New Hampshire Camping Trip 2025

Labor Day weekend we decided to take the kids on their first camping vacation since River was a baby.

Imagine explaining “camping” to a space alien.

Human: For a vacation, we are going camping.

Alien: What is a vacation?

Human: A vacation is somewhere you go to relax, see new things, recreate, and experience culture.

Alien: Sounds great. What is camping?

Human: Camping is when you leave your home and set up a make-shift home in the woods and live outside. You build a little tent to sleep in.

Alien: With separate rooms and beds for everyone? And what about staying warm?

Human: No, we all squish in together in one tiny room. And for warmth, you build a fire, and then just dress warm for bedtime.

Alien: This doesn’t sound like a vacation.

Human: No, I guess it doesn’t.

Bud and I hadn’t gone on a vacation in a couple years, since Eleanor was a toddler. And we hadn’t been camping since River was maybe 9 months old. It had been a lot of work to camp with a baby, and we had never stayed for more than one night. But we missed it so much, having spent so much of our fifteen years before children in the outdoors. So on Friday, August 29, over breakfast of Bud’s homemade pancakes, we spontaneously decided to pack up and go camping. While the kids finished their pancakes, I called a campground we love in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. And we started the process of packing for a camping trip. We excavated our old camping and backpacking gear- sleeping pads and quilts, our tents and poles, our headlamps and backpacks. A short 5.5 hours later, we were finally ready to go. Bud had packed up the car while I prepped the kids. River and Eleanor packed little backpacks containing one book each and their stuffies. River packed a Star Wars book and his bear, Agoo, and Eleanor packed “You are Home” and her panda, named Panda. Eleanor had been waiting eagerly to leave for so long, she fell asleep standing up, all ready to leave with her pack.

If I had reservations about camping with one baby, I was quite anxious about camping with three. What if Jack cries all night? What if no one can sleep? What if Elleanor can’t do potty at the campground? What if River burns himself on the fire? What if Jack is too cold? What if Eleanor wanders off and gets lost? We arrived later than expected, having hit a lot of traffic. We had debated stopping at a hotel room for the night. We were worried about setting up the tent in the dark. Last light was around 7:30, and our ETA was 6:50. We still had to stop for food for supper. We arrived just at about 7:10, having picked up some McDonalds takeout in a neighboring town, giving Bud about twenty minutes to set up the tent alone while I walked the kids to the bathrooms. By the time the three kids and I returned to our campsite, Bud had two tents perfectly pitched, one for sleeping, and our old backpacking tent for our clothes and diapers and other gear. He must have set a record for how quickly he built those tents. Then, while I got the kids eating their Filet o’ Fishes, Bud built a fire. It was fully dark now, and the kids were all wired. It was past everyone’s bedtime. But we couldn’t get ready for bed without roasting some marshmallows around the fire. River cooked his marshmallows to they were crispy, and Eleanor preferred hers raw. Finally, having made a last trip to the potty and having brushed teeth, it was time for the part of the trip about which I felt the most trepidation. It had been a successful first evening, but it was bedtime. And some of my fears came to fruition. Jack did cry. But I was able to rock and cuddle him until he fell asleep. And other fears were unfounded. River and Eleanor were comfortable and happy sleeping together in our old two-person sleeping bag, the one we had slept in camping at the same campground, pregnant with River. They slept on top of our Z Lite accordion style sleeping pads. Although they didn’t fall asleep right away, they were calm and happy. And they did get chilly during the night, but it was nothing that an added sweater couldn’t fix. And Jack was toasty warm in his wearable sleeping bag. Bud stayed up with the fire, but I didn’t dare leave the sleeping kids in the tent for fear of waking them up. The campground was packed, and I did not want Jack to wake up screaming and disrupt our neighboring campers. The kids did all wake periodically during the night, but I was able to get them back to sleep with a cuddle or reassuring words. And River did need Bud to take him on a middle of the night pee, which ended up being one of his favorite parts of the whole trip.

Saturday, the kids woke at the usual time despite having gone to bed hours past their normal bedtime. 5:15am, we were up and at ‘em. We had breakfast in town at Flapjacks, which River loved for the toy train and bear-themed decor, and Eleanor loved for the pancakes and sausage. We took a little hike, played in the river, and had s’mores at night. Bedtime was much earlier, and everyone slept a bit better the second night. Everyone was perfectly warm, despite temperatures getting down to 48 degrees.

Sunday morning, Jack woke again at his usual 5:15am, so everyone was up bright and early. Bud had packed up much of camp the night previous, and he dried and packed up our tent while I got the kiddos ready. We left early Sunday morning. A very yummy breakfast at Benton’s Sugar Shack in Thornton signified the conclusion of a mostly successful camping trip, our first in four years. We learned plenty of lessons for our next trip, which we booked on the drive home. We felt confident enough to invite Memere, Pepere, Pop Pop and Nana along. We will go Columbus Day weekend, during the Fall Foliage, our favorite time of the year. I was nervous about camping for sure, and if we hadn’t pulled off the bandaid, so to speak, it may have been four more years before we finally attempted one of our favorite past times again. Our camping trip was not a “vacation” in the traditional sense, but it had everything we really want in a vacation- family, the outdoors, challenges to overcome together, and memories we will always cherish. It was a perfect vacation to be our first as a family of five.