The Maze & Advice on Camping with Babies and Toddlers

There have been a few occasions where I’ve received comments like “I don’t know how you go camping with such little kids” or “I would love to take me kids camping but I just don’t even know where to start”. So I’ve decided to give you the low down of how I camp with kids, in case you find it helpful for you!

The Maze: a very remote part of Canyonlands, UT only accessible with a high clearance of road vehicle. You have to bring all your supplies and you have to take everything back out with you. There are no facilities or conveniences of any kind. It’s just you and a maze of Sandstone canyons.

Packing list for the kids

Short sleeve shirts

Long sleeve shirts

Shorts

Pants

2 Jackets (for layering)

Jammies

Sandals

Tennis shoes

Hat (warm & cold)

Leggings/tights (for layering)

Favorite blanket

Pillow

Toys

Socks

Gloves

Sippy/Waterbottle/Bottle

Don’t bring any clothes for your kids that you like. It’s a good idea to go to a thrift store and buy some pants and jackets that you don’t really care about. Anything your kids wear will get dirty and possibly ruined.

I brought all the same things for my one year old accept I also added: a full zip up body suit with feet and hands covered (this will save you from having to keep waking up to cover their poor little freezing hands), Diapers, Wipes (bring more than you think you need because they also come in handy for washing hands and other misc. things), and this time we brought along a sound machine. I don’t think we HAD to have the sound machine but it was really nice to have. Tent walls aren't much for keeping sound out so it did come in handy.

Other Random tips:

A good sun hat keeps you from having to rub sunscreen over every nook and cranny of your kids head. My favorites are the Sunday Afternoons hats. They can bend and will reshape, get wet and dry quickly, cover up the head and neck, have an adjustable strap so they’ll actually stay on, and I just throw them in the wash with everything else when we get home.

To keep you and your kids happy bring A TON of munchies. You tend to not realize how many calories you are burning and most of the time if someone is grumpy or not feeling well it’s because they haven’t had enough food or water. I figured out that Cheetos Puffs are a great one for long car rides. They aren't too messy, and take a long time for the kids to eat.

We bring a water bottle for each girl. That way I can tell exactly how much water each has had.

Gatorade is a must (or another electrolyte replenishing drink)! An electrolyte imbalance also contributes to grumpiness and headaches. Plus the kids love to drink something sweet!

We bring a big basket of toys and books that fits perfectly in the middle of the car seats so the girls can just grab what they want while we’re driving. I also have a three ring binder for my 3 year old that has lots of coloring pages, a zip lock with crayons, zip locks with matching games, etc. The best part about the binder is that they can use it as a hard surface to color on. Other fun toys to bring while camping are buckets and shovels (you can use the bucket to hold the toys while driving, toy dump trucks, and monster trucks to drive in the sand/dirt.

Footed PJ’s are nice if it’s going to be a cold night but most shoes won’t fit over them. Either bring a too big pair of shoes for them the wear while running around camp in the evening or bring non footed PJ’s.

The squeeze packs of apple sauce and baby food are the biggest life savers! You can hand it to them in the car, it’s something other than processed Cheetos. I recently saw yogurt squeeze packs at Costco and was wishing I had brought them on the trip. We brought GoGurt but that’s still messy.

Bring baby meds! There has been many a trip when a kid will spike a fever due to teething or something and I've forgotten the children’s Tylenol. This also includes bringing diaper rash cream. Heat rash on the bum is not uncommon after a long, hot, hike.

I have a blanket that has a tough, tarp like fabric on one side and a soft fuzzy side. What an ingenious idea! It’s perfect to throw down in the dirt and let the kids crawl around and then brush it off and use it as an extra layer at night if you need to. Even if you don’t have a blanket like this I would suggest bringing some kind of camp blanket so the kids and you can sit down out of the dirt.

Head lights for you and a little lamp for your kids to carry around. My three your old LOVES her little lantern that she gets to carry around. I recommend a lantern for the kids because then they can’t shine a beam of blinding light into your eyes every five seconds. We got ours at Target in the camping section. I think Denali’s favorite part is that it’s pink. I've also brought glow sticks for the dollar store before and it's been huge hit with the kids.

The first night is the hardest to get the kids to bed but I've found that after that you're golden!

Let the kids get out at every opportunity even if it’s just for five minutes and change diapers often. This will keep them happier on the car ride. If your kids hate long car rides, they WILL get used to it! Just like anything else they have to learn how to entertain themselves and be okay with being in the car for a long time. Are kids are great at it now and even though we still bring an ipad with movies, we usually only pull it out for the last home stretch which is always the hardest (on everyone). Stick with it and keep going and I promise that your children will get used to it and even begin to enjoy the long rides.

We have two kids’ packs. One is an Ergo that we put Nora our one year old in and the other is a child carrier that as room for food and water as well. We also bring a Bjorn when we have a baby baby and they just sleep the entire time while hiking. Make sure they have a hat on! This will save your bacon and your kids’ faces.

On this trip Denali and Nora both slept in their own sleeping bags between us. When each of the girls were newborn through about nine months, we brought a really shallow and long plastic Tupperware to keep them from getting squished at night. We have also brought the pack n' play in the past. I would recommend a pack n' play for naps during the day. When it's dark outside they usually don't walk around the tent much but during the day it's easier for them to go to sleep if they are contained.

Both our kids fall asleep easily in the car and while hiking so we don't usually worry about taking naps unless it's a very relaxed vacation where we're hanging around camp a lot.

Get a good playlist of music for both you and the kids!

Last Fall we went on a family trip to Canyonlands where we had 7 kids under the age of 5. I looked up some fun camping crafts to do before we went and brought a few supplies. It came in handy when it was time to cook dinner and the kids were starting to get restless. You could bring some simple things like glue so if they are old enough they can collect nature items and glue them to a plastic plate or something. 

If you’re someone who is very organized, you’ll have to let things go a little bit. There are things you can do to keep things pretty organized but really it’s hard to keep everything perfect while camping. You can, but you’ll be spending all your time organizing and no time enjoying the trip. Somethings I do to keep stuff organized include:

•   A garbage bag in the car and right outside the tent.
•    Lots and lots of Tupperware. I used to just throw everything into one big tote but got so frustrated trying to find things so I now have a Tupperware for all the utensils and a big for the dishes and a long flat one that has all the zip locks, garbage bags, sunscreen, bug spray, etc. in it. Even though it may seem like over kill to have everything in a bag or box, it really helps to keep your sanity.
•  I have two sets of diapers and wipes. One in the clothes bag which goes in the tent and one in a hiking pack which also doubles as a diaper bag and stays in the car. This way you’re not running around trying to find a diaper.
• After each stop throw out your garbage and reorganize what you can.

Tips for mom:

•  Dry shampoo, hats, elastics, and facial wipes are a must. Take 15 minutes in the morning to brush your teeth and your hair, do your hair, wipe your face off, and put a little make up on if you want. Wipe your…er…lady parts… with a baby wipe. I find that when I do this I am just a happier mom and wife. Just like you would at home, take care of yourself.
• Bring a nice pillow. I've brought crappy little camping pillows in the past and it just sucks. You get a terrible night sleep and are grumpy in the morning. This goes along with a nice pad and warm sleeping bag. If you can sleep well, then you can play well.

Last piece of advice, let all expectations go. Have a general plan but also plan for delays and changes. Remember that you’re on vacation and to take it easy. I also like to remember that my vacation starts the second we're in the car so have fun on the drive too! Make your estimate on how long an activity will take and double it. Plan for your kids to be filthy and eating dirt. Expect and look forward to the sand that will inevitably end up in your sleeping bag. Just relax and have a good time!

Our first campsite at the trail head to Horse Shoe Canyon. It was SO windy when we pulled in that we had to use our cars as wind blockers and just spent the evening in our tents and went to bed. Good thing I was so tired anyway and didn't mind at all.

I mostly just chose this picture to show the blanket I mentioned before. It's usually not THIS cold when we go camping but i'm glad I was prepared with hats and gloves for this kiddos.

 We spent most of day one hiking through Horse Shoe Canyon. It's a seven mile hike and 2 of the miles are straight up or straight down. The rest are walking through sand. Needless to say it's not the easiest of hikes and I'm really glad it was as cold as it was. There are 4 different Indian pictographs in the canyon which is what makes the hike so worth it.

Denali peed her pants about 15 minutes into our 7 mile hike through Horse Shoe Canyon. This is how she spent the rest of the hike.

Pictographs in Horse Shoe Canyon. 

I like the little dude who looks like he's dancing.

Ashley, Ryan, and Elliot. They also are pro at camping with kids.

 After our hike we drove to campsite number two. We stayed at Teapot Rock and I have to complains about that site. It was beautiful.

Teapot Rock

Our ride.

Our second camp spot.

Me and my pops making dinner.

Ryan and Ash had to leave the second morning because their little girl Elle got really sick. :( this is our only group picture.

 The next day it took us four hours to drive to our next campsite (a total of 20 miles or something). We camped at Chimney Rock. It was windy here, although I don't know if that was just the particular weekend or if it always is. I would recommend this site because you get a 360' view of the Maze. There are also 4 different trail heads that start at this site. We got there in time to set up camp, go for a little hike, and color Easter Eggs.

Nora inside our tent at site number 3. You can tell it's super organize. 

This is why it's called The Maze. It's just a mish mash of canyons.

My mom and some Indian Paintbrush 

It was also very windy here and we once again set up our cars to create a wind block for our stove.

We went over Easter weekend so Denali got to color Easter Eggs, camping style, with Grandpa and Grandpa.

Chimney Rock right next to our campsite. 

Denali got sticker happy!

This was my favorite moment of the trip. Nora was asleep and Denali and I cuddled under a blanket and watched the sunset. Then we watched the moon rise and sang all the songs we could think of before going to bed.

Easter morning and my dad is cooking "muck on toast".

Taking a lunch break on our way out.

The road.

Next time we go into The Maze we'll make sure to camp only one or two places. It got pretty tiring setting and picking up camp everyday and didn't leave much time for relaxing around camp or hiking.