What to Do When It Rains on Your Camp Out
Camping is an adventure that most kids love to do with their parents. They get to enjoy the great outdoors and all of its wonders in a fun, safe environment. But sometimes, it rains on your campout! This blog post will give you some ideas for what to do when it rains on your campout.
You may think that you can just avoid the rain by not camping when it’s raining. Checking the weather report is a good place to start. However, you can’t always count on the weather to be completely accurate as experience has taught me. Sometimes, you just have to make the most of a wet and not-so-clean situation.
In my own experience, it’s a rare camp out when it doesn’t rain for some portion of our time camping. We have been on many campouts where the weather turned bad. I have set up my fair share of tents in the rain and my kids and I have learned a lot from camping in the rain.
Camping in the rain doesn’t have to be a totally miserable experience – although I have found that its good for kids to “suffer” a little now and again. It’s good for kids to know that they can survive cold, wet, muddy weather and live to tell about it.
What to Do When It Rains on Your Camp Out
Here are some things to do when your camping trip gets rained out:
Get Splashing in the Puddles
When it rains, don’t let it stop you from getting outdoors. Go out and enjoy the sprinkles on your face and splash through the puddles. Kids especially love this, so if there is a chance of rain, make sure to bring your rain boots and coats. You will be happy you did.
Get into a Muddy Tug of War
Tug of war is super fun and is definitely worth every bit of slipping and sliding. Tug of war is challenging when you aren’t sliding around, but playing a good old game of tug of war in the rain is sure to be a blast all in itself.
Make sure to Pack Board Games
A camping trip is never complete without a few board games {and card games} just in case. You never know what Mother Nature has in store for you and if a real storm rolls in, you may be stuck in your tent. Get out the board games and make the rainy day a board game day.
Some of our family favorite board games for camping are:
- Deer in the Headlights Game
- Trekking the National Parks
- Jumbo Checkers Board Game
- Yahtzee
- Bananagrams Multi-Award-Winning Word Game
- Jenga
Have a Coloring Contest
Let’s face it: kids are little bundles of energy and staying in a tent all day is sure to get them more riled up. Help them transfer some of that energy into a creative coloring contest. Coloring is relaxing, stimulates the brain, and gives an outlet for built-up energy. If your kids are really good at their own coloring books, have them try to color an adult coloring book.
Make Up Silly Stories
Tell make believe stories inside your tent, or have some story starters to get them going such as:
Once upon a time, there was a dog with one eye……
There once was a homework machine…
Two sharks crept up to the bay…
Story starters are great for getting the story going and your kid’s imagination going. My kids love making up stories where one person says a sentence and the next person says the next sentence and so on. You can keep them entertained for hours by continuing one story with the next person adding a new twist to it.
Look for Campsites with Indoor Activities
If you have kids, you may not want to rough it all day in the rain. Plan for Mother Nature to be on its game and camp at campsites that offer indoor activities just for that off-chance it will rain on your camping adventure.
Although, I would encourage you to let your kids be bored sometimes, suffer a little wet and cold, and even learn how to deal with things not always going according to plan. It is okay! If you get into a tradition of camping several times a year like we do, you’re not always going to have perfect weather.
I remember one camp out where we hiked a very strenuous mountain trail with my kids when Laura was just 5 years old. We hiked through briars, up steep inclines over five miles. I have always told my kids they’re tough. And they believe it.
When it comes to camping with kids, you can never be too prepared! Bring lots of extra plastic bags for wet clothes, and always pack more clothes than you need.
