After all, the whole point of camping is to have fun. And sweating all night instead of sleeping is definitely not fun.

Try out one—or all!—of these camping in the heat hacks. I’m nearly positive you’ll learn something new by reading to the end.

Whenever you’re camping in hot weather, do yourself a favor and stay cool!

How to cool a tent without electricity

In my house, we’re pretty stingy about using the AC. When temperatures soar, though, we’re not opposed to cranking up the air—especially since we have two fluffy senior dogs who don’t do well in the heat.

It goes without saying, though, that we don’t do this while camping in hot weather. Many RVs have air conditioning, but we camp in a tent. That’s why we’ve worked out these ideas on how to cool a tent without electricity.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not! With these camping in the heat hacks, you’ll cool your tent without electricity—and make your hot weather camping much more comfortable.

Set up your tent in the shade

This tip sounds like a “duh” moment, but you’d be surprised by how many tents I see set up in the sun! That’s a big no-no for camping in hot weather.

Tents are basically greenhouses. You’re not trying to grow tropical plants, though! You want to keep your tent as cool as possible.

The very first step is to pick a shady spot. Find a tree and set up your tent in the shade, if possible.

If you have choices of trees, consider which way the sun will be moving. Afternoon sun is hotter than morning sun, so aim to set up your tent where it will be shaded after noon. This will be on the east side of a tree or other barrier.

Block the sun with a sun shade

This next camping in hot weather hack is so effective! Tie up a tarp or a reflective sun shade above your tent. This will block the sun’s rays from heating up your tent like an oven.

Tie corners of the tarp or sun shade to trees so the cover is a foot above the top of your tent. The space will ensure air can circulate between the tarp and your tent.

I recommend a long-lasting, UV-blocking sun shade like this one:

In fact, you should get two. Why? You can use one sun shade above your tent, then stretch out another to create a shady spot to hang out. It’s much nicer to eat at a picnic table that’s shady, and it helps with staying cool while camping!

Face your tent toward the breeze

You know when you’re watching pro golfers and they drop a pinch of grass in the air to see which way the wind is blowing? Channeling your inner PGA pro is optional, but follow their lead. Find out which way the breeze blows, then position your tent accordingly.

Not sure which way the wind is blowing? Use the grass trick, wet a finger with your tongue and hold it up to feel the breeze, or simply look at the weather app on your phone. It usually shows which way the wind is blowing.

You also might be camping in hot weather in a place where the wind typically goes in a given direction. This is especially common near bodies of water. The breeze usually blows inland off the ocean, and it’s common for wind to blow upriver in the afternoon (when weather is hottest).

Position your tent so the widest side with a mesh opening faces the breeze. That will get more air flow into your tent.

Use nature’s air conditioning for hot weather tent camping

You know from experience (or physics class) that hot air rises. You can use the same principle that keeps hot air balloons aloft to cool a tent without electricity or air conditioning.

Now that you’ve positioned your tent’s window, door or mesh wall toward the breeze, create another opening. Ideally this is a window, door or other mesh opening on the opposite side of the tent.

Open this window or door at the top, as high in the tent as you can.

This hack to cool a tent without electricity creates a vacuum or mini-wind tunnel. Cool air is blown in on one side. As the air heats, it is sucked out of the opposite opening.

Use this tip every time you go camping in hot weather!

Use ice + a fan while camping in hot weather

This hot weather tent camping tip does require batteries—but no electrical hookups. Start by buying a small battery-powered fan. I recommend one that’s small enough to easily fit in a tent but big enough to move a decent amount of air, like this one:

Depending on how long you’re camping, you’ll want to bring a small supply of batteries to power your fan.

Next, place a frozen ice pack or frozen jug of water in front and slightly below the fan. As the ice melts, the fan will blow cold air throughout the tent.

This camping in the heat hack has an important caveat, though. Make sure you have enough ice to keep your food cool. If not, obviously don’t take ice to cool a tent without electricity. Instead, you can do this same hack with a bucket of cold water (like from a nearby creek). I don’t recommend that for inside a tent, since it’s so easy to knock it over and soak the inside of your tent. You can do the cold water and fan trick while eating dinner, for example.

If you want to increase your chances of using this hack with ice from your cooler, make sure you read my post on how to properly pack a cooler.

Sleep on a cot

You know how you left a foot of space between the top of your tent and the sun shade? You can use the same air flow principles to sleep more comfortably while camping in hot weather.

Buy a lightweight cot to sleep on inside your tent. When you’re off the ground, air circulates below as well as above you. This keeps you cooler at night!

Some camping cots raise you just a few inches off the ground. That’s good enough to ensure you don’t sleep with a pine cone digging into your spine. It’s not enough for proper air circulation to cool you off, though.

That’s why I recommend a camping cot that keeps you higher off the ground, like this budget-friendly and reliable cot:

Now a cot won’t help you stay cool if you’re using a heavy-duty, freezing temperatures sleeping bag. You can buy hot weather sleeping bags or sleeping bag liners, but honestly you can just bring a sheet and sleep under that.

Remove the rain fly when camping in hot weather

If the weather forecast is dry—no thunderstorms on the horizon—take off your tent’s rain fly. Just as it keeps water out, it traps heat in. That’s not what you want when you’re camping in hot weather!

By taking off the rain fly, you’ll allow the hot air to escape through your tent’s mesh roof. And if you’ve set up a tent or sun shade, you’ll still be protected from any out-of-the-blue rain.

I’m dying to know: What other tips for hot weather tent camping can you offer? Let me know in the comments.

And don’t forget to pin this post for later!

The post 7 Tent Camping in Hot Weather Tips: Staying Cool While Camping Hacks appeared first on To & Fro Fam.

You see, camping with kids isn’t always easy—you have to pack for every contingency, try to get kids who are hopped up on s’mores to sleep, and deal with the whole latrine toilet situation. But camping with kids is so worth it, and picking a family-friendly spot like Milo Mciver campground makes it easier.

Just think: Camping with kids means you have dedicated family time away from electronics with nothing to distract you except the call of an owl or a campfire running low on fuel.

Milo McIver Park, Oregon: Camping with the whole family

Camping with kids allows the whole family to unplug and play in the great outdoors, and camping at Milo McIver State Park in Estacada, Oregon is a great place for just that. It’s also a fantastic campsite to visit if you’re not the rugged backpacker-type.

In fact, the Milo McIver campground is one of the better campgrounds to visit with kids. After all, there are so many kid-friendly activities, features, and destinations within the park, your whole family won’t even notice that Baby hardly slept.

(Kidding! Maybe your baby will sleep in a tent like a champ. If so, tell me your secret.)

So if you’re family camping in Oregon, check out Milo McIver park. Here’s everything you need to know, from the campgrounds to disc golf, swimming and more!

Milo McIver State Park Camping

When you camp at Milo McIver State Park near Portland, don’t expect ultra-rustic sites. Instead, you’ll find flat, clean and large campsite—that near everyone else who’s car camping that day. I thought that the sites actually had a good amount of room between them, but you’ll be able to hear and see most of your neighbors.

Milo McIver Park Amenities

The Milo McIver campgrounds are also accessible to RVs (my in-laws joined us with their rig). The campground has an RV dump station and RV hookups.

We were able to easily walk to the flush toilets and shower facilities. And as you can see, fire rings help you keep fires safe.

Milo McIver park has several group tent camping areas, including one near the disc golf course (more on that in a second!). We’ve often wanted to rent a group camping site but haven’t yet.

You can also rent a shelter at Milo McIver’s day-use area. We did this for Hubs’ 40th birthday party. We had plenty of space for our guests to spread out (and nom on his birthday cake, yum yum!). What’s more, the shelter had running water so everyone could wash hands after making fairy wands.

The day-use area is open to everyone, not just campers; you’ll just need to pay the $5 parking fee or get a yearlong Oregon state park pass for just $30.

Level 10 travel tip: Next to the Cedar group picnic area and shelter, you’ll find a tall tree (a cedar I think??) that kids can play in. The branches create an awesome hidey area to play inside. Our littles spent an entire day making it into a fairy castle!

The Best Things to do at Milo Mciver Park: Disc Golf and More 

The great thing about spending a weekend at Milo Mciver Park in Oregon is that there are plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained! You’ll leave feeling refreshed and your kids will have such fun stories to tell their friends at school.

Milo Mciver Disc Golf

We first discovered Milo McIver State Park when Hubs hit up the park’s 27-hole disc golf course. Since then, he goes disc golfing at Milo Mciver just about every week.

Disc golfing is a wonderful family activity because just about any aged kid can throw a disc (even if not very far), you can go at your own pace (or your kids’ pace), and there is a ton of room for kids to run and explore.

When you’re camping here, you can drive to access the Milo Mciver disc golf park at the north end (by turning left if you’re coming from the park’s entrance). If it’s your first-time disc golfing, let faster groups behind you pass you, and don’t hesitate to ask other disc golfers where you’ll find the next hole. If you’re not already a disc golfer, you can buy or rent discs at the park office.

Level 10 travel tip: Keep a close eye on your kids and other groups when you disc golf. After all, you don’t want your kids to accidentally get in the way of an oncoming disc!

Milo Mciver State Park Swimming Areas for Kids

Milo McIver State Park is nestled along the Clackamas River, and you can access the water throughout the park.

Playing in the Clackamas River

Whenever we go to Milo McIver, my girls want to swim—even if it’s raining out! The park has swimming holes, and there are even more spots great for wading.

Make sure you never take your eyes off your kids—the Clackamas River does have a current.

Also know that the water stays quite cold until mid-summer, so bring cozy towels to wrap up your kids after their swim.

Level 10 travel tip: Our favorite river access spot at Milo Mciver Park is between holes 6 and 7 on the east disc golf park. Even if you’re not disc golfing, you can walk along the riverbend trail to find this sandy, calm spot.

Floating the Clackamas River

The stretch of the Clackamas River at Milo McIver is fairly mellow but has a few baby rapids. For families with older kids, it can be a fun adventure to float (aka “tube”) the river.

There are boat ramps throughout the park. You’ll want to leave a car at the takeout so you can drive back to your campsite—or back to the river to float the Clackamas again!

Please be safe, though: Wear lifejackets at all times.

Visit The Fish Hatchery at Milo Mciver State Park

The park is home to one of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s fish hatcheries. In fact, it’s just a few minutes’ drive (or a hike) from many of the Milo Mciver Park camping areas, making it a fun family-friendly activity if your kids need a break from throwing sticks in the campfire.

My kids couldn’t believe how many fish were in the holding tanks—the surface of the water practically rolled with fish growing bigger and bigger.

I learned a lot about fish in Oregon at the hatchery, too. The fish hatchery raises Chinook salmon and Steelhead, helping populations of these threatened species survive threats like habitat loss.

Camping at Milo McIver: Bat house

When you’re camping at Milo McIver, look up: At night, you’ll see flitting shadows. Yep, those are bats!

Before you get creeped out, remember that these nocturnal animals are eating mosquitoes and other bugs. (Thank you, bats!)

It just so happens that Milo McIver State Park is home to Townsend’s big-eared bat, a protected species in Oregon. You and your family can learn even more about these crucial critters by hiking to the Bat House and going along the self-guided tour.

Level 10 travel tip: The hike to the Bat House at Milo McIver is through an open area so it’s not shaded. Make sure to put sunscreen and hats on your kids, especially in the summer, so they don’t get sunburned.

Milo McIver Park Camping: Even more family-friendly features!

• There are miles and miles of hiking trails all around Milo McIver State Park. Pick up a map at the park office.

• Bikes are welcome on all paved roads but not on any trails.

Level 10 travel tip: There’s a big hill that separates the Riverbend section of the park (with the disc golf course) and the Riverside part of the park (with the campsites). Unless your kids are up for a big uphill climb—or you’re willing to pull them in a trailer—stick to one side or the other.

• During the summer, there are park ranger-led kids activities. Check at the park office for a schedule.
• There’s a beautiful viewpoint near the Milo Mciver park office. Stop by to see the Clackamas River from above.

Looking forward to planning our next Milo Mciver Camping Trip

I’m beyond excited for summer camping this year, and we’ll definitely be camping at Milo McIver State Park again. If you’re looking to head out for the weekend and go camping near Portland, make sure to add Milo Mciver Park to your bucket list!

Looking for more family-friendly camping in Oregon? Check out my post on yurt camping at Ft. Stevens State Park on the Oregon Coast because I’m pretty sure you and your kids will love it as much as my littles did!

Do you have any family camping plans?

The post Milo McIver State Park Camping with Kids: A Family Mecca appeared first on To & Fro Fam.