Camping With Kids in the Rain: What I Do Instead of Going Home
First-person rain plan for family camping: tarp, cards, dry bags, and when I actually pack up.
Field notes — I write these in first person, from how I actually pack. Photos go in when I have them.
I assume it will rain
If I wait for a perfect forecast with kids, I camp twice a year. I bring a tarp big enough to cover the picnic table, extra socks, and a dry-bag of clothes that does not live on the tent floor.
I set the tarp first, then the tent. A dry table is camp. A wet table is how everyone sits in the car and asks to leave.
The rain kit is small on purpose
UNO. Catch Phrase if I have table space. A Switch with games already on it. Glow sticks if it gets dark early. I do not bring a projector in the rain. That is a dry-night glamping toy.
I keep a towel just for hair and feet at the tent door. Mud in a sleeping bag ends the night.
When I do go home
Lightning over the site, standing water in the tent, a kid who is actually cold and not just bored. I do not treat misery as character-building. Camping is supposed to make them want the next trip.
What I actually link when I mention gear
Quick answers
Is this a complete packing list?
No. This is what I actually do for this situation. Use a full checklist for the boring essentials, then add or subtract from this note.