Family Tent Recommendations

[PistolBob]

Regarding the firewood...you better check ahead of time. Most of the DNR properties will not allow you to bring outside wood into the park, because of the parasitic bugs out there that are destroying certain trees. Emerald Ash Bore, etc etc

The SRA's (State Recreational Areas) used to let you burn wood you found in the woods on the site, not sure they do anymore. SRA's are not the State Parks.

My wife and I used a queen sized Coleman air bed for I bet 5 or 6 years...it was way more expensive than a couple of sleeping mattresses but it was heavy duty and lasted a long time. What's a heater buddy? You never ever want to have an open flame inside a tent. Welcome to family camping, it's a great time, and my kids are in their 30's now and they still talk about the camping trips we took when they were kiddies. Seems the most memorable ones are the ones where we ran into adversity...either with the weather, other campers, or general circumstances.

My son took his family camping at McCormick's Creek a couple summers ago, we went down to have dinner with them (dutch oven stew) and a flock of genuine hippies were camping in the site across the way....we all got done eating and they came over and invited us to sit in on their drum circle...I am not kidding...basically they sat in a big circle and passed around a drum...when it came to you, you got to beat the drum for a few minutes and then pass it along...it was hilarious and all I could do to sit there and not laugh my buns off. The grandkids thought it was awesome and wondered if the hippies were Indians...hahah.

Happy trails!

 

[PistolBob]

Another food item you might try...first of all let me say that you couldn't get me to eat sweet potatoes out of the oven if you held a gun to my head. I do not like them.

A guy in our scout troop brought some big old yams with him, right after we cooked breakfast he banked up the coals in the fire ring and buried three or four of the big yams in the coals. He let them sit in the fire ring and roast all day long, tossing on a few more coals every now and then. I was certain I would not be eating them. When dinner time came around he pulled them out cut them in half and scrapped the insides out into a pot. Then he added a little maple syrup, melted butter, a bit of brown sugar, some cinnamon, a little bit of powdered clove and some salt/pepper. Stirred all that up and then stuffed it back in the skins and served it up.

OH DEAR LORD it was good. I mean it made me wish for sweet potatoes and it was filling. I think we has smoked sausage that night on the campfire to go with it.

Try that out sometime....baked taters in the camp fire cant be beat either. We'd bake a 5 lb bag the first night...and then use them all weekend for fried taters, or eat them with butter and salt, or dice them up for omlettes.

 

[sbcman]

Regarding the firewood...you better check ahead of time. Most of the DNR properties will not allow you to bring outside wood into the park, because of the parasitic bugs out there that are destroying certain trees. Emerald Ash Bore, etc etc

The SRA's (State Recreational Areas) used to let you burn wood you found in the woods on the site, not sure they do anymore. SRA's are not the State Parks.

My wife and I used a queen sized Coleman air bed for I bet 5 or 6 years...it was way more expensive than a couple of sleeping mattresses but it was heavy duty and lasted a long time. What's a heater buddy? You never ever want to have an open flame inside a tent. Welcome to family camping, it's a great time, and my kids are in their 30's now and they still talk about the camping trips we took when they were kiddies. Seems the most memorable ones are the ones where we ran into adversity...either with the weather, other campers, or general circumstances.

My son took his family camping at McCormick's Creek a couple summers ago, we went down to have dinner with them (dutch oven stew) and a flock of genuine hippies were camping in the site across the way....we all got done eating and they came over and invited us to sit in on their drum circle...I am not kidding...basically they sat in a big circle and passed around a drum...when it came to you, you got to beat the drum for a few minutes and then pass it along...it was hilarious and all I could do to sit there and not laugh my buns off. The grandkids thought it was awesome and wondered if the hippies were Indians...hahah.

Happy trails!

gotta love the folks we come across in this life

Regarding firewood, the word from the clerk on Lincoln was that you can bring your own if its from Indiana and its debarked. Also scrap 2x4s and so forth was cool. They just don't want any bark coming in, according to her. Don't know if this holds for other campgrounds though

A heater buddy is a propane heater that heats ceramic and radiates off from there. Probably won't have to use it again this year but it was handy the other night. We also laid blankets inbetween the ceiling and flytrap that helped out with the wind.

 

[Slawburger]

Glad you had a great time!

Debarked wood is generally ok at DNR property. You can also generally find "DNR Approved" firewood for sale by private individuals near the park and it is cheaper than buying wood at the camp store.

Open flames are dangerous in tents. However, the Mr. Heater "My Buddy" and "Big Buddy" heaters are ok inside a tent if you place them on a firm surface (plywood square or metal plate that protects the ground from dutch oven coals) and keep flammable material away from the front. They do not have an "open flame" and have both low oxygen sensors and tip over protection. They are designed for indoor and tent use.

 

[sbcman]

Another food item you might try...first of all let me say that you couldn't get me to eat sweet potatoes out of the oven if you held a gun to my head. I do not like them.

A guy in our scout troop brought some big old yams with him, right after we cooked breakfast he banked up the coals in the fire ring and buried three or four of the big yams in the coals. He let them sit in the fire ring and roast all day long, tossing on a few more coals every now and then. I was certain I would not be eating them. When dinner time came around he pulled them out cut them in half and scrapped the insides out into a pot. Then he added a little maple syrup, melted butter, a bit of brown sugar, some cinnamon, a little bit of powdered clove and some salt/pepper. Stirred all that up and then stuffed it back in the skins and served it up.

OH DEAR LORD it was good. I mean it made me wish for sweet potatoes and it was filling. I think we has smoked sausage that night on the campfire to go with it.

Try that out sometime....baked taters in the camp fire cant be beat either. We'd bake a 5 lb bag the first night...and then use them all weekend for fried taters, or eat them with butter and salt, or dice them up for omlettes.

Nice- we'll have to try that out! Thanks!

Glad you had a great time!

Debarked wood is generally ok at DNR property. You can also generally find "DNR Approved" firewood for sale by private individuals near the park and it is cheaper than buying wood at the camp store.

Open flames are dangerous in tents. However, the Mr. Heater "My Buddy" and "Big Buddy" heaters are ok inside a tent if you place them on a firm surface (plywood square or metal plate that protects the ground from dutch oven coals) and keep flammable material away from the front. They do not have an "open flame" and have both low oxygen sensors and tip over protection. They are designed for indoor and tent use.

Yes, I think I named it wrong above, we have the Mr. Heater "My Buddy." Thanks for the tip on the wood, we'll keep an eye out

 

[Archbishop]

bang for the buck it's hard to beat a Eureka. Also, as other have already stated really, stay away from the generic Walmart tent. I swear they where designed by people who have no real concept of camping.
I also second the buying two tents. If you get into a crowded camping situation it often easier to find space for two smaller tents than one monster tent.
Pay close attention to the rules about no food or drink in the tents. Depending on which park you setup in this can have you meeting the local wildlife, up close, at night.
Understand that the tent that you buy for car camping will NOT be the tent you want for backpacking. So really decide what type of camping you're gonna do and buy accordingly.