If you are considering a family camping vacation this summer, you might be wondering how to keep everyone entertained and active, while you are in the middle of the woods. Fear not! There are camping activities to suit the ability and interests of everyone, young and old alike. Here are ten popular camping activities to get you started on planning your next family camping adventure.
Family Camping Resolutions for 2009
Now is a great time to focus on family camping plans and goals for the coming year.
More camping
One of our family goals is to go on a camping trip at least once every month. We did not achieve that in 2008, mostly due to my wife Lisa’s commitments in her Master’s program, so it’s a good time to refocus on family time for 2009 and start planning more monthly getaways.
Our typical camping trip is a Friday and Saturday night at some reasonably local location. Luckily, we have a lot of nice places to choose from, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, from beaches to forests in the coastal mountains. For short weekend trips, like these, it does not make much sense to spend a lot of time driving, so we limit ourselves to roughly a 2-hour radius around our home.
Winter Backcountry Safety
Helmets can significantly reduce the risk of a head injury from sledding (photo by Adam Baker)
Heavy winter storms have been blanketing mountains in the west this Christmas, leaving several feet of fresh snow. Unfortunately, fresh snow combined with steep mountain terrain has proven deadly for three people already, with two more still unaccounted for, as of Christmas night.
Across the Country, State Parks under Pressure
Numerous state parks across the country face closure
From Washington to Florida and New York to Idaho, state budgets are reeling from a combination of reduced property and sales tax revenue. Numerous state parks are already on the chopping block, in an effort to reduce budgets with minimal impact to union jobs and social services.
Targeting Kids with Nature Programs Misses the Mark
Getting kids back into the woods means getting parents back, first
There has been a great amount of coverage during the past two weeks about figures released by the US Forest Service showing visits to the nation’s national forests is off 13% over the past five years. When combined with the recent news that our children are becoming more sedentary and spending less time outdoors, it paints a rather bleak future for us as a people, and for our willingness to place value on the environment.