Taking a family camping vacation is a great way to bond and renew those familial ties that might become loosened during the course of busy school and work schedules.  Many people recognize that camping is a fun adventure and most everyone finds some aspect of camping enjoyable.

However, do you know where to go during your camping adventures?

If you happen to live in Texas, you could purchase a state park pass which gives you free access to over 100 state park sites and nature parks in the state.

Texas state parks’ camping is very affordable and with a pass, you could experience a wild variety of environments from alligator sightings at Brazos Bend to exploring caves at Longhorn Caverns.

Every state in the country has camping opportunities but not all of them have easily accessible state or national parks for you to camp in. For this reason, there is KOA camping.

There are KOA campgrounds (both franchised and individually owned) around many tourist attractions and nature areas where you might be able to book a camp site for the family.

With KOA, there are additional amenities like a small convenience store, gift shop, internet access and other things that state and national parks do not have.

Finding a place to camp is a big part of the battle in creating your plans for a trip but what about keeping the kids entertained during the long road trip or even at the campsite itself?

Having camping games for the kids can be a godsend (and sanity-saving). A nature scavenger hunt is one fun way of engaging the kids.

In advance, find some things in nature around your campsite the kids can find on their own safely and then set them out to find them. The first one with all the items wins.

Using a flashlight at night, kids can take turns making shadow puppets on the walls of their tent. You can hide different camping supplies in a sleeping bag that kids must identify while blindfolded.

Bring a book of stories especially for the campfire and be the designated storyteller. Kids may get bored in the car so the standard “I Spy” and license plate games will fill in some time.

Also, why not try books on tape to keep them quiet and engaged? Create a portable hangman game using the back of a metal cookie sheet and magnetic letters to spell words.

Foresee trouble areas like the boredom factor for kids and choosing a campsite that offers quite a few activities in the area like fishing, swimming, nature hikes and more. Camping can be a lot of fun when you plan ahead.