Holiday Camping

OK, so what's so special about holiday camping?  How is it different from weekend camping? Well, if you've every tried it, you'll know.   If you haven't it might be useful to learn a little about it before you plunge into so something that might be frustrating and disappointing. Holiday weekends are great opportunities to get away for an extra day or two and MANY people take advantage of the extra time.   Holidays are a good opportunity for themed outings.   Advance reservations are usually a must for any developed campground and it would be a good idea to check with the land managers (i.e, rangers) regarding the likely availability of remote boondocking locations.   For most of the years our kids were growing up we spent almost very holiday weekend camping and dirt biking.  Most of the time was divided among several favorite open camping/riding areas in the Mojave Desert, but when summer heat got to be a bit too much we'd sometimes head to Forest Service campgrounds in the mountains.   If you're planning on boondocking you can hedge your bet by arriving a day or so early, if possible, to secure your preferred camp site.

Holiday weekends are a good time to go camping.  And, because they are, you're going to find lots of competition out there.   If you want a spot in a popular campground on a holiday weekend you will have to make reservations early -- perhaps as much as a year early!  If you're just boondocking, you'll want to try to arrive early to pick out the best spot.  And keep in mind holiday traffic as you plan your trip. It is likely to take a lot longer than usual to get there and back.  You may also have to do some advance planning for fuel and provisions.  If you wait until the last minute you may find propane and other supplies sold out or at least have long lines.  And you may risk inflated prices around holidays.  Memorial Day typically marks the beginning of the summer camping season and Labor Day the end.  You may find premium prices on supplies and camping on these busy weekends or on any holiday weekend or in the days leading up to them.

Advance planning and preparation is the key to a successful holiday weekend of camping.   Know your routes and traffic patterns.  Leave extra time for going and returning home and try to plan your trips outside of potential rush hours -- and remember, rush hour for a holiday weekend is probably going to be late evening of the day before and the last day of the holiday period.   Purchase your provisions ahead of time.  If your destination campground or any activities require reservations, get them way in advance.  Check out the weather forecast and learn what you can about historical weather patterns for the location and time of year.  Then plan your wardrobe, menu, and activities accordingly.   Even with careful planning you can get surprised.   We got snow on a couple of our Thanksgiving "Turkey In The Dirt" dirt bike outings even though normally the weather in southern California was pretty mild.

Getting caught in holiday traffic is almost a given, sooner or later.  So plan for it. See if there are any attractions you can pull over and enjoy instead of sitting in traffic for hours.  Maybe just spend some time in a rest stop -- fix a snack and stretch your legs.   I once encountered holiday traffic on southern California freeways that was so bad we got off and had dinner and when we got back on the freeway we pulled right back in behind the same truck we'd been behind before we got off for dinner! He'd only moved from the start of the exit ramp to where the on ramp merged on the other side of the road.   The traffic was that slow.   Believe me, that was time well spent!

Camp ground congestion.   On busy holiday weekends you are likely to encounter congestion in your camp ground, including both vehicles and foot traffic.  Any activities, even check in/check out, using the restroom, and shopping at the camp store may be crowded.  Amenities like swimming pools, hot tubs, tennis courts, etc may be crowded any may require advance reservations.   Allow extra time as needed and plan some alternate activities in case your first choice is all booked up.  With proper advance planning you can avoid at least some of those long lines.

Planning a holiday camping trip.  If possible, arrange your schedule so you can leave before the outgoing holiday rush and get back before the rest of the thundering herd.  For a typical 3-day weekend, I like to try to take an extra day and plan my departure for Thursday instead of Friday night or Saturday if I can.  Then I try to leave early enough on Monday to get through the worst traffic before it gets too bad -- or, if I have some extra time, stay over until Tuesday morning.  Most of our outings included dirt biking so our destinations were predominantly remote, primitive sites.  Arriving a day ahead of the crowd allowed us to pick premier sites and stake out our territory without much competition.

If your preferred destination is booked or already occupied, consider exploring alternatives.   You may just find a new favorite!   If you usually stay in developed camp grounds, you might want to try a weekend or two boondocking in a remote, primitive area.  Just be sure to bring enough supplies, especially water and firewood since there won't be any camp store to make up for your deficiencies.

Themed outings.  It can add a lot of fun to do a themed outing that is relevant to the holiday.  If you're doing a Thanksgiving outing, ask each family to find out and share something about how and when their ancestors immigrated to where you now live.  If you can't find anything about your own ancestors, bring along some good stories about historical figures.  There is tons of information available on the Internet.   Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Veteran's Day are all good opportunities for patriotic tales and activities.  Did you or someone in your family serve in the military?  Share their stories.  It might be fun to see if you can get your hands on some authentic "C" rations for one meal and experience what it was like the field "back in the day".  Labor Day these day is mostly just an excuse to take off work and simply take off.   I suspect the younger people in your group may be surprised to learn its origins.  One of my favorite Labor Day anecdotes came from the Sunday funnies when I was a kid.   The strip showed frame after frame of the dad in one of the family funnies raking leaves, cleaning gutters, repairing screens, putting up storm windows, storing lawn furniture, etc.  At the end he sat down exhausted and quipped "Now I know why the call it 'Labor' Day!".  Some places, especially in the western states celebrate "Pioneer Day", which instantly presents a whole set of themed activities, including square dancing, kids outdoor games, and pioneer cuisine.  Valentine's Day isn't a national holiday but it may still be a good excuse for a romantic getaway.  Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays have been combined into the national "President's Day" holiday.  A good time to do focus on a little history.  It is especially fun if you can track down some little-known, amusing anecdotes to share with the group.   I like the story of a boy who confessed to tipping over the family outhouse as a Halloween prank, after which his father gave him a good spanking.  When he complained that George Washington's father didn't spank him when he confessed to cutting down the cherry tree, the father replied "George Washington's father wasn't IN the cherry tree!"  ith a little thought you can make any holiday outing into both an educational and entertaining experience that is fun for everyone.

Christmas camping.  Christmas is an unusual time to go camping for must people, but you may find your self on an outing or visiting family in your RV at Christmas.   No reason not to enjoy the season. Unless you have multiple slide outs you probably won't have room for a full size Christmas tree, but you can probably fit in a small, artificial tree somewhere.  Other holiday decorations and lights can be used to "deck the halls" and you can fill your RV with Christmas music, not to mention Christmas cuisine. In the unlikely event you find yourself tent camping at Christmas, it may a be a good time to create a "Christmas of times past" and make use of natural decorations.   Battery powered LED Christmas lights make festive options for either your RV or your tent.   And don't miss the opportunity of singing Christmas carols around the campfire.  In any case, the focus on the real meaning of Christmas and on the importance of family does not need to be diminished in any way by celebrating it in camp.   And tell the kids not to worry.   Santa can still find them at camp!  And dropping in on a campfire is a lot easier than sliding down a chimney!

New Years' Day has a long tradition of football on TV.  Given the availability of satellite services and portable TVs these days, there is no reason you can't enjoy two of your favorite past times at the same time: camping and football.  Hey, it might even be an innovative experience to invite your regular football buddies to celebrate in camp instead of at home for a change.  I'm sure it would be a unique activity for most of them.  Tailgating at sports events is sort of like camping too.

Happy holidays!