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Place to take the kids camping?


jmo

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Looking for a place to go camping with my wife and 2 4 year olds. I live in a Tacoma, so the closer to there the better. We'd need a nearby water source, and maybe a few peaks or something nearby that I can scramble while they are napping. Any suggestions?

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I was going to start a thread here with the same question, any suggestions on where to take a 9 and 12 year old on a day hike this Monday. Little to no snow, but I think I will take my own advise and look at my books.

 

I have two recommendations. the first is Best Hikes with Kids: Western Washington & the Cascades by Joan Burton and Ira Spring

 

The second is Beyond Mount Si: The Best Hikes With in 85 Miles of Seattle by John Zilly

 

If you are dealing with two that are four years old then I would recommend the first, “Best Hikes with Kids” for two reasons. First is this has many easier hikes that a 4 year old can do. And secondly it will have more hikes closer to where you live.

 

Have fun!

 

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Looking for a place to go camping with my wife and 2 4 year olds. ...while they are napping.

4-year-olds that nap??? How do you get them to do that??? I need to know!

 

We have a 3-year-old daughter who won't go to bed before 9:30/10:00 pm, wakes up not later than 6:30 every day, and won't take a nap. Goddamned if we know how she does it. :confused:

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I don't know how mine do it either. They won't turn 4 for a few more days, but they do nap.

 

They get up around 0730, and take about an hour nap every day, but they want two. We're trying to wean them, but it may not be worth it. Their bedtime is 8pm, but they're starting to not get to sleep until 9.

 

We force them to run and play outside, and it seems to help.

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I drag 'em outside and play with them almost every night after I get home from work. Tag, soccer, swings, scooters, bikes, walk around the block, whatever. Nothing seems to tire them out. Dad, however, is bushed by bedtime... :rolleyes:

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My four year old naps every-day...during school...on the weekends it's non-stop till he finally passes out...around 9:30-10:00....I can occasionally get him down at 7:30...that's a dream come true..

 

As far as hikes...The afformentioned book is a necessity...great compelation of places..

 

There is a place called Mirror Lake...great hike..and I think camping.

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some great campgrounds in WA for kids:

1) Kalaloch (Olympics, need to make reservations months in advance)

2) Heart of the Hills (Olympics)

 

Easy day hikes:

age 4-5: Rattlesnake Ledge, Heather Lake, Hurricane Hill

age 6-7: Lake 22, Pilchuck, Snow Lake, Spray Park

age 8-9: Heather Pass/Lake Ann loop, Melakwa Lake

 

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Dosewallips State park has some tent cabins that take the camping out of camping and nearby Mt. Walker offers a hike where you can drive to the top and hike down. Most 4-year-olds don't want to hike up hill, but they do just fine hiking down.

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Dosewallips State park has some tent cabins that take the camping out of camping and nearby Mt. Walker offers a hike where you can drive to the top and hike down. Most 4-year-olds don't want to hike up hill, but they do just fine hiking down.

 

In my experience 4 year olds are fine hiking uphill as long as you feed them cheetos and caprisun, and bring a summit treat. :)

 

 

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Looking for a place to go camping with my wife and 2 4 year olds. ...while they are napping.

4-year-olds that nap??? How do you get them to do that??? I need to know!

 

We have a 3-year-old daughter who won't go to bed before 9:30/10:00 pm, wakes up not later than 6:30 every day, and won't take a nap. Goddamned if we know how she does it. :confused:

 

Just be thankful your child sleeps through the night. I have a 19 month old and he still wakes up 2-6 times a night. Sometimes he wakes up every hour......ahhhhhhh!

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You must be a more inspiring scout leader than I am. I've gotten kids up some significant hikes but mostly I've chosen extremely easy hikes if there is a significant uphill component and even then I've seen kids or their parents pull the plug.

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You must be a more inspiring scout leader than I am. I've gotten kids up some significant hikes but mostly I've chosen extremely easy hikes if there is a significant uphill component and even then I've seen kids or their parents pull the plug.

 

Well, I got a large group up Pilchuck a couple years ago - ages 5-12 mostly. The parents had the hardest time, but they were stoked on the huckleberries and occasional wild mushroom (for eating, not for tripping)... :-)

 

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Looking for a place to go camping with my wife and 2 4 year olds. ...while they are napping.

4-year-olds that nap??? How do you get them to do that??? I need to know!

 

We have a 3-year-old daughter who won't go to bed before 9:30/10:00 pm, wakes up not later than 6:30 every day, and won't take a nap. Goddamned if we know how she does it. :confused:

 

Just be thankful your child sleeps through the night. I have a 19 month old and he still wakes up 2-6 times a night. Sometimes he wakes up every hour......ahhhhhhh!

Been there, done that, 'bone. Through two of them, so that is so old hat for me. Suck it up and get on with it, Dad... :smirk:

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Looking for a place to go camping with my wife and 2 4 year olds. ...while they are napping.

4-year-olds that nap??? How do you get them to do that??? I need to know!

 

We have a 3-year-old daughter who won't go to bed before 9:30/10:00 pm, wakes up not later than 6:30 every day, and won't take a nap. Goddamned if we know how she does it. :confused:

 

Just be thankful your child sleeps through the night. I have a 19 month old and he still wakes up 2-6 times a night. Sometimes he wakes up every hour......ahhhhhhh!

Been there, done that, 'bone. Through two of them, so that is so old hat for me. Suck it up and get on with it, Dad... :smirk:

 

How can a climber complain about an abbreviated night's sleep? :grlaf:

 

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  • 2 months later...

I highly recommend the Olympic beaches, Shi-Shi, or Cape Alava-Sand Point. Kids (some in their 30's-40's) LOVE the beaches. Go to Shi-Shi in May, before the crowds, after the real cold (it can still be quite cool there).

 

Just remember to keep them comfortable at that age, or it'll be a turnoff.

 

We also did a really nice 3-day backpack out of the Johnston Visitors' Center at St. Helens, years ago, two families, our kids were older than yours are now. It's extremely tightly regulated, almost absurdly. I think we did this in September when the crowds were gone, worth skipping school for (bring 'em up right, teach 'em to play hooky, democracy thrives on rebellion). We saw NOBODY. There's a network of trails north of the mountain, we were camped out-of-sight of it actually. We did one day-hike on a trail that threads thru a cannon-hole, and at one point rounds a corner and POOF! you're looking straight into the crater. They won't forget that; I didn't. There were elk bugling, coyotes singing. We looped out past lots of destroyed logging equipment, where so many people died. This was 2004? 14-15 years after the eruption, and still the soil was extremely barren, it holds little water. Think dry! Think desert! I recall a LONG water run from camp. A truly unique place.

 

Forget scrambling while they nap. You're a dad now. Focus on them. This will pass. All too soon. Let them scramble the peaks with you, just be prepared to carry them down.

 

Get some of those plastic water bags from boxed wine or Starblechh's coffee; they weigh nothing but hold 1.5 gal for camp reservoirs, and you can hump water a moderate distance if you have to. Put 'em in a stuff sack, they are fragile.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Nope, Cloud Cap area was untouched. The nearby Tilly Jane area was burned but no buildings were harmed. Many thanks to all the hard-working Rangers and volunteers in the area !

Be advised that currently the road up Cooper Spur to Cloud Cap & Tilly Jane campgrounds remains closed as of today. Forecasted precipitation should allow for re-opening soon.

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