Don’t let a little rain put a damper on your camping trip! Check out these 7 rules for rainy day camping to keep you and the kids entertained until the sun comes out!
If you spend enough time at the campground, a rainy day is bound to happen. When we first started RVing with our young children, we often let bad weather derail our vacation plans. Now we know that gloomy skies do not have to mean the day is a complete wash. We have learned to embrace the occasional rainy day and enjoy our time as a family, no matter the weather.
Here are our family’s tried and true rules for a rainy day:
- Do not put on a movie first thing in the morning. Sounds crazy, but you are going to have to trust us on this one. Save the movies as an ace in the pocket for later on in the day.
- Check the campground activities schedule STAT. If there is a craft or game room activity planned, you are in luck. Our boys are game for virtually any pastime that takes place in the ‘clubhouse,’ as they like to call it.
- Get outside. One of the best moves we ever made was investing in some great rain gear for our kids. We realized years ago that wet weather is pretty fun as long as you have raincoats and boots. If we wake up to rainy skies, the boys know that good puddle jumping is in their near future.
- Take out those card games that you keep stocked in the RV. Once everyone has dried off after the foul weather splash party, it is the perfect opportunity for some family game time. We like games like Spot It! that can be played by any number of people and can truly be enjoyed by both kids and adults.
- Make movie time an EVENT! Bake cookies, pop popcorn, build a fort in the bunkhouse. You get the picture. We have even colored and delivered invitations for a movie date when we were camping with friends. With the right amount of enthusiasm, this movie preparation will end up feeling like a campground party.
- At this point in the day, if the sun hasn’t yet appeared, it may just be time for a scenic drive. One of our most memorable rainy day adventures was driving the Kancamangus Highway in New Hampshire. There was barely a soul around, and with our trusty rain gear, we could soak in the beautiful vistas at overlooks and still stay dry.
- Our last rainy day rule? Always make a list of indoor activities for any area you are visiting. Save your trips to the children’s museum, aquarium and planetarium for a bad weather day. We would highly recommend arriving early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the midday crush at places like this.
There is no reason for rainy weather to give your family the campground blues. Take time to enjoy the change of pace, spend some down time together as a family and splash in a couple of puddles.
Fingers crossed the sun will come out tomorrow.
View campers having rainy day fun at KOAs across the country!
Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi are the co-hosts of RV Family Travel Atlas, a weekly podcast available in the iTunes store and on their blog. They are also parents and educators who seek out adventure with their three young children and an RV. You can follow their family shenanigans on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
