Overlanding With Kids: What Actually Works

Every “overlanding with kids” article I read before our first trip was written by someone selling something. A rooftop tent company telling you to buy their tent. A fridge company telling you to buy their fridge. More gear and FOMO — less actual advice.

Here’s what we’ve found works, doing this for 8 years.

And yes, we do this for real — my wife, my kid, our dog Boo, and me, in a daily-driven Subaru Forester we call the Ghost. 👻 We go out solo and we go out with friends — some that have camped before and some that haven’t — but these are the tried-and-true tips.

1. Shorter driving days beat heroic mileage 🚙

The number one trip-killer isn’t gear. It’s a kid who’s been strapped into a car seat for nine hours.

As Jonah has gotten older, we’ve been able to increase our drives, and we’ve done 8–10 hour drives. But as a rule, we try to cap driving days at four to five hours when Jonah’s with us. That means we pick destinations closer, we research our area, and we plan ahead. Knowing your kid’s and your dog’s limits for travel makes the experience a lot more enjoyable and prevents fatigue before the camping even begins.

2. Stop at random spots 🛑

We stop at every weird roadside thing — a cool antique shop, a random gas station, a small town square, all of it. The stops aren’t delays. They’re the trip. They help us get some stretch time and see new things. The journey is just as important as the destination.

3. Games 🎲

This really should be number one. Whether on the drive or at camp, games are a necessity: playing cards, Uno, road trip bingo, rainbow car, I Spy, Scrabble, dominoes. All the games make for good ways to avoid boredom, beat “I’m bored” and “Are we there yet,” and make for fun memories at camp.

Also, you’d be surprised how many friends Jonah has made at camp because he has Uno. And it makes waiting on dinner, or a sudden rainstorm, easier when there is a game to play.

4. Limit screen time 📵

Yes, movies at camp are awesome. I have a projector, and Jonah and I have crushed some Minecraft worlds at night on the Nintendo Switch. But they are an exception, not the rule.

Not judging if you give them a movie to watch on the road or at camp — Lord knows I’ve heard the Bluey theme song a million times on the road. But we get out in nature to unplug, and more often than not the Switch and iPad just sit in the car, forgotten until we unload.

This is just a reminder that a few days without a screen won’t kill them… or YOU. Get off your phone and enjoy it. 🌲

5. Give them a job 🔦

Jonah has camp jobs. They have obviously changed as he has grown, and now he starts the fire, sets up sleeping gear, and makes sure fishing gear and equipment are secured — just to name a few.

I’m trying to teach him these skills for after I’m gone, so hopefully he does this with his own kids — meaning he’s a part of the process, not just watching. Plus, I’ve found when he’s involved, he’s less likely to find something to complain about. (You parents know what I’m talking about.)

Overall, the tasks may be different for your own kids, but get them involved. I promise you won’t regret it.

6. The comfort items are non-negotiable 🧸

Whatever the thing is — the blanket, the stuffed animal, the specific pillow — it comes. Every time.

We have forgotten it exactly once, and I would rather forget the water. Pack it first, in the cab, not buried in the cargo bay. If you’ve ever made it to camp with no stuffy, you know. 😅

7. Bedtime routine survives the trail 🌙

Same order, wherever we are: shower (real or Klean Freak wipe-down), teeth, story, lights out.

The environment may change. The routine doesn’t. Kids handle unfamiliar places way better when something is familiar, and the middle of nowhere can be scary. You ensuring routine makes it easier on them — and you.

8. Feed them before they’re hungry 🍽️

Hangry adults are bad. Hangry kids end a trip.

We keep a dedicated snack bag in the cab — not in the cooler, not in the kitchen box, in arm’s reach of the back seat. Trail mix, fruit, the good granola bars. The second anyone gets hangry-quiet, the snacks come out.

Also, camp meals don’t have to be crazy or long processes. I have made more grilled ham and cheese sandwiches than ever before. I always say I want to try an Instagram camp meal, but 9/10 he’d rather just grill up his own sammy.

9. Lower your bar for “adventure” 🪨

The things Jonah remembers most are, more often than not, the little things I don’t even think of: finding the perfect stick, rock hunting, lounging in a river, casting a line at sunset.

I can plan a crazy trail ride, pushing the limits of the rig, and he will say the best part was a rock he found. Don’t stress the adventure. It’ll find you.

What we’d never leave home without 🎒

• The snack bag (cab, arm’s reach)
• The comfort item (packed first)
• A bag full of games
• A headlamp for Jonah — this has now morphed into his own “camp bag”: lights, hatchet, knives, his custom-made survival kit, a BB gun… you know, the “essentials” 😎
• Boo’s long lead and Woofino water bandana (it’s a lifesaver) — she can explore anywhere and get water no matter how far into the trail we get 🐾
• Patience. More than you think. Then a little more.

The honest truth

Overlanding with kids is slower, louder, and messier than going solo. I don’t get to always do everything I want, and 10/10 times it never goes the way I imagined it in my Instagram-perfect reel that I build in my head.

It’s also the only version of this I’d trade anything for. It’s morphed over the years, and I’ve loved every version of it — the good and the bad.

The kids won’t stay little forever, and the adventure changes every year, but I wouldn’t trade it for any solo trip.

That’s the whole philosophy. Preparedness without panic — for the whole family. So the adventures stay with him FOREVER. 👻

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New here? Start with what “preparedness without panic” actually means — it’s the whole philosophy in one post.