July 2006
Take Your Kids Camping!
One of the greatest sources of childhood memories is time outdoors camping with family. Research indicates that camping brings families closer and makes marriages stronger. In a world full of video games and television, parents need to develop their children’s love of nature.
If you have never been camping as a family, you may wonder when to start. The answer is now. When I ask my children why they like camping the answers are mostly the same: s’mores, campfire stories, fishing – and, as my youngest, Nathan, says, “more than 100 other reasons.” Camping is a world of adventure and new experiences that children can only get outdoors.
When choosing where to go camping with your family, think about what your children like to do and what facilities they desire. My family prefers camping in state parks since the facilities are always nice, there is plenty to do, you can reserve your campsite, and the parks have hot showers (50 cents for three minutes).
Here are some of our favorite places to camp.
Millersylvania State Park
Millersylvania, located in southern Thurston County, is the only state park in the county with camping facilities. The main attraction is Deep Lake, with three swimming beaches, a bathhouse and boat launch. The park has 135 campsites, 52 RV sites, two group sites, 216 picnic sites and 6.6 miles of hiking trails. The feature that I like best is that no large boats (with motors more than five horsepower) are allowed on the lake. This makes it quiet and attractive for small, muscle-powered boats. If you live in or near Thurston County, this park is great for your first family camping trip since it is close to home in case important things have been left behind. Or, bring your family for a picnic and visit the park before you go. If you are coming from out of town, you may also want to visit the State Capitol or the Olympia waterfront.
Take Exit 95 off Interstate 5, drive east and follow signs three miles to the park.
Lake Sylvia State Park
This park, just east of Thurston County in Grays Harbor County, is my family’s favorite state park, and we have camped here almost every year for the last 19 years. Lake Sylvia is small – only 31 acres – and was created by a dam that was built in 1878. The state park encompasses all of the lake. Because of its size, powerboats are not allowed. The lake is full of fish and newts, and it is a great place for kids to explore by canoe or rowboat. You can fish from the dock if you don’t have a boat. (Even in this small lake, make sure you and your children wear a life jacket.) The trail around the lake is only a mile and a half long, so that even young children can make the hike. Almost every campsite is on the lake.
Lake Sylvia State Park is located on the hill above the town of Montesano, at the junction of Highway 12 and Highway 107, a few miles east of Aberdeen.
Illahee State Park
When the family is in the mood for crabbing, we go to Illahee State Park, in Kitsap County, just east of Bremerton. In addition to hiking trails, there is a dock on the Port Orchard Channel that is perfect for saltwater fishing and crabbing, plus 1,785 feet of shoreline for beachcombing and wading. This is a smaller state park – only 74.5 acres – with 25 standard campsites and eight primitive campsites. It’s fun to take children to the nearby Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport.
From Highway 3, north or southbound, take the East Bremerton exit at the north end of Silverdale. Drive 7.5 miles and take a left on Sylvan Way. Drive about 1.5 miles to the park entrance.
Fort Flagler State Park
This park is north of Kitsap County, surrounded by the Puget Sound on the tip of Marrowstone Island. It is a huge park of almost 800 acres. It has 102 campsites, a boat launch, a boat dock for fishing and crabbing and 19,100 feet of shoreline. The big attractions are the old gun batteries from the time Fort Flagler was an operational military installation. These bunkers are like caves, and exploring them is heaven for children. They form a circle that borders the park, and a four-mile trail loops its way past each one. The trail can be hiked by foot or on a bicycle. The military museum reopened in May after remodeling, and explains the history of the fort and park. Old military housing in the park has been turned into rental housing. Most is used for large private groups, but families can rent a few of the houses for a reasonable price. My family did this when our children were very young. Port Townsend is also close to the park and makes for a fun family excursion.
Take the Narrows Bridge (Highway 16 westbound from I-5 in Tacoma) and drive north to Highway 3. Cross the Hood Canal Bridge, drive five miles, then turn right onto easily missed Highway 19 (Beaver Valley Road.). Travel 10 miles to the Chimacum four-way stop. Take a right on Chimacum-Center Road. At the four-way stop in Port Hadlock, turn right onto Oak Bay Road. Go approximately one mile and turn left onto State Route 116. Fort Flagler is at the end of road, approximately 10 miles from the Oak Bay Road.
The much-maligned $5 day use parking fees for state parks has been repealed by the legislature. Campground fees vary by parks. For more about state parks, or to make a reservation, go to www.parks.wa.gov or call 1-888-CAMPOUT (226-7688).
Tacoma Power Campgrounds
Tacoma Power operates four campgrounds. Like state parks, they are well maintained and have flush toilets and hot showers. Sites can be reserved.
I have camped at Taidnapam Park, south of Thurston County in Lewis County, nine miles southeast of Morton. It’s on Riffe Lake, a reservoir for Tacoma Power famous for its fishing. Although the lake is very large, there is an inlet that is perfect for exploring with small boats. There is also a bridge for fishing, so a boat is not required. This park has sandy beaches, swimming areas and a children’s play structure. There are 68 individual campsites and 16 walk-in tent sites.
Tacoma Power operates Mossyrock Park, also on Riffe Lake, 3.5 miles east of Mossyrock off Highway 12. The other two campgrounds are on Alder Lake (in Thurston County) and Mayfield Lake (in Lewis County).
Camp reservations can be made by calling 1-888-CAMPOUT (226-7688) or online at www.tacomapower.com – click on the link for Parks, Power, Fish & Wildlife.
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Campgrounds
A little farther away are the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest campgrounds. There are three campgrounds on Snoqualmie Pass: Denny Creek, Tinkham and Middle Fork. These campsites are not as plush as the ones in the state parks. They do not have showers or developed activity areas (swimming beaches, picnic areas, playgrounds etc.). It’s great that 40 percent of the campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis, whereas parks that reserve campsites can get all booked up.
At the Denny Creek Campground, there is fishing in Denny Creek and a wonderful two-mile trail to Franklin Falls. If you take the trail to Melakwa Lake, you can hike 1.5 miles to Keekwulee Falls. This campground is also near the Iron Horse State Park, a former railroad line that has been turned into a gravel bike path from North Bend to Ellensburg. At the summit of Snoqualmie Pass is the most interesting feature of the trail, a 2.3-mile tunnel you can ride your bike or hike through (bring a light; it gets totally dark in the middle).
The Denny Creek Campground can be reached by taking Exit 47 from Interstate 90.
Reserve campsites by calling 1-877-444-6777 or go online at www.reserveusa.com. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us and click on “Recreational Activities.”
Getting Started
If you go into almost any outdoor store or department, the amount of equipment for sale can be overwhelming, and the cost for it all can be staggering. But if you have a tent, sleeping bags and cooking gear, you have most of what you really need.
Tents come in all shapes, sizes and costs, and can be purchased from discount or camping stores. If you do purchase a less expensive tent, plan to take a tarp with you to put over the tent in case it rains.
Cheaper sleeping bags may not be warm enough for cool nights unless you bring a few blankets. To keep children warm at night, bring heavy winter pajamas and have them wear stocking caps to bed. The other part of a good night’s sleep is something to sleep on. Air mattresses, foam pads or cots all work fine. The biggest challenge to air mattresses is inflating them, so purchase an air pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter of the car.
The last thing you must have is cooking gear. Dinner can be as simple as precooked, foil-wrapped entrees that can be warmed on the fire or hotdogs that can be roasted. Children love these methods because it allows them to cook their own dinners. I recommend that you purchase a stove even if you plan to cook some of your food over the fire.
Other gear depends on where you are going and what you want to do – hiking, fishing, boating, making sandcastles or flying kites. Bring a few toys to entertain children while dinner is being cooked and dishes washed. Games are great to play in the tent while it is raining, and nothing builds togetherness like a family game on a picnic table under the light of a lantern. Remember: never take a lantern into a tent.
Over the years, here are a few things I have learned to bring to make camping with children more convenient:
- Children will find treasures – feathers, seashells, pinecones, rocks, sticks, etc. – and they will want you to carry them. Give every child his own plastic bag.
- Even if you no longer have children in diapers, baby wipes come in handy. Cleanliness can be a challenge when camping.
- Rain pants are expensive and children outgrow them really fast. But they keep children clean if the campground is wet and muddy, and you can usually find hand-me-downs.
- Chemical light sticks or glow sticks are perfect night-lights for children. They are safe and they last all night.
- During the day, squirrels and crows will try to get to your food. Plastic bags will not keep them out, nor will cardboard boxes. It has to be a plastic tub with a snug lid. I have had critters trying to get in the food tubs at one end of a picnic table while I was cooking on the other.
- Do prep work at home to make cooking easier at camp.
- Always plan on doing s’mores; bring marshmallows, roasting sticks or skewers, thin chocolate bars and graham crackers.
- Bring a tarp and some rope to make a dining fly.
My dad is in his 70s, and he is still taking his children and grandchildren camping. It was a long time ago that we first went camping together, and we are still laughing about what we did and the fun we had. Give your children those same memories and take them camping this summer.
Russ Sondker is a Puyallup father of four. He began camping as a boy growing up in Eastern Washington, and continues with his own family and as a Scouting leader.
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