Car Camping with an Infant 101

If you’re reading this post, you want to spend the night at a campground with your infant. Hooray! Read on to find out what worked for us when Levi was a wee little babe. I can guarantee that our methods will work for you if your baby was born under the exact same conditions and has the exact same temperament as Levi. In other words, I can’t guarantee that our methods will work for you. (If you’re a parent, you know that there are infinite “right” ways to do things. I can only share ours.) I also only have one baby, and I have a partner; I have no idea how to camp with more babies or fewer adults. Levi was born under ideal conditions to be a baby camper. Born on the second day of Spring in the mild Pacific Northwest, he was definitely ready for a night under the stars by mid-June when he was 2 months old. If your baby is 10 weeks old and likes to be outside, and it’s not too hot or too cold where you live, and if you’re not going to freak out at every ant that crawls across his precious body, I’d say he is ready to spend the night in a tent!

Levi taking a break on the North Fork Trail on the Quinault River in Olympic National Park.

(Before deciding to go camping, ask yourself: Why am I doing this? If going camping generates too much stress for you, don’t do it! Stay in a cabin instead. Or stay home for that matter. But if you are a regular camper and you’re itching to get outside, then it’s totally worth it.)

We went camping for the first time on Father’s Day weekend. I spent. . . hmm. . . hours and hours and hours planning this trip. Here are the essentials (and some extras!) to consider before embarking on your first overnight trip. We had some of this gear BB, and some of it we bought when we planned our first camping trip AB. If you are starting from scratch (you don’t have a sleeping bag, say), you should ask yourself whether taking up camping with a new baby is a smart thing to do.

We’re doing it! Our first Family Camping trip to Larrabee State Park.

baby-friendly camping Location

Before Baby, Travis and I never made reservations. (For our honeymoon, we went to the Canadian Rockies, which are in Canada, a different country. Not only did we not have reservations anywhere, but we also didn’t have passports. They let us in because Canadians are the best, and we put together an amazing camping vacation. I would never, ever do this anymore.) You will be stressed during this first camping trip. Why add to the stress by not knowing exactly where you’re going?

I love Washington State Parks! You can reserve your campsite online, and there are basic amenities, quiet hours, and campground hosts, who provide an element of safety and organization. You will definitely break the quiet hour rules, but that’s ok because you have a baby. People without babies aren’t allowed to break the rules; people with babies are. That’s just the way it is.

A friend with 2 kids wisely advised me to choose a campground that isn’t too far from civilization. No, you are not going to have to leave in the middle of the night, but it’s nice to know you could if you needed (or wanted) to. We chose Larrabee State Park, about 15 minutes outside of Bellingham, Washington.

Choose a remote campsite if possible. No one is going to care when your baby wakes up crying in the middle of the night (or if they do, they won’t have the guts to let you know), but it’s nice when the next tent isn’t super close. Also, stay away from bathrooms for the same reasons you’d want to stay away from them without a baby. They’re bright and noisy and smelly. Babies don’t like that any more than you do.

baby-friendly Shelter

Tent. We bought a brand new 3-Person tent. Our rationale: We like our space. Benefits of the 3-Person: You have plenty of room for Baby in between you. You have room for all the stuff you never imagined such a tiny human would need, primarily the diaper changing gear. (You’re basically adding a bathroom to your tent.) Drawbacks of the 3-Person: You’ll need to spend money on yet another thing. And it’s colder than the 2-Person because your baby isn’t a full-grown “person,” so he isn’t generating the body heat to fill the extra space. If only they made a 2.5-person tent. Who camps with a 3rd whole person anyway? We chose the Marmot Tungsten 3P because it was on sale at REI.

Tarp for shade/rain. I recommend the Noah’s Tarp by Kelty because it is light-weight and relatively inexpensive. Here is where you and I are noticing that this post is getting long. But you’re bringing your little baby camping, so keep reading.

Baby’s Sleeping Arrangements

This is the part I agonized about the most. Levi was only 2 months old, so sleeping bags and blankets were out of the question due to the risk of suffocation. Here’s what we ended up doing:

Dock-a-Tot. Dock-a-Tot-Dock-a-Tot-Dock-a-Tot! The Dock-a-Tot is a co-sleeper that supposedly “hugs” your baby like a womb. It is expensive and I would pay double – maybe triple – for it because of how well it worked. We were using it as a co-sleeper at home anyway (which I would also recommend – have I mentioned I love the Dock-a-Tot?), so it was natural to use it in the tent. Even if you don’t use a co-sleeper at home, I would recommend it in the tent so that there is a barrier between the baby and your sleeping bags, especially if you’re camping with a very young infant whose airways need to be clear at all times.

Napping in the Dock-a-Tot at Valley of the Rogue State Park in Oregon

Therm-a-Rest blow-up sleeping pad. If you are a regular camper, you are probably familiar with the Therm-a-Rest, which adds a layer of air between the sleeper and the cold ground, which makes the bed warmer. We had an extra one, so Levi used that.
Extra Blankets. The drawback to using a Dock-a-Tot in the tent is one of the benefits of using it at home: its walls, which “hug” the baby, are entirely breathable. This means zero chance of suffocation, but outdoors, it also means cold air can permeate the walls. For this reason, we layered baby blankets underneath it (on top of the Therm-a-Rest), and used them to fill the empty space above his head and below his feet as well. Levi was in his own little camping fortress.
Fleece pajamas. Most of mine were Carter’s brand. I got many pairs at Goodwill or the consignment shop, but bought a couple online. Buying online is more expensive, but you can choose from an array of cute and appropriate designs, such as woodland creatures and fire trucks. If you buy at Goodwill, you get Santa’s workshop. In July. When you have a really young one, be sure to bring 2 pairs of PJs, in case one gets wet in the night. And keep the extra pair in the tent! You have a 3-Man now, so why would you leave anything in the car?

Levi rocking fleece jammies, his first Woolino, and a well-loved fleece hat. (Thanks, Uncle Josh!) You can’t have too many blankets when camping! This one was handmade by my friend Barrie and it brightens up every campground we visit. The Belmont Bl… — Levi rocking fleece jammies, his first Woolino, and a well-loved fleece hat. (Thanks, Uncle Josh!) You can’t have too many blankets when camping! This one was handmade by my friend Barrie and it brightens up every campground we visit. The Belmont Blanket is underneath.

The Woolino Sleeping Bag. I come from a long line of perpetually cold women. Travis and I have had actual fights about the thermostat. It is not uncommon for me to go an entire Northwest Summer without wearing short sleeves. When I sleep in a tent, going to the bathroom in the middle of the night just isn’t worth leaving the sleeping bag. You can therefore understand my concerns about Levi being too young for a sleeping bag or blanket in the tent. Enter the Woolino Basic Sleeping Bag. Made out of Merino wool, the garment actually regulates your baby’s temperature, so it keeps him warmer in the cold and cooler in the heat. We use ours camping and at home year-round.

Levi in typical camping gear: jammies, Woolino, fleece hat.

Hat & Gloves. We used a hat, but because I was nervous (OK, paranoid) about it slipping down over his nose and mouth during the night, I obsessively checked his airways all night long. I would recommend a hat only if it is snug enough to stay on throughout the night. We put socks on his hands because we hadn’t discovered Patagonia’s awesome baby mittens yet. The challenge was that he would put his hands in his mouth all night long, as most infants do, and the socks got wet and then stayed cold. Unless it’s super chilly, I’d skip the gloves.

Other infant camping essentials:

Big Blue Blanket. Our friends in Portland got us this rad blanket from Belmont Blanket. It’s waterproof on one side, so you can lay it down in dewy morning grass, and soft and comfy on the other for baby lounging. As an infant, Levi just loved watching the forest do its thing. On our first few trips, he couldn’t even roll over yet, so we’d put him down on his back, crack open a beer, and have a family tree-watching session.

The Belmont Blanket came all the way to the Kendall Katwalk (in the Snoqualmie Pass area of Washington). Yes, that is a huge precipitous drop in the background. Do not call CPS. Levi couldn’t crawl yet.

Toys. At 2 months, Levi couldn’t have cared less about toys. But by the end of the summer, while he was still into tree-watching, he had also become attached to Captain Calamari and Shiver the Sharpei. We hung them from a tree, put the big blue blanket down underneath it, and he could watch the trees and the toys, and. . . what more could a kid ask for? (If your baby gets a kick out of a play mat, bring that thing! It weighs nothing and it’s entertaining and why not?) When your baby is older and has sleeping routines, bring along anything that will make him feel at home.

Toddler Levi and one of his many, many cars.

Ahem. You may not like this one, and to be honest I’m kind of embarrassed that we use it in the tent, but you do what you gotta do: a white noise app. There are a ton of free ones. We use the creatively named “White Noise.” On our most recent trip, I woke up to find Levi snoozing with his face wedged between the cell phone and a Nalgene bottle. You say, “positive ions”? I say, “Success”!

So, that is what we did for the first year. I have friends who camped on a blowup air mattress and a down blanket instead of sleeping bags. (You’ve got a car – why not?) Others just plopped their baby down between them on some extra blankets, no co-sleeper, no white-noise app. Whatever works for you! Our first trip took a lot of planning, but it paid off with an incredible summer of sleeping outside.

Good luck!!

P.S.: Camping during year 2 has been SUCKING! If anyone can write the sequel to this story, “Car Camping with a TODDLER,” please contact me right away.