Family camping gear comes down to five groups: shelter and sleep, the camp kitchen, clothes for the weather, health and safety, and the stuff that makes it fun. The checklist below covers all five. After it, we list what you can leave at home when you camp at a full-service campground like Walnut Hills Family Campground in Durand, Michigan, where every site has a fire ring and picnic table, the store stocks what you forgot, and the food truck handles Saturday dinner.
Family camping checklist
Print this, or screenshot it, and check things off as they go in the vehicle.
Shelter and sleep
- Tent rated for two more people than you have (a “6-person” tent fits a family of four and their bags)
- Rainfly, stakes, a mallet, and a ground tarp slightly smaller than the tent floor
- Sleeping bags rated at least 10 degrees below the forecast low
- Sleeping pads or an air mattress, plus a pump
- Pillows (kids sleep better with their own from home)
- Extra blanket per person for May and October nights
Camp kitchen
- Two-burner propane stove and two fuel cylinders
- Lighter and waterproof matches
- One pot, one skillet, one kettle or coffee setup
- Spatula, tongs, a sharp knife, cutting board, can opener
- Plates, bowls, cups and utensils for everyone, plus two spares
- 40- to 60-quart cooler, block ice, and a second small cooler for drinks so the food cooler stays shut
- Resealable bags and containers, foil, paper towels, trash bags
- Dish basin, biodegradable soap, sponge and a towel
- Roasting sticks and the s’mores ingredients
Clothing and weather
- One outfit per day plus two extra for each kid (they will get wet)
- Sweatshirt and long pants for every evening, even in July
- Rain jackets; cheap ponchos work for kids
- Swimsuits (two per kid so one is always dry), rash guards, water shoes
- Closed-toe shoes for bikes and the playground, sandals for the bathhouse
- Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray
Health and safety
- First aid kit: bandages, antiseptic wipes, blister pads, tweezers, children’s pain reliever and antihistamine, any prescriptions
- Headlamp for each person and a lantern for the table; spare batteries
- Toiletries, towels, flip-flops for the showers
- Hand sanitizer and wet wipes
- Phone charger and a power bank (RV sites have electric; most tent sites don’t)
Fun
- Bikes and helmets
- Camp chairs for everyone and a folding table
- Beach towels, umbrella or shade canopy, sand toys
- Deck of cards, one board game, a ball, a frisbee
- Books and a few quiet toys for after dark
- Fishing rod and small tackle box
- Dry bag for phones and keys on the water
Best family camping equipment: what’s worth buying
You don’t need expensive gear to camp well with kids, but a few items are worth getting right:
- A cabin-style tent. Straight walls mean adults can stand up and kids can change clothes without knocking the tent down. Look for a full-coverage rainfly and two doors so nobody climbs over a sleeping sibling.
- Sleeping pads, not just bags. Cold comes up from the ground. A closed-cell foam pad under an air mattress is the cheapest fix for a bad night’s sleep.
- A two-burner stove. Pancakes and coffee at the same time ends most breakfast arguments.
- A hard-sided cooler in the 40- to 60-quart range holds a weekend of food for four. Freeze water bottles as ice; they become cold drinks on day two.
- A shade canopy for sites without trees. Not every site is shaded: at Walnut Hills, the sites up by the swimming lake (106 to 131) sit on sandy soil with few trees, while sites 1 to 105 and 132 to 193 are wooded.
For a broader packing list that isn’t family-specific, see our camping gear checklist.
What you don’t need to pack at Walnut Hills
A private campground does a lot of the work for you. At Walnut Hills you can skip:
- A fire pit, grill grate or picnic table. Every site has a fire ring and picnic table.
- Firewood. Outside firewood isn’t allowed at our Michigan parks. The store sells it and will deliver a bundle to your site.
- Life jackets for the water park. The Wibit floating water park provides its own Wibit-designed life jackets, and personal jackets aren’t allowed on it for safety. Cheff’s Canoe Rental provides life jackets for river floats.
- A full pantry. The renovated camp store stocks the things people forget: ice, snacks, groceries, RV supplies, bait, tie-dye shirts for the Saturday craft, and scooped and novelty ice cream.
- Every meal. There’s a food truck every weekend from Memorial Day through the end of September, always on Saturday and often Friday dinner and Sunday breakfast. Plan around it and pack one less dinner.
- A big toiletry bag. The main bathhouse was rebuilt with new showers, quality sink bays and private toilet stalls. Bring a small kit, a towel and shower sandals.
- Entertainment for the kids. Saturdays have an 11 AM craft at Pavilion 1, tie-dye, lawn games by the dog park and ball field (staff bring out a giant kickball), the Kangaroo Jumper, the arcade in the store and an evening DJ or band at Pavilion 2. Our kids’ camping activities guide has the full picture.
- The tent, if you’d rather not. Two camping cabins (sites 43 and 46) sleep four with a bunk bed and a double bed, air conditioning, a fridge, microwave and coffee maker. Bring your own linens. A pup tent outside the cabin is fine for extra family members. Or rent an RV from a local delivery service that sets it up on your site before you arrive.
Check the Walnut Hills amenities page for the current list. Note that Walnut Hills has no Wi-Fi and no laundry, so download the movies before you leave and pack enough clothes for the stay.
Gear for the Wibit, the beach and the Shiawassee River
Walnut Hills has a spring-fed swimming lake with a sand beach next to the store, a 14-piece Wibit floating water park on the lake, and the Shiawassee River along the edge of the campground. Pack for them specifically:
- Wibit: swimsuits that stay put (rash guards are ideal), water shoes, and a towel per kid. Riders must be 7 or older, and under-16s need a parent supervising. Everyone checks in at the store for a wristband, signs a waiver and watches a short safety video. It’s free for campers Tuesday through Thursday and a paid wristband Friday through Sunday. A monitor is on duty, not a lifeguard, so parents stay close.
- Beach: umbrella or canopy, beach chairs, a cooler with lunch, sunscreen you’ll actually reapply, and sand toys. Lawn chairs next to the dock give you a clear view of the kids on the water park.
- River float: a dry bag for phones and keys, water shoes with straps, a hat that ties on, and a change of clothes waiting at camp. Cheff’s rents canoes, kayaks and tubes right from the launch next to the store and provides the life jackets and the shuttle. If you bring your own tubes or kayaks, two of the put-in and pull-out points are public, and there’s a 30- to 45-minute float inside the campground for little kids. Details are in our guide to booking a river float trip.
- Fishing: a basic rod and a small tackle box. Fishing in the campground lake and ponds is catch and release, and the store sells bait.
Family camping tips for a smoother trip
- Come for three nights if you can. Our team’s version of a perfect Walnut Hills weekend starts Wednesday or Thursday: free Wibit on Thursday, a river float Friday, and the beach, crafts and the evening event Saturday. Two nights isn’t enough to do it all.
- Arrive before dark. There’s no office check-in; the gate reads your license plate. If you’ll be late, call the store to pre-check in and set up the essentials by headlamp. Kids and bikes are back at the site by dusk, and quiet hours run 11 PM to 8 AM, which is why your kids actually sleep.
- Rent a golf cart. The property is big and spread out. Reserve online or by phone; multi-day rentals are heavily discounted. Carts don’t drive after dark at any of our parks.
- Dress for Michigan. A July afternoon can be 90 degrees and the night can be 55. Early May and October are cold after dark. Our guide to the best time to camp in Michigan breaks it down by month.
- Cook simple. Foil-packet dinners on the coals, one-pot chili or mac and cheese, pancakes in the morning, and no-cook lunches (wraps, fruit, trail mix) at the beach. Let the food truck take Saturday.
- Save the campfire games for after dark. Charades by flashlight, a story circle where each person adds a sentence, and a star count. Both of our parks are remote enough for a dark sky, and Walnut Hills has a fleet of telescopes and a stargazing event on the calendar.
- Book the big weekends early. Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and the three Halloween weekends fill far in advance. May before Memorial Day and October are quiet and typically discounted. See rates for your dates.
Camping with toddlers
Bring a pack-and-play or a familiar sleeping bag, their own pillow and blanket, and a white-noise app for the tent. Keep nap time close to home time; a tired toddler at 7 PM is harder than a tired toddler in a crib. The beach, the Kangaroo Jumper and the playground across from Pavilion 2 are the easy wins for this age; the Wibit waits until 7.
Family camping gear FAQ
Do we need to bring life jackets to Walnut Hills?
Not for the Wibit or a Cheff’s float; both provide them, and the Wibit requires you to use theirs. Bring your own if you plan to float the river in your own tubes or kayaks.
What can we rent at the campground?
Golf carts, by the day, with discounts for longer rentals. Canoes, kayaks and tubes come from Cheff’s at the launch. Local RV delivery services will rent you a camper and set it up on your site.
Is there electric at the tent sites?
Four of the 18 tent sites have electric; they’re near the bathhouse across from sites 186 to 193. The rest are primitive, so pack a power bank. For tent camping with power on most sites, our sister park The Oaks has 20-amp electric on sites T1 to T12 and 178 and 179; T13 to T18 are primitive.
Can we bring the dog?
Yes. Pack a leash, bowls, bags and a tie-out. Dogs stay leashed in the campground and go off leash only in the fenced quarter-acre dog park. They can swim in the river at the boat launch (not the swim lake or beach), and they stay out of the cabins and the store.
