Front Country Camping with Kids - Gear List

We’ve put together a printable gear list with all you need to know about packing for front country camping with kids. From campsite essentials, to clothing and footwear,  kitchenware and meal planning, we have put together the ultimate list to make sure your camping trips go smoothly. 

Here are a few quick links from some of our favourite products and why, that are featured in Kids Who Explore Front Country Camping with Kids Gear List. 

*Products below are clickable, and they will direct you to our favourite products, which means this blog contains affiliate links. We make a small commission when you purchase a product using our affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. These funds help Kids Who Explore continue to put out educational content just like this and keep our community running* 

The 10 Essentials

“What are the 10 essentials?” 

The 10 essentials are 10 items you should never leave your house without when you’re heading out on an adventure – with or without kids. These are items you can use incase of an emergency and can increase your survival rate. Although this is never something you want to think would happen, when we are adventuring, we must make sure we are prepared for any situation that may occur. 

These are the 10 essential items:

Campsite Items

Tent

When it comes to choosing a front country camping as a family, the opens are endless. There are a few things you must take into consideration like how many people you need the tent to fit, how easy is it to set up, and how many seasons you plan to use it in. Here are a few tents that we love for front country camping, or have been suggested by the Kids Who Explore community:

Big Agnes Bunk House 4
Coleman Skydome Darkroom 6
MEC Base Camper 4
Mattress

There are 3 different types of mattresses that you can choose from, and Altitude Sports does a great breakdown on how to pick the mattress type that is right for you. We suggest considering a sleeping pad, as opposed to blow up raised air mattress. Using a mat ensures there is no chance of roll offs, or suffocation due to air loss as temperatures drop in the night.

Click here to read “How to Choose a Mattress for Camping” by Altitude Sports

Here are some mattress suggestions for front country camping with kids:

MEC Reactor Junior 2.5 Youth Pad
Mountain Summit Gear Self-Inflating Pad
REI Co-op Camp Dream Double Self-Inflating Pad
Sleeping Bag

There are 2 different types of materials you can choose from when deciding what sleeping bag or pillow to get. You can choose between Down Material or Synthetic Material. Down is typically lighter, but is meant to keep you warmer. Synthetic is heavier, but can withstand getting wet. Always keep in mind about not getting Down materials wet as they take a lot longer to dry than Synthetic, which can consume lots of body heat.

Morrison Outdoors Sleeping Bag
Morrison Outdoors Sleeping Bag
Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 20 Duo

Camp Kitchen Items

More items coming soon!

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