Overlanding / Weekend with Kids?

I love my 15 month old. He's an awesome little guy, but is it possible to get out and have fun? I'm from Maryland so any unpaved roads or mud trails are at least 2 hours away... so you're talking 4 hours of car seat time just to get there and back. Has anyone found a way to go camping or overlanding for the weekend or anything with toddlers? I mention to my wife how I'm going nuts with COVID and working flat out and want to get out, then its like... oh yeah... we got a little kid that doesn't know bouncing down an unpaved path in the woods is fun.

 

Nah. It's impossible. Sell the truck and get a Civic. Of course it's possible. Get out there, figure out the potential issues, mitigate them and repeat. It's just like cooking. Cook a meal, figure out if it's shity, adjust the recipe To your needs and try again.

 

The things that I did that makes a huge change in how my kids like road trips is bags for their stuff and access to food for them.

I have a soft sided cooler that I keep between the 2 kids full of snacks and sandwiches. Then I got the meso overhead rack, each side has 2 bags for the kids to put their things in so its out of their way. Keeping them entertained is super easy when you can pack half their toys in the truck and within reach of them.


Since yours is so young it makes things a little harder for one of you. Put the wife in the back seat with the kid and let them be in charge of keeping the kid entertained till you get to the destination.

 

If you don't do it now, he will get older and more difficult to encourage road trips. You'll get set in a rut.

So, I would say to get out there and do it. Plan for stops along the way so it isn't one long drive, even if you have to picnic. Then, make the drives fun. Music, conversation, laughs at the road signs and sights, etc.

Just don't pass up the opportunity.

 

We go day tripping/day camping all the time with a 6 mo old and 3.5 year old -- its very doable.

Children like dogs definitely need to be car trained. I love to just drive and my kids like to nap in the car so i'd start by just frequently taking them for drives to get them used to siting in their seat/going on drives.

The other trick is to try and start your 2+ hour drive right around nap time. I have a nap play list on spotify that i just play (it sucks i dont get to listen to my music but what ever i get to go out) to help encourage them to sleep...
Like others have mentioned - bring lots of snacks, but okay with taking some pit stops along the way (even for 15-20 minutes). Sometimes we bring a tablet and let my daughter play games or watch tv until we get to our destination.

After you do this more frequently your kid will be used to riding in the car for so long and it'll almost be second nature.

The other thing also is to make sure you can find something that your kid will be super excited about at the destination. For example, my kid loves waterfalls, she loves taking our kayak out or swimming. So usually i'm trying to plan our offroad/day trip plans around a trail with a lake, waterfall etc. That way i can tell her - hey do you want to go see _____ -- great then you got to be patient while we get there.

Good luck, start training them now on sitting in the car

Edit: also you'll know you had a good day because the kid will knock out for the ride home so that 2 hour drive back is a moot point

 

I concur, make it fun for the kids, lots of scenic stops along the way, short hikes, POI's, ice cream stops, etc. Go off road, open the windows, bird watch, climb steep grades, and share your enthusiasm, they will pick up on it that dad's having fun, and have fun too!

 

I do it all the time with my kids. I won’t give any advice though. This is one of those things that you can’t really plan for. You just have to do it and take notes for next time. You get better every time you do it though!!

Well I will give one tip- bring your kids potty if they are trained. This will be a legit lifesaver if you are on the long drive or for when you set up camp.

 

Bring the squatty potty for the adults also.