Family Camping: 48 Hours at Virginia's Claytor Lake State Park
Our family has returned
from our first family-of-four camping trip. We are planning for a big road trip
and week long camping trip next summer, so this weekend was our first “trial
run.” We chose Claytor Lake
State Park (Virginia State Parks), in Dublin, near the Radford/ Christiansburg/ Blacksburg
area. We camped on a holiday weekend/the last weekend of the summer season, which was unusually
busy, but still fun.
Before the trip, I listened to suggestions of friends who both love and hate camping and tried to plan accordingly. General camping complaints were getting rained on, smoke from the camp fire, and sleeping on an uncomfortable surface, all of which are fixable.
There are tons of packing lists all over Pinterest, which we used, but there were a few items we bought that really stand out which we recommend. We bought this big Field and Stream 8-person tent to give us ample room, which included a rain fly. I water sealed the tent and rain fly with this tent waterproofing spray and water sealant tape. These two Intex queen size inflatable mattresses, much more comfortable than the hard ground, were a hit, and with this battery operated air pump, even the kids inflated and deflated them very quickly and easily.
These awesome folding chairs recline! We will use these and this 10x10 canopy tent for cross country meets and VMI tailgating this fall.
This Coleman Roadtrip Folding Portable Propane Grill was a life saver! We loved cooking on this!
Also a battery operated tent light, battery
operated fan, and collapsible bucket came recommended and were helpful.
On the next trip, we want
warmer clothes and socks, thermal blankets, a cooler that stays cold longer, and
camping hammocks.
We grilled pretty much everything on the Coleman Roadtrip propane grill. We cooked hotdogs, hamburgers, grilled corn, bacon and eggs, and heated up chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and corn muffins for dinner. Our favorite meal was a Lowcountry boil, which was out of this world.
We did use our campfire to roast marshmallows
for Smore‘s, but our main meals were all cut on the Coleman propane grill,
which was so, so easy!
Shamrock café about a mile from the park is where I went for hot coffee the first morning, Radford Coffee Company about 10 minutes down the road saved us the second morning.
What Did We Do at Claytor Lake?
Day 1: We unpacked the
car and set up camp, then went for ice cream just outside the park. We cooked dinner and ate, then Mark and I had a glass
of wine and sat in our reclining chairs, while the kids made their first attempt
at a campfire.
Day 2: We cooked breakfast on the propane grill, and I made a hot coffee run to Shamrock Café. We went for a hike on Hidden Valley Trail, one of the many scenic hiking/walking trails nature trails in the area. We cooked burgers on the grill, and then headed for an afternoon sailing excursion.
In addition to sailing, there is a sandy beach where you can swim and picnic, plus stand up paddle board and kayak rentals and a nice gift shop.
Day 3: Breakfast and
coffee at Radford Coffee Company, a great choice! It is a nonprofit
coffee shop, whose proceeds go to help the indigenous children of the Rio Coco in
Nicaragua. Hot coffee, delicious food, good cause. Win-Win-Win. We then packed up all
of our camping supplies, we headed to the beach, then headed home.
Claytor Lake has a great sand beach by the lake with swimming, and grass where people are
grilling out and picnicking. There is also a small nature center there, where the children were able to handle a python.
From the time we arrived to the time that we left, we were
there just shy of 48 hours. The camping trip was a success, and I think the location was key in making it such a good trip. We are definitely going to do this again, hopefully sooner or later, so please let me know if you have any suggestions as to where we should go. I would love to hear your ideas and favorite family camping spots.
xoxo, Erin
We love an adventure! If you do, too, read on.
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