it’s a good idea to even teach the kids how to handle the unexpected. Consider things like a long handled heavy duty flashlight, baseball bat, stun gun, etc.
6. Write it down! If you’re doing a dry run for an away-from-home camping experience then I highly recommend you write down what you need! It will help you build your ultimate packing list so you don’t forget the small things like tent stakes, a hammer, extension cords, etc.
7. Don’t store food in your tent! One tempting thing to do, especially for kids, is to grab all their snacks in the house and then bring them in the tent! You may not be worried about bears discovering your Pop-tart crumbs in the backyard but ants and other critters definitely will! If you absolutely need to have snacks with you eat outside of your tent and store them in an airtight container.
8. Bring a flashlight! Or glow sticks for extra fun! You’ll definitely want a camping lantern, flashlight, or glow sticks so that you can see inside the tent and as you stumble across the yard in the dark!
9. Consider a white noise machine! Whether you’re camping around the country or camping in your backyard, I always recommend having a white noise machine! It helps drown out loud neighbors, noises from nearby highways, the spooky wind and rustle of leaves, and other things you may not be used to hearing as you fall asleep at night.

10. Don’t be discouraged! If you end up indoors or something goes wrong – don’t be discouraged! After camping across tens of thousands of miles there are still things that happen that I just can’t plan for!

11. Remember everything you bring out you have to bring back in! Not to be a “debbie downer”, but remember that if you are carting all sorts of toys, electronics, fluffy pillows, etc into your tent – it all has to be put back! Unless you’re glamping (more on that below), just bringing the necessities for camping will take up plenty of room as it is!

More interested in glamping than actual camping? My friend Tonya has some DIY glamping tips and glamping ideas on a budget!

OR if you’re camping with the kids this DIY magnetic camping set is AWESOME for passing time as is our NO SEW camping play set!

Cool Places to Camp in the USA:

Camping in a Cave in Moab Utah for $75! – Booking Details, Views, & Tips

Campgrounds Caves Nature Oddities

It has been my dream to sleep in a cave but they’re always CRAZY expensive to rent! When I discovered Kane Creek Campground I immediately booked for us to go camping in a cave in Moab, Utah. And it was ONLY $75! You absolutely NEED to know a few things that we experienced though!

First of all, I noticed they closed for the remainder of 2020 due to covid so just a heads up if you’re looking to stay! OK, we camped for 40 straight nights on our 9000 mile road trip and this was by FAR the most remote and solitary (but incredible!) experience we had. It was an AMAZING experience and I would hands down do it again – but you’ll want to know a few things before you go.

Video Walking through the Cave in Moab:

The drive to get to the “campgrounds” is AMAZING. You’ll see in photo below that the view next to the Colorado River is absolutely unparalleled. Hands down one of the prettiest drives to a campground ever. You’ll drive by Moonflower Canyon and loads of petroglyphs which you can find more about here.

The actual “check-in” was pretty non-existent. The entire experience was confusing and the entire weekend I never saw a single person….ever. It was a little unnerving to be honest. I wasn’t really sure where I was driving to but found a mobile home past a few tent sites on the side of the road that seemed like it was the “camp host”. It was more like someone living next to a few tent sites. No signs.

I knocked on the door to “check in” and no one answered. There was a phone number to call on the door if no one was home but that far into the canyon I had no cell phone reception so I had to drive back into town to get cell phone reception. It wasn’t a HUGE deal but it was over 100* that week and I was driving and hiking by myself with 3 kids.

Colorado River scenic view near cave in Moab

The road to Cane Creek campground.

Once we got back into town for cell phone reception no one answered the camp phone number or ever called me back. So I decided to drive back down to what seemed like it might be the campground area (again, there are NO signs down there!). Notice a lot of confusion here?!

On the right side of the road you’ll see some tent sites. Past that is the mobile home I mentioned. KEEP DRIVING – on the left side when you are REALLY thinking you’re totally hopelessly lost and in the middle of nowhere – that’s where you’ll find it.

I found a sign with cave rules in the gravel parking lot and was not prepared at all for how steep it was to hike up into the cave! In fact from the parking lot area look up and you can barely see the cave entrance. There’s no marked path or anything to get up there either – you’re going to need to have sturdy shoes and a firm foot to climb up the side of the steep hill. (watch the video to get an idea of how steep!)

It was quite the ordeal after hiking in 112* temperatures in the national parks that week to carry our tent and gear with 3 kids by myself up the incredibly steep incline. I had previously read the reviews warning of the height up but mostly dismissed HOW steep it was. Thank goodness my boys helped me tremendously! Trust me when I say that you will NOT want to be hauling much of anything up there!

It was such an odd feeling to show up and camp without even seeing a single person but I absolutely won’t knock the experience camping in a cave – it was the coolest thing we did all summer! There was a picnic table up there and a small campfire area too. My kids and I literally had the entire hillside (entire valley??) AND the entire cave to ourselves! The cave was impressive in size considering we had the whole thing!

Inside of the Cave in Moab:

Below are tips on camping in a cave to help you know better what to expect but the view as you can see from our cave was just breath taking. Make sure you watch the video above for a complete picture – W.O.W. I knew the floor would (obviously) be hard but I wasn’t expecting the swarm of mosquitos!

We had camped at Slick Rock Campgrounds in Moab the night before and the mosquitos were worst than I had ever seen in my life! I expected being so high up and in a cave we’d be mosquito free but that simply wasn’t the case.

The inside of the cave was HUGE!

Noises are amplified in the cave at night. Sometime during the night a whole bunch of four wheelers were screaming and driving around on the sides of the hill where we were and my gosh it sounded like they were literally in our cave.

Being alone in a desolated area with 3 kids by myself I was getting really nervous because it sounded like they were in our tent it was so loud! I couldn’t tell if anyone was approaching the cave or if they were on the other side of the valley. Although I was a little unsettled we were totally safe and it was just annoying to be woken up during the night.

View from Inside the Cave Looking Out:

Inside of the cave looking out to the Colorado River.

Let’s talk about bathrooms. There’s a wonderful building with showers and toilets down on the other side of the parking lot – a very impressive bathroom set up considering you’re literally in the middle of nowhere.

The only downside of camping with 3 kids up a very steep hillside in a cave is that if you need to use the bathroom at all you have to hike back down the very steep hill and across the parking lot to use the bathroom! Just a little finagling since I could leave me boys on their own up at the cave but not my 4 year old!

Although it was eerily desolate and I was confused on never being able to “check in”, I hands down preferred this experience over my over-crowded experience at Slick Rock Campgrounds just down the road. Kane Creek Campgrounds (known to me as the cave in Moab since there are no camp signs anywhere that I could find) was affordable and the most unique experience I’ve ever had.

I mean have YOU ever slept in a cave or woken up in the morning to views like this!?

Tips for Camping Inside a Cave:

You will not be able to “stake” your tent down so be mindful of your equipment. We used this specific Coleman pop up tent for our entire 9000 mile road trip and it was perfect for use in the cave!
If using a pop up tent in an open cave like this be forewarned that it can stir up a LOT of dust inside the cave when opening up your tent! I highly recommend setting up your tent before you actually need to get inside so that you can let the dust settle a bit! We actually put our rainfly on the tent to help keep the dust out.
Typically inside a cave is cooler temperatures, but this cave was so open that it was still quite hot! If you’re sleeping in an underground cave make sure you have warm sleeping bags, socks, etc. If you’re somewhere hot like Moab, make sure you have water!
Bring a flashlight! It doesn’t matter whether you’re in an open cave like this one in Moab or you’re in an underground cave – there will be no lights when the sun goes down. You definitely don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and whack your head on a rock.
Understand the ground is harder than hard with potential rocks! If you’re tent camping you’re used to sleeping on hard ground, but in a cave you may also have uneven rock or rocks you’re maneuvering around. I recommend an extra sleeping pad or something soft to help cover the hard ground.
Bathrooms might not come easy in a cave! More than likely if you’re sleeping in a cave there’s no bathroom there with you! As mentioned this cave in Moab had bathrooms (sort of) near-ish. Always bury any waste and not in your cave! You may need to have your own toilet paper on hand.
Have a weapon of some kind – a stick, baseball bat, stun gun, anything. I was traveling alone with 3 kids for 9000 miles – I kept a long flashlight and a stun gun by my side at all times. Not only for protection against people but against wild animals.

Tips for Camping in Hot Weather:

Always have water! We traveled our entire trip with 4 gallons of water in our van at all times and additionally each person lived with a water bottle attached to them. I was concerned about our van breaking down and with the temperatures soaring well over 110*. I wasn’t taking any chances.
Having a portable battery operated fan won’t hurt!
Dress for the weather AND environment! While it may be extremely hot you need to be mindful of sunburns (during the day of course) and mosquitos at night. If you need long sleeves and long pants keep them light and airy!
Have protein packed snacks available. Although you don’t really feel like eating in the heat, make sure you keep protein packed snacks handy. Being overheated and hungry is a bad combination!

More Unique Adventures:

Where to go Camping Near Mt. St. Helens

Campgrounds Nature West

While researching destinations on our 9000 mile road trip we quickly realized that getting to Mt. St. Helens was similar to getting to the Grand Canyon – it very much depended what direction you were coming from! We went camping near Mt. St. Helens on the west side.

We were heading north on the Pacific Coast Highway through California and Oregon when we decided visiting Mt. St. Helens Johnston Observatory was a must on our itinerary.

There were five of us tent camping so we were looking for a decent non-primitive spot to pitch our tent for a night or two. (You can disperse camp for free!) It also happened to be over the 4th of July weekend which was a real treat!

We ended up staying at the Longview North Mt. St. Helens KOA which provided a PHENOMENAL fireworks show! Wowza! Plus they had a darling public herb garden to use for our dinner!

On our way over to Mt. St. Helens we stopped in at the Forest Learning Center as part of the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument Headquarters and Visitor Centers. The Forest Learning Center is FREE and absolutely worth stopping at but be aware that it closes earlier than the surrounding visitor centers.

*If you’re looking for a hike in primitive camp option then there are plenty of places to camp in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest not listed below. You can also find some stellar spots using Hipcamp!

Below are places to go camping near Mt. St. Helens in Washington based on whether you’re entering from the north, east, south or west directions.

The below camping options are not primitive (meaning they have toilets and showers!) and require no permits or additional hiking to access. All great family and casual camping options.

Hiking & Camping Gift Ideas:

Camping on the West Side of Mt. St. Helens:

If you’re looking for a typical “visit the visitor’s center and view the location” travel experience you will probably want to stay on the west side of Mt. St. Helens.

Longview North Mt. St. Helens KOA– Located at 167 Schaffran Rd Castle Rock, WA 98611, we chose this campgrounds because of it’s price and location next to I-5. It’s a bit of a drive to make it to Johnston Observatory from I-5 so we opted for staying near major highways due to our itinerary. Take exit 49 onto 504 from I-5. RV and tent options. Pets ok. Website here.
Silver Cove RV Resort – Located at 351 Hall Road Silverlake, WA 98645. RV, Cabin, Cottage andTiny Home options. Pets ok. Website here.
Eco Park Resort – Located at 14000 Spirit Lake Hwy., Toutle, WA this is the closest accommodations to Mt. St. Helens that you can get. Just look for the totem pole near mile marker 24 on SR 504. Tent, RV, yurt and cabin options. Website here.
Silver Lake Resort – Located at 3201 Spirit Lake Hwy, Silver Lake, WA 98645. Tent, RV, cabins and motel options. Website here.
Seaquest State Park – Located across the street from the visitor’s center at 3030 Spirit Lake Highway Castle Rock, WA 98611. Hiker/biker sites, tent, RV, yurts and cabin options. Website here.
Kid Valley Campground – Located at 9360 Spirit Lake Highway, Toutle Wa 98649. Tent and RV options. Website here.
Toutle River RV Resort – Located at 150 Happy Trails, Castle Rock Washington 98611. RV, tent and cabin options. Pets ok. Website here.
Dome Camp – not for the faint of heart! More info here.

Camping on the East Side of Mt. St. Helens:

Iron Creek Campground, Blue Lake Creek Campground and Tower Rock Campground are both US Forest Service locations for camping on the remote north side of Mt. St. Helens. Many US Forest Service camping options require primitive camping or hiking to access so make sure to research each location.

Camping on the North Side of Mt. St. Helens:

Tower Rock U-Fish RV Park – Located at 137 Cispus Drive, Randle WA 98377. Tent, RV and cabin options. Cash only. Website here.

Camping on the South Side of Mt. St. Helens:

Eagle Cliff Store and Campground – Located east of Cougar, WA. Tent, RV and cabin options. Website here.
Swift Forest Camp – Located at 14752 Forest Service Road 90 Cougar, WA 98616. Tent and RV options. Boat launch access. Open to camping through November 30 each year. Website here.
Beaver Bay Campground – Located in Cougar, WA. Tent and RV options. Website here.
Lone Fir Resort – Located at 16806 Lewis River Rd. Cougar, WA 98616 RV, tent and cabin options. CLOSE to Ape Cave! Website here.
Cougar RV Park and Campground – Located in Cougar, WA – also close to Ape Cave! Tent, RV and cabin options. Pets ok. Website here.
Merrill Lake Conservation Area Campground – Located near Cougar, WA. Boat launch access. Pets ok. Website here.

If you’ve stayed at any of the campgrounds above or found other camping options nearby leave us a comment and let us know about your experience!

Nearby Hiking in Washington:

Lava Tubes for Kids to Climb in Washington - Trail of Two Forests

Spook Cave & Campground in McGregor, Iowa

Campgrounds Caves Midwest Nature

Iowa has so many amazing campgrounds and places in nature to visit (but then again doesn’t every state in the USA?) but I was incredibly excited when I discovered Spook Cave & Campgrounds in McGregor, Iowa. I’m a hardcore cave enthusiast so any cave you have to take a boat through is always on my list. We actually decided to rent a cabin for 2 days and just enjoy a restful weekend away.

There’s not too much in McGregor but nearby Dubuque has plenty to keep you busy. And if you enjoy relaxing and being outdoors you may find that you’ll just want to settle in at Spook Cave and skip any surrounding destinations anyway. (Although we couldn’t resist also checking out Crystal Lake Cave which was pretty awesome too!)

The campgrounds were very quiet and serene our entire weekend there and we saw very few people even though the campground looked pretty full. We hopped on the small boat and waited for our cave tour to begin. I loved that there was this little bridge over the “lake” (more like a very small pond!) so that you could walk directly in front of the entrance for pictures and watch the boats glide underneath you.

Everything out of the experience was like it leaped off of the pages of a serene mystery book….right down to the birds nest hanging under the old iron bridge.

WARNING – Spook Cave is NOT for the claustrophobic. Just in case you couldn’t tell by these photos. YES – you must actually LAY DOWN in the tiny little boat to fit through the entrance. It definitely adds to the aura and allure of Spook Cave but please be forewarned that you must duck or lay down quite low for a good 20 seconds in the boat in an awkward position and in an extremely tight space. Once you make it through the opening the cave opens up though and you can enjoy the rest of your damp spooky ride with tall ceilings.

Believe it or not my husband and I actually went on the cave tour twice. My 7 month old (at the time) screamed almost the entire way through it which was pretty awful since you can imagine the echos the cave produced – our poor tour guide! I couldn’t hear a thing over her screams. (she decided she was hungry again and we didn’t have her bottle with us!) Thankfully my in laws offered to watch her so I could go back through and actually enjoy the cave! Our tour guide was extremely knowledgable and really seemed to enjoy his job.

If you have small children you may want to remind them before you go in that there is nothing that will pop out or hurt them! Although it is not truly spooky it’s a dark cave and both of our tour guides told tales as we boated past a fake floating alligator and loudly banged on the side of the boat. Honestly I thought it was an awesome effect but could certainly bother skittish children. Overall definitely a cool experience!

As for the campgrounds itself we just fell in love with the property and wish it were closer to visit more often! The cabin we rented was just stunning and fit all 7 of us (4 adults & 3 kids) nicely with a giant wrap around porch and awesome fire pit. There was a swimming lake out in the back that was just so quiet and serene. Portable bathrooms were nearby and you could drive right down to the lake which was nice. I did notice there were some tent sites available down there too. One side of the lake was for fishing and one was for swimming.

As we were enjoying the lake and fishing my boys were psyched to watch a train roll on by! It was just a surreal weekend – we had such a great time and my boys are already begging to go back.

Up in the front of the campgrounds you actually drive past a small waterfall and creek where you can go fishing. We didn’t have any luck with fish up there but my boys did have a blast catching tons of crayfish! We made good use of our GoPro camera here and really took some cool shots of the crayfish in action as my boys chased them around! They left no rock unturned!

Before You Buy a Camper READ THIS

blog

As our kids get older our list of places we want to take them in the US is growing larger and larger so I knew we had to narrow down road trip expenses even more if we wanted to keep up on road trips the next few years. (Don’t think you can afford a camper or travel? This is our saving for travel method here.)

Although we have talked about the idea of a buying a camper for several years now and saving for it we just never pulled the plug until this year. And in the next 2 years we will have already saved the money on travel that we spent on our camper.

Our kids are 13, 11 and 5. Soon they’ll all be teenagers with jobs, extracurricular schedules, and then grown and out of the house. This camper was an investment in our family. Remember how I said we hit the road hard in the summers? Well one summer we went camping across 9000 miles! Read more about our trip here.

Add up the cost of lodging and the ability to make all of our meals instead of eating out 3x’s a day and there’s the cost of our camper right there- without needing to unpack and repack every night. It absolutely adds to the convenience and although you can certainly spend a fortune buying a camper, you don’t have to!

However when we bought our camper we quickly learned there were a few more expenses than we had planned on. So if you’re considering purchasing a camper here are a few things to keep in mind that I wish we had know before buying.

What to Know Before Buying a Camper:

1.. Future Trip Expenses – This was the most obvious thing we considered. A camper is WAY cheaper per night than a hotel hands down (from free to $30ish/night, but sometimes it’s more than tent camping. (more below on overnight costs and tips) Sometimes there are different fees and options for hooking up (electricity, water, etc.) and of course if you have a bathroom in your camper you’ll need to consider the possibility of dumping fees (although many places include dumping for free).

But you’ll also need to factor in the difference on gas mileage, maintenance (tires, windows, seals, screens, awnings, etc.). And if you’re like us you may take more mini trips closer to home than you normally would because “it’s so cheap” – but it’s still an additional expense to consider.

2. Hitch & Tow Capacity – Ah yes, did I tell you we drive a mini van? Typically they don’t tow much – at all. This was the biggest thing holding us back (aside from cost of course) the past several years. We couldn’t figure out what exactly our vehicle could handle. After talking with several mechanics, referring to the car manual and reading a zillion online forums we finally put together what our vehicle could handle.

However, in order to tow most vans will need an additional towing package installed. Along with that you will need to have a ball hitch on the back of your vehicle. (obviously) This setup can run another $200-$600 if you don’t have one.

For our specific make and model Town & Country we also would have needed to install a specialty transmission cooling system which would have run about $600 except that again, we lucked out BIG time and found out that ours was already installed when we purchased it. If you need to modify your vehicle the initial expenses can add up.

3. Sway Bar & Stabilizer – As newbie campers we found out about these things after buying our camper and giving it a spin in town. Although not required you may find yourself in need of at least a stabilizer depending on your vehicle and possibly a sway bar.

So when we hooked up our cute little camper to our minivan we found that the van sits so low to the ground (compared to a big truck) that our camped leaned into the van and the middle tongue joint was dangerously low to the ground (I’m talking just a few inches off the ground). Any bump we went over would hit the concrete. Although we were able to partially adjust this by cutting pipes we will definitely need to purchase a stabilizer before heading on any longer trips. (a stabilizer will help redistribute the weight so that the tongue joint sits up higher off the ground)

TIP – if you find this to be your problem try flipping your ball hitch around – it’s made to sit higher on one side! It helps at least a few inches. A good stabilizer can easily set you back a few hundred dollars and so can a sway bar.

4. Taxes, Title Transfer, & Insurance – Ah, the nitty gritty legal details. YES – even if it’s a pull behind camper it still needs to be insured! At least in my state – double check your state laws. Either way I recommend it.

You’ll have to pay taxes based on the purchase amount, fees for title transfer (although usually nominal) and insurance costs each year. For us it added about $100 annually onto our insurance policy. Not a deal breaker but something to factor in.

A note on insurance – although it’s certainly an extra expense it may just pay itself off! Sadly about a year after we had our first camper while we were driving in the middle of the night one of the tires shredded off on the highway and ripped out pretty much everything inside the camper including the tanks and wires. It was a total loss – but covered by insurance!

5. Propane – If you have any appliances or heater in your camper that runs on propane this will be an added expense. Or of course if you decided to use a propane grill. We have decided to use as much electricity as we can when we hook up at campgrounds to save on propane costs but don’t forget to factor in the possibility of this cost!

We are even bringing this electric air/heater on the cold/hot nights instead of running the gas all night. We also do a lot of cooking on this electric stove top we just set on top of our propane stove to save the extra expense.

6. Filling the Camper – This isn’t necessarily a cost you think of when considering the purchase of a camper but it’s definitely one to keep in mind – especially if you’re on a strict budget or tight income. Depending on your camper you may need things like sleeping bags, bed sheets, RV safe toilet paper, storage containers, pots/pans, dishes, towels, flashlights, Command strips, camping chairs, cooking utensils, tarp, rope, screen/vinyl repair kits, camper locks, and a myriad of other supplies you may need while traveling.

These are mostly all great to buy second hand and items you can purchase while you are saving for your camper.

A Few Thoughts on Lodging:

I’m not going to go into huge detail on lodging because there is plenty you can find by looking online but a few thoughts and tips that might be helpful.

National Parks – If you want to stay at a National Park (like Yellowstone, Redwood Forest, etc.) I recommend getting a reservation as EARLY as possible – like 12 months before if you can. There are many places that don’t take reservations. You can try your luck at driving in to see if they have open camping spots for the night but with smaller kids and the amount of miles we put on a road trip we personally want our reservations set in place. Note that many locations do NOT have complete hookups.
State Parks – This is where we have the most reservations right now since we only spend a night or 2 in one spot before moving on. These are typically CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! I’m talking about $15-$20 a night. Some high traffic areas cost more but overall extremely affordable. Again make sure you see what kind of hookups the park offers, bathrooms, showers, electricity, dumping, etc. And some states (like Wisconsin and Michigan) require you to have a state parks pass in order to enter the parks including for camping.
Boondocking & Dispersed Camping – We don’t have much experience with this yet but we will! It’s absolutely FREE, there are no reservations, and they are usually outside of campground areas in the middle of nowhere. Great for peace and quiet, but remember there are no bathrooms, trash cans, water, electricity, etc. so it is primitive. Plus camping on forest park service land is free!
Parking Lots – Need a free night or somewhere to sleep in a pinch? ALWAYS double check first but many rest areas, visitors centers, Walmart, and other large retail stores or outdoor stores (like Cabela’s) will allow you to spend 1 night in their parking lots. Again do some research and look around. It’s always a good idea to ask the location before you set up camp for the night of course. Just know that high traffic area means more lights and more noise at night – but free is free.
Private Campgrounds – I use google and Roadtrippers to search for other nearby campgrounds. Not always but typically these cost a little more a night ($30-$40ish) per night but also have better amenities which can be a huge bonus if you are traveling with kids or staying put for a while. Sometimes it’s fishing, tubing, laundry, playgrounds, mini golf or other family friendly activities. (Note that not all of those amenities are free activities!) Another big bonus is laundry facilities (although we’re considering this portable washer for our camper)! You can always look for a KOA or Jellystone campground but again, a little pricier. Also check out AirBnB or Hip Camp to see if you can park in someone’s backyard.
Extended Camping – If you are looking to just chill out in one location it’s much cheaper to pay for a monthly or weekly rate than move around often like we do! You can also volunteer to be a campground host and get free campsites in exchange for a few hours of work!

Camping Cocktails Recipe: Cold Whiskey Spiked Tea Recipe

Recipes

This spiked tea recipe is SO crazy simple and amazing!

You’ve spent all day in the hot sun and all you want to do is sit down in the shade with a nice cold drink. This amazing camping cocktail recipe is for YOU! Grab a little bit of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey and try out this Spiked Tea Recipe.

Spiked Tea Ingredients:

1 Shot of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
Your Favorite Lemon Flavored Iced Tea (OR black tea + fresh lemon juice)
Fresh Sliced Lemon

Spiked Tea Directions:

Take your lemon and slice it up on the thinner side.
Once your Lemon is sliced, take half of the lemon slices from your lemon and place them in your glass. One half of a lemon per cocktail.

3. Next, take one shot of Jack Daniels & pour it into your glass. If you’re having a rough day, go ahead and add a second shot. If you go with two shots, you will taste the Jack! So beware. You have been warned.

4. Top your glass off with your favorite chilled lemon flavored iced tea! I love making cocktails with Lipton myself! In a pot I pour one gallon of water, a family sized Lipton tea bag, and heat it on low just enough to warm up and steep the tea. Then I add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of lemon juice depending on your tastes!

5. Stir well! You can easily glam up your glass like I have above by using a fork to arrange your lemons.

Buffalo Trace Park: Best Campground in Indiana to Explore the Cave Trail

Campgrounds Midwest Nature

This spring I was invited to come out and tour the Indiana Cave Trail (which is AMAZING!) but I needed somewhere somewhat centrally located to stay as I explored. Harrison County Parks invited me to stay in one of their gorgeous cabins in Buffalo Trace Park and you’ll see in this post that I’m SO glad they did! It was amazing – what an experience! This park is actually in the town of Palmyra located in southern Indiana (north west of Louisville).

Wildlife at Buffalo Trace Park:

THIS WAS EPIC! Chances are you’ve scanned and already seen the photos below but I want to tell you what happened! My first night at Buffalo Trace Park I decided to head out around sunset and drive through the park to see what else was there besides the cabins. As I was pulling around the lake on the way to the beach I saw this AMAZING bushy tailed red fox running right down the middle of the road! I couldn’t believe it! I quickly zoomed my car into a parking spot and grabbed my camera.

Generally speaking foxes do NOT want anything to do with human interaction. This fox was no different – I stayed a good distance from him and used my long lens. In fact I stayed behind my car door most of the time just to be sure. At first he ran around and chased the ducks and geese for a few minutes scaring them all down into the water. I thought it was rather curious that he wasn’t really hunting them and so I sat quietly waiting to see what happened next.

I couldn’t believe it! He left the ducks and geese and ran behind a bunch of bushes by the beach house. Figuring he had to come out eventually I sat patiently waiting to see if the fox would reappear. I couldn’t believe my luck! The fox had scared the ducks and geese away because he was raiding nests!!!

I watched him for another half hour-ish (or so it seemed) as he ran off with egg after egg out to a field far from the park area. WOW!!! It was definitely the “right time right place” sort of thing as I came back the next night hoping to see the fox again with no luck.

Look at these guys! I absolutely don’t recommend feeding them (geese can get very aggressive!) but it was fun to see a flock of feathers running around the campground, mostly down by the beach!

Activities at Buffalo Trace Park:

*FREE Petting Zoo
*Swimming / Beach
*FREE Fishing (Indiana fishing license needed)
*Boating
*Nature Trails
*Disc Golf
*Tennis Courts
*Volleyball
*Basketball Courts
*Picnic Tables & Shelters

Cabin Tour at Buffalo Trace Park:

The cabins at Buffalo Trace Park are GORGEOUS! I was pleasantly surprised how huge the cabins were and SO SO roomy! There is plenty of room for families to stay here! Look at that covered porch! AND the price to rent a cabin are CRAZY reasonable!

Check out the video above – there’s even a massive field in front of the quiet cabin area you can just run and run and run! And the master bedroom opens right out to the side patio! BOTH cabins are wheelchair accessible too although one also has a stovetop and kitchen sink that can be raised or lowered to accommodate wheelchair guests. The shower in my cabin also had a built in bench with flat access inside.

inside of cabin living room at Buffalo Trace Park

Note: You will need to bring your own bedding and towels but dishes are furnished. Each cabin includes a picnic table on the patio. You CAN put a tent on site as well! The covered porches are fabulous!

Other Lodging at Buffalo Trace Park:

*Experience-Ready Camping
*Modern Campground (w/hookup, dump station, shower house & restrooms)
*Primitive Camping

Drive Thru of the Park:

I took a quick video driving through the park so you can get an idea of it’s size and what there is to do! Remember I went in early spring when the leaves hadn’t come in yet so it’s much prettier now!