Just start, that’s how! Since I was two months old, I have been camping with my family, and all the adventures we have gone on have helped create an unbreakable bond. We have shared memories, some wonderful, some almost tragic (I crashed my cousin’s bike head-on into a tree while biking the trails in the woods). Still, they brought us together in a more harmonious way than if we had vacationed at a random hotel.
When I was about seventeen years old, I started camping with friends and my same-aged cousin (Jeremy) in tents at primitive campsites on Lake Michigan and other areas along the Au Sable River.
By the time we were twenty-one years old, we had established an annual cousins and friends camping trip. The rule was that our cousins had to be at least eighteen to attend, as Jeremy and I did not want to be responsible for any underage kids.
The cousin camping trip happened every year during the Fourth of July holiday because we had many days off from work. Depending on what day the Fourth fell on, we could have up to five days of camping as a family. It turned out to be just a drunken, drug-filled affair as a lot of my cousins ended up developing addiction issues and alcoholism. It was a lot of fun until it wasn’t, and things got very dysfunctional.
This annual party lasted for thirteen years, and then a lot of us started having children, so the big party campout excursion ended, and our camping style changed drastically – for the better.
Benefits of camping
Camping and being in nature are truly my happy places. I feel closer to my Creator when I spend time playing outdoors and sleeping under the stars. I feel the weight of my worries fall to the wayside, and I immediately am in a better mood.
The benefits of making memories with my sons when they were little boys and passing on to them the love of camping are immeasurable. In fact, it has had such an impact on them that they still want to go camping with their old mama, and they are twenty-one and seventeen! I hope to one day take their children (my future grandchildren) camping, as my grandparents did with my cousins and me.
According to the camping experts at KOA, “Camping has a great number of benefits for everyone old and young that you and your family can enjoy while spending time in the great outdoors:
1. Camping Helps with Stress Reduction
2. Fresh Air Has Numerous Benefits
3. Camping Improves Relationships
4. Camping Promotes Physical Fitness
5. Get Better Sleep Quality When Camping
6. Camping Allows You to Unplug
7. Camping Gives You the Opportunity to Enjoy Great Food
8. Have the Chance to Connect with Nature
9. Develop New Skills While Camping
10. An Abundance of Educational Opportunities are Available When Camping
11. Camping Grows Confidence
12. Build Family Connections Through Camping,”.
Different types of camping
There are many types of camping, including primitive or backcountry camping, camping in private campgrounds, resort campgrounds, state parks, national parks, camping in your car or van, in a tent or travel trailer/RV, overlanding, backpacking, and even the new type called glamping.
Dutch Ware Gear defines glamping as, “For those who enjoy nature but prefer to relax in comfortable spaces, glamping — glamorous camping — provides a reprieve from the outdoors during camping trips. You’ll stay in a cabin or another type of accommodation where you’ll have access to beds, electricity, and indoor bathrooms. This option is terrific for families who want to enjoy time together without the stress of setting up or tearing down tents,”.
Whether it was just my mom and I, the whole family, or with my sons when they were little, we camped all across the state of Michigan at mostly State Parks, a select couple of private campgrounds, and on the Jersey Shore or in the Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina, for two weeks out of the summer.
When my mom and I went camping, for most trips we went with my grandparents and my same-aged cousin in a travel trailer towed by either a Chevy Suburban or a Ford Econoline conversion van.
The other times, my mom would pack all our gear into her AMC (American Motors Corporation) Gremlin and hit the road. We camped in a giant canvas tent, sleeping on click-click lounge chairs in our sleeping bags and cooking on an old Coleman stove.
When we camp in the Manistee National Forest, campsites are first-come, first-served. Basically, you drive down two-track roads (fire roads), find a clearing, and set up camp. But, not at the Huron-Manistee National Forest off the Au Sable River, as you need to reserve those sites unless there are boat-to-only campsites vacant. However, when camping at a Michigan State Park, you must make a reservation.
Michigan State Park & Harbor Reservations shares, “Book your favorite spot! The Michigan state park and harbor reservations site helps you reserve a specific camping site, overnight lodging location, shelter or harbor slip.
By creating an online account, you can create, view, change or cancel your reservations. Reservation agents are also available to make your reservation or answer any questions you may have over the phone. Please call 1-800-447-2757 (1-800-44PARKS).
When the booking window opens, inventory becomes available Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Campsites, overnight lodging and harbor slips can be reserved 6 months in advance.
- Picnic shelters can be reserved 1 year in advance.
Harbor slips, campsites and state park lodging not already reserved in advance may be available on a first-come, first-served basis,”.
Because Pure Michigan’s travel and tourism season is very busy, especially in the summer months, the campgrounds are usually booked and full, leaving no campsites available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you get one, consider it your lucky day!
My favorite motto is, “Take only pictures; leave only footprints.” However, one of the most important lessons I learned and taught my sons at a young age, starting from four years old, was fire safety. We were taught about fire handling and safety, as well as the dangers associated with it. We were also little during the 1970s when the “Smokey the Bear” television PSAs were popular.
How to start camping as a family
In conclusion, family camping offers a simple way to connect, create lasting memories, and enjoy nature together—one trip at a time, with confidence and joy.