Camping With Children Throughout the Seasons

Many of us have been camping in the summer. The weather is warm and comfortable to be out in, we need less gear and clothing, and it just feels good to be outdoors on sunny days and see clear vistas or swim in cool water. Often people go to campgrounds for ease, amenities, reserve-ability, and possibly for the comfort of having other people around so we don’t feel quite so out in the middle of nowhere. The downsides to this type of camping experience can be noise, lack of privacy, and close quarters with camping neighbors (who may or may not be pleasant folks), all of which can hinder our experience of really tuning in to the natural world around us.

First, I urge you to try camping in other seasons of the year. Fall, spring, and even winter each offer unique and amazing experiences in nature which summer cannot provide. Secondly, I urge you to try camping somewhere where there are not quite so many people, or even somewhere totally isolated. Campgrounds need not be ruled out to achieve this. They are often nearly empty in September after children go back to school, and in winter, you may have the entire place to yourself aside from maybe a campground host. State park campgrounds, for example, sometimes only offer this degree of peaceful solitude in winter. There are also an abundance of un-developed campsites on Forest Service and BLM land where campfire pits and good tent sites can be found by creeks, along rivers, beside lakes, on ridge tops, and just about any sort of place you can imagine. Thirdly, do not let the inclement weather deter you. Oregon State Parks have a wide range of camping options, including rustic cabins and yurts which are cheaper than a hotel and well worth having a place to be dry and warm, all the way up to deluxe cabins and yurts with bathrooms and kitchens. These may be rented at www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/index.shtml. The US Forest Service also rents out fire lookout towers when they are not in use, and these are equipped with propane lights, cooking stoves, heaters or woodstoves. These may be rented at www.fs.fed.us/r6/recreation/rentals. Personally, it is important to me to avoid the fiasco of wet, soggy tents and surly children. Everyone has to draw a line somewhere, and that is mine.

In the winter months, clear sunny days may be found at the ocean along with a certain degree of comfort in State Park yurts. No matter if the weather be fair or foul, it is a spectacular experience to get out onto the beach this time of year. The lush, misty spruce forests provide a sense of mystery and wonder as trails wind through giant old-growth tree trunks and carpets of moss and sword fern. Late winter into early spring is a good time to explore the southern Oregon coast as well, and we have enjoyed many April trips to Cape Blanco and the Port Orford area with favorable weather and abundant signs of spring emerging lush and green along coastal rivers.

In the Spring, we move up to the mountain lakes on the eastern slopes of the Cascades. The birds are migrating and the days are warm enough to make the chilly nights manageable. This is a good time for canoe camping to sandy shores inaccessible by car. These chilly nights also keep the mosquito population from emerging this early in the year. After our first backpacking trip with our six-month-old babies on a high mountain trail in northeastern Washington, when we were swarmed with mosquitoes so thick we couldn’t see our children’s faces, I drew another line as to my limitations. We simply learned to avoid areas at the times of year when the mosquitoes are a problem, and go when the temperatures give us the all clear. In the summer, we avoid the very high country and explore valleys and rivers and un-developed Forest Service campsites. This is also a good time to take children backpacking, as it requires less gear to carry along for everyone (who may not yet be carrying a full share of the gear).

Then, in the fall, the mosquitoes die off in the chilly nights and you can enjoy warm, summery days at high mountain lakes, picking huckleberries and hiking along ridges and mountains in perfect bliss. Campgrounds empty out, and National Forest campgrounds are especially peaceful this time of year. Hot spring excursions are nice in the fall with the cooler morning and evening temperatures. The late fall, as well as the spring, are good seasons for fire lookout tower trips, as they are not in use for fire watch, and provide the experience of having an entire mountain top complete with views (and some shelter from early winter weather) all to yourselves. Even into late October and early November, as long as you come prepared for sleeping warm on the cold nights, fall camping is by far my favorite.

A certain degree of attunement to the cycles of nature can be found in all-season camping as one places themself more fully in the ever-changing wheel of the year. Even day hikes in “0ff-season” times will give you a fresh look at a place you may have experienced only on hot sunny days, allowing you to see it as though for the first time. You will also be competing with significantly less people for enjoyment of a place, and may have more wildlife viewing opportunities and peaceful moments connecting with the natural world. This will also teach your children that camping and being outdoors are not merely activities reserved for the summer, but can be enjoyed throughout the rest of the year as we grow, move, and change with the seasons.