Fall Camping- Go for It!

Holy cow, fall camping! Who knew? We are sure a lot of people know the amazing secret of fall camping, but for us it was a brand new experience. We have shivered through wet early spring nights, huddled in the car during late spring storms, and lie awake sweating in humid hundred-degree heat. With educators running this show, we are on the road and in the tent our whole summer vacation. Once school starts though, camping life has always come to a seasonal pause. Until this weekend. 

This weekend instead of immediately dropping onto the couch and staring at screens, we guzzled some strong Americanos, ordered pizza, and spent our Friday night packing the car for an overnight camp-out. A relatively close state park was holding an annual Halloween bash with fall activities and a haunted hayride. The kiddos had been asking about visiting a haunted house and the hayride seemed to be a good alternative to long lines ending in an expensive 15 minute experience.

 As usual we did not plan ahead and had no reservation for a campsite or the “reservations only” hayride. We took a chance went anyway. It was only a two-hour drive, and even if we didn’t get a camping spot, we had time to spend the whole day exploring nature trails and historical sites.

The campgrounds were so packed, the park was allowing people to camp wherever they could find room. Determined to get a spot with a fire pit, we set out on a hike to see if we could find a designated hike-in spot along a trail. We have no idea how we ended up on path we took, but it was a beautiful, strenuous hike through the Missouri River bluffs, and it got our adrenaline pumping. We found no campsites along the way, but our moods were up, so we scavenged a few tent grounds on foot and found a hidden spot with a fire pit. Score! Pleased with our findings we set up camp and lounged around enjoying the warm sunshine and crisp breeze.

After a little more exploring, we decided to try our luck at getting on the “reservations only” hayride. It turns out all we had to do was ask. The very kind woman in charge of loading the hayrides had us simply pay the fee, and let us on. Riding through the woods at night gave the kiddos a few good scares and lots of laughs!

As nerdy parents always do, we had to make a lesson out of the experience for the kiddos. Risk-taking is an important part of life. We told them that we knew we were running the risk of not getting a campsite or going on the hayride, but these weren’t risks that resulted in consequences that weren't any worse than simply staying home. We pointed out that it was perseverance and footwork that got us our campsite. Investigating along with speaking up got us on that entertaining haunted hayride (that and $28).

The parents learned a few things as well. We learned fall camping is awesome! For one thing, the earth shifts positions giving us a better night sky. In the plains, fall is much dryer than our wet springs and humid summers. This made everything easier, from finding kindling, to starting our fires, to packing up a dew free tent in the morning. Hiking through the colorful woods was gorgeous and less strenuous in the cool air. Plus, aside from a few beetles and bees, and a brilliantly colored orb weaver spider, there were far fewer bugs. This makes us wonder, what if we take an even bigger risk and try camping in the winter?