Family Camping Traditions

RVing families return to their favorite campgrounds year after year, creating lasting memories.

By Jeff Crider
May 2020

Angie Combes and her family look forward to camping at Dolores River Campground in southwest Colorado. A convenient base camp for exploring Mesa Verde National Park and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, the campground is heavily wooded and has its own fishing pond. The Dolores River runs through it, and it’s close to the McPhee Reservoir, a great place for trout fishing. “We’ve hiked in Telluride, Durango, and Silverton,” said Ms. Combes, who lives in Chino Valley, Arizona, with her husband and two children, ages 14 and 17. Their favorite time to visit is fall, she said, though if schedules allow, they also go in the summer.

The family enjoys Dolores River Campground so much that Ms. Combes’ parents and brother, who live in Arkansas and northern California, respectively, frequently make 1,000-mile drives to camp with them. It’s been a family tradition for 13 years. Her parents even celebrated their 50th anniversary at the campground with about 20 family members, several of whom rented cabins to enjoy the event.

It doesn’t take long for RV-owning families to develop their own family camping traditions. Once they find a campground they like, many return regularly, especially if it’s in a scenic location with fun on-site activities. With the right mix of positive attributes, the family tradition may continue over multiple generations. In the process, families often develop deep emotional ties to the campgrounds and close friendships with the people who own and operate them.

Thirty-nine-year-old Curt Nummerdor was 5 when his parents began taking him to Lake Arrowhead Campground in Montello, Wisconsin. His parents and an aunt and uncle rented campsites next to each other for the whole season.

“For us, we really enjoyed the family atmosphere, and being treated like family by the park’s owners,” he said. Some of his best childhood memories are of Lake Arrowhead, he added, which offers a variety of kid-friendly activities.

Mr. Nummerdor is now married with two kids, ages 7 and 10, who also have been raised camping at Lake Arrowhead. “They do the activities. They bike. They swim. We go out on the lake in a pontoon boat,” he said.

Mr. Nummerdor said he enjoys the simple things, like outdoor cooking. “We cook every meal over the campfire,” he said, including barbecued bacon and sausage in the morning; barbecued chicken, ham, and brisket for dinner; and desserts of homemade cobblers cooked in a Dutch oven and served with ice cream.

This year is Casey Derksen’s first time staying at Lake Arrowhead as a seasonal camper, which will enable him to leave his travel trailer on-site and not have to pack up on Sundays. He grew up camping there and continues the tradition with his 8- and 10-year-old children. He uses his campsite as a common rendezvous spot with his three brothers.

Of course, with so many families camping at the same places every summer, romances can spark.

Phyllis May of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, was 10 when she met her future husband, 11-year-old Bernie Lynch, while camping at Buttonwood Beach RV Resort in Earleville, Maryland, in her family’s Wilderness travel trailer. Their families were among the first to purchase long-term leases at the resort in the 1970s.

Buttonwood Beach has frontage along the Elk River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay, and Phyllis grew up boating and waterskiing. At night, family members gathered with musical instruments for sing-alongs, or sang karaoke. The setting was so beautiful that several extended family members and friends also purchased long-term leases.

Then there was Bernie. “I always had a crush on him. He used to ride his bike down the hill, and I would watch him through my binoculars,” Phyllis recalled with a laugh.

The youngsters saw each other only in summertime, but they started dating at age 17. After they were married, they bought Bernie’s parents’ park model and took over their lease.

The Lynches, who have been married for 32 years, brought their three kids to Buttonwood Beach every summer. The children are now in their 20s, but they spend most of the summer at Buttonwood Beach, sharing a park model that 27-year-old daughter Brooke purchased. Now that Brooke is expecting her first child, they soon will have four generations of campers at Buttonwood Beach.

Many families say their camping traditions create wonderful memories and help maintain bonds for relatives who live far apart.

For the past 15 years, 50 to 75 of Della Perales’ family members from Texas and Colorado have gathered for reunions at least every other summer.

“We try to find unique facilities that will host us. We always look for places that have fun activities,” she said. Those have included Jellystone Park resorts, which appeal to multiple generations, such as the Jellystone campgrounds in Burleson, Texas, and Larkspur, Colorado.

“The challenge is getting the younger ones to go,” Ms. Perales explained, referring to those between 25 and 35. “They’re so busy that we have to find something to draw them in, something to entice them to go back to their roots.”

Ms. Perales’ family came to the United States from Mexico more than 80 years ago. As relatives dispersed over two states, some lost contact with each other. Ms. Perales and her siblings organize reunions to keep their extended family together.

The biennial gatherings include sing-alongs and talent shows, often held in campground pavilions. A family historian shares insights about the family. They have even produced a cookbook of favorite family recipes as a way to keep everyone connected.

Four generations of Ann Hunley’s family continue a 60-plus-year tradition of camping together. It began with her grandparents, Edmond and Ocie VanCleave, and grew to include their five children and their families. Today, family
campers range from 2 to 91 years old.

The family has held reunions every Labor Day weekend for 31 years at the Townsend/Great Smokies KOA Holiday in Townsend, Tennessee. Ms. Hunley, a Knoxville, Tennessee, resident, said these gatherings attract 50 to 60 family members and have helped keep folks close. “Many live so far away, so it’s a great tradition that brings everyone together,” she said.

“As a family, we share breakfasts and dinners together,” she continued. “At the family meals, after we count off with the family members present, we pray with everyone holding hands, and then sing ‘God Bless America’ before we eat. After meals, we may share old stories or memories or enjoy the activities that the area offers, like tubing, hiking, or riding around Cades Cove. We have had many wedding showers and baby showers at the campground, too.”

Last year, general manager Mark Chipperfield allowed Ms. Hunley’s family to plant a dogwood tree in the campground in memory of her parents, because camping was so important to them. Relatives gathered for a memorial service as the tree was planted.

“We feel that camping unites us even more as a family. In the end, after everything is said and done, family will always be there,” Ms. Hunley said. “We have created bonds that most families cannot understand. We hope each generation will pass this tradition down to the next generation so that we never lose sight of how lucky we are to have family.”

Some families have recognized that they don’t have to limit their camping traditions to the summer months.

For 20 years, Carla Woods and her family, from Lodi, California, have celebrated Thanksgiving at Casini Ranch Family Campground, located along the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, about two hours north of San Francisco.

Ms. Woods started the tradition after her mom passed away in the fall of 2000. At that time, her son was 5 and her daughter was 6 months old. “I wanted to do something that was completely different,” she said, adding that her mom had always taken charge of Thanksgiving dinner.

Ms. Woods’ family enjoyed the Thanksgiving campout so much that they now spend all of Thanksgiving week at Casini Ranch. They stay in their RVs and set up a huge heated tent that accommodates 40 people, which they use as a giant family room. The family has T-shirts made to commemorate the annual event. They also enjoy the campground’s activities.

“(Casini Ranch has) hay rides, and crafts in the barn for the kids. They also do a tree lighting for Christmas,” she said.

When it’s time for Thanksgiving dinner, one person barbecues the turkey while others prepare their specialty dishes, potluck-style.

“My family loves this tradition more than anything in the world,” Ms. Woods said. “They look forward to it all year.”

Of course, even small families and couples without kids enjoy their own traditions.

Eighty-one-year-old Janet Denton of New York started camping with her husband in Florida at Boyd’s Key West Campground in 1968, just five years after Boyd and Elsie Hamilton founded the park. The Dentons loved Key West so much that they returned to Boyd’s Campground every winter. In the process, they became close friends with the Hamiltons. They saw the Hamilton children grow up and eventually take over management of the campground.

“We love [Janet], and she is like family to us,” said Henry Boyd Hamilton, who now owns and operates the campground with his brother, Danny.

Following her husband’s passing, Ms. Denton continued to stay at Boyd’s Campground, because she has become close to many other guests. She also enjoys the park’s numerous activities. “I can sit and read if I want to or go to craft classes or to the beach. There are also a lot of potlucks where you can get yourself with new people all of the time,” she said.

Sometimes, work commitments make it hard to squeeze in much camping. But once RVers venture out, they find their piece of paradise and develop their own camping traditions.

Kelly Prentiss, a 60-year-old Texas native, bought a 41-foot Fleetwood Discovery motorhome four years ago. He planned to take frequent trips with his wife, Jackie, and their dog, a 130-pound Akita, to explore the United States and do some fly-fishing. But he landed a job as chief financial officer for three energy companies in south Texas. Instead of using the motorhome for travel, he wound up working long hours and living in it in a remote area south of San Antonio.

When the Prentisses took a trip to Glenwood Canyon Resort in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, one recent September, they knew they had found paradise.

“The main reason we like September is because the kids are back in school, there are great temperatures, and the aspen trees are changing color, especially toward the end of (the month). And the fly-fishing is really good,” he said.

The area has several hot springs, plus opportunities for white-water rafting on the Colorado River and exploring back roads in four-wheel-drive vehicles. “Glenwood Canyon Resort is a neat base for what we want to do,” Mr. Prentiss said. “I hope to go back there this September, and every September I can from now on.”

The possibilities for creating memorable camping traditions are as numerous as the types of RVs and campgrounds available. Each family creates their own journey.