As you read this, we are getting ready to go on our yearly family camping trip. What a great time to do a post on this popular frugal family getaway.
Where to camp: I love to camp at state parks because they are CHEAP! Here in Vermont, you can find a beautiful campsite for around $12.
To save on gas, you can look for a campground near your home. You don’t have to be far away for camping to be a real getaway.
We are heading to a state park in the Green Mountain National Forest, that also has a large lake. The beach and the woods - it doesn’t get any better than that.
What to bring: In order to go camping, you need equipment. We already have ours, so this is not an expense for us this year, but if you are new to camping, you will need a few things.
This is a great time of year to look for deals on camping equipment. Camping season is about over and stores are looking to get rid of their stock.
Yard sales (tag sales, garage sales) are also a good place to look for equipment.
For an inexpensive way to get you off the ground, instead of air mattresses, which can be expensive, you can buy blow-up pool rafts to sleep on, under your sleeping bag, of course!
Another option is to buy the air mattresses on sale. (Or just sleep on the ground, like we did when I was a kid.)
Also, I bring our own dishes, instead of buying paper plates and cups. We have plenty of plastic dishes at home for the kids, but if you don’t you can buy some when they are on clearance and save them with your camping stuff. (Store them in your cooler, so you know where they are.)
In the cooler: Suggestion number one: make your own ice. If you start in advance, you can make some ice each day and then empty it into plastic grocery bags. This will save you from needing to buy it at the store.
For food, plan your menu ahead of time and watch for sales.
Little E saw an episode of Curious George on PBS where George goes camping and “cooks food on sticks,” so we are making hot dogs, cooked over the fire on sticks.
The menu can be really simple. Cereal and milk, peanut butter sandwiches, hot dogs, fruit, homemade granola bars, and trail mix. And of course S’mores!
Or you can just bring what you would normally eat at home.
The only expense this trip will add to our budget is the $12/night fee for the campsite, plus gas to drive 40 miles to the campground (and 40 back).
Be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Fridays posts.
