Taking the kids: And planning a successful camping trip without all the work

Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on Jun 20, 2024

Multilevel splash grounds, water slides, floating trampolines, snowless tubing slides, and mini golf courses are among the new attractions that families can enjoy at Jellystone Park locations this year.

TexasGlampingResorts.com highlights campgrounds and resorts that offer unique glamping accommodations, from furnished covered wagons, yurts, teepees and safari tents to fully furnished cabins, cottages, and vintage RVs.

Wildhaven Yosemite is a new glamping property less than an hour from Yosemite National Park and just a mile from downtown Mariposa. The property offers 12 cabins and 30 tents. Wildhaven’s cabins come in studio and one-bedroom models, all with kitchens, electricity, heat, and AC. Some tents have bunk beds and large covered decks.

AutoCamp Joshua Tree has a desert ecologist on staff and sommelier-led wine tastings while you sleep in Airstreams. Check out their eight camps from Asheville, S.C., to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Zion, Utah, all featuring accommodations in modern Airstream suites.

Ranchlands has just opened the 80,000-acre Paintrock Canyon Ranch in the Bighorn Mountains of northern Wyoming. Large, safari-style tents are stylishly furnished with full-sized beds, bedside tables, dressers, and chairs. Meals are prepared by a private chef and incorporate Ranchlands beef, local produce, and dairy whenever possible.

Road trip through the Southwest’s national parks and monuments on the Grand Circle and stop at Under Canvas camps along the way. Where the safari-like tents include bathrooms and showers, as well as programs, including yoga. (Stay at two or more and save 25 percent.) Under Canvas is near the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Glacier national parks.

Campspot.com offers deals whether you want to rent an RV, stay in a cabin or glamping tent.

Campgrounds, especially in and around national parks, get booked early. (For reservations in the parks, go to www.recreation.gov. If you can, you will want to reserve campsites either in or near the park you want to visit.

The membership organization Harvest Hosts offers RV camping at more than 5, 000 farms, wineries, breweries and more with no extra fees.

Those who don’t own an RV can take their pick of RVs with a peer-to-peer RV rental company like RVShare or Outdoorsy. Blacksford RV Rentals offers new, premium RV and camper van rentals in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Yellowstone/Bozeman, Montana, with 24/7 support.

Just don’t forget the rain gear – or the s’mores fixings!

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)