8 Best Family Camping Tents

Finding the Best Tent for Family Camping

Planning your next family camping trip? Vacationing in wide-open spaces with kids poses unique challenges and considerations. It can also create beautiful memories that last a lifetime.

Choosing the right tent helps ensure your outdoor adventure is fun and safe for the entire family. Whether you’re trailblazing over a long weekend or planning to camp out the entire summer, Outside’s online Gear Guy Joe Jackson suggests the following features in a family camping tent:

• Sleeping capacity. “Make sure you have plenty of space,” says Jackson. “If you are car camping with kids you will never wish you had less floor space to sleep on.”
• Vestibules. Jackson thinks tents with ample vestibules are great, especially when camping in the rain or near water. “You can keep your kiddos wet or dirty gear and muddy shoes under the vestibule for protection but still out of the tent,” he says.
• Blackout. Jackson recommends tents that stay dark in full light. They are helpful for facilitating naps, and give you a fighting chance that kids might sleep in.
• Mesh pockets. Interior corners of a tent are really nice for keeping important things like phones and wallets organized.