Recently, one of my favorite manliness blogs published a piece entitled Car Camping Is The Worst. Huh? The article went on to outline how terrible car camping is and why nobody should ever do it. Let’s right this terrible wrong.
Why Car Camping Is Amazing
1. Car Camping Is Convenient For Families
In Car Camping Is The Worst the author complains that camping via renting a cabin or backpacking is far superior than car camping.
I beg to differ! Car camping is the best mode of camping for a young family. Making my four children (ages 8, 4, 2, 2,) haul backpacks would be torturous.
For a young family, all the camping gear can fit in the car (or minivan) and is easily accessible. And let’s face it, when you are camping with a family you need to pack more gear than one would like, and the only way to bring it all is to toss it in the car.
A bonus is a parent can use the car to drive their fussy children to sleep at night.
2. Car Camping Teaches Children More Outdoor Skills Than Renting A Cabin
Car camping involves setting up a tent and a campsite. Not only can this be fun, it also teaches children valuable outdoor skills and important lessons that cannot be taught when renting a cabin and hauling all your supplies inside.
This is why the Boys Scouts car camp as opposed to renting a cabin. There are hard skills and life lessons to be learned!
Also, the tent gives children a vastly different experience of the outdoors. The tap of raindrops on the tent, a hoot of an owl, cricket chirps, a pleasant chill of the night.
Even without children I would prefer car camping with a tent. I have had many more nights of sound sleep in a tent than I have had in a cabin.
3. Car Camping Allows You To Explore More State Parks
The Florida State Park system is among the best in the country and the best way to spend time in these treasures is to car camp at their campgrounds.
The ability to car camp makes the further away campgrounds more accessible, as some of them are just to far for a daytrip. From Tampa, where I live, it takes 6+ hours to drive to the corner of the panhandle, which contains three state parks. It also takes 5+ hours to drive through the Keys.
All that driving is not a problem when you are car camping!
4. Car Camping Is Cheap
Car camping opens a new world of travel and exploration to lower-income families, making it possible to receive amazing natural experiences in the great state of Florida for as little as $0.00 a night.
Recently, I camped at Hontoon Island for just $18.00 a night and I have an upcoming week long camping trip to the Florida Keys this winter, something I could not afford without the ability to car camp.
5. You Will Be Continuing The Long, Proud Florida Tradition of Tin Can Tourism
Tin Can tourism–touring Florida by car and often camping out of them–goes back to over 100 years ago when tourists would flock the highways and backroads of Florida to explore the wonders of this tropical state.
You will carry on the torch and will be able to bring up the next generation in this proud tradition!
As you can see, car camping is awesome.
What really irked me about the article that declared car camping as THE WORST was that the author has little camping experience, admitting he only goes camping about twice per year, yet he somehow thinks that makes him qualified to make blanket statements about camping.
Take it from me, somebody who has now spent close to a combined total of two years under the stars.
Car Camping is not the worst. I absolutely love car camping and to me it is the best.
Why? Because it is the best for my particular situation!
I love camping at the Florida State Parks. I have four young children and a lovely wife. Car camping makes the most sense for us right now, but I’m not silly enough to make statements that car camping is the best or worst for everybody in all times and all places because it is situational.
For some people cabin camping is the best.
For others RV camping is the best.
And for others backpacking is the best.
I absolutely respect all the different modes of camping.
And it all depends on the individual’s situation.
Duh, right.
