The Backyard Campout Guide for Dads (No Wilderness Required)
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
The first time we did a backyard campout my daughter was four. We pitched a tent just off the deck, blew up an air mattress, and made s’mores over the fire pit until it was way too late.
She still talks about it.
Not because it was perfect. Because it was ours. Our backyard, our fire, her dad staying up past bedtime with her looking at stars she’d never noticed before.
You don’t need a campground. You don’t need a reservation. You need a backyard and one night where you decide to do it.
Why backyard campouts work
The genius of a backyard campout is that the stakes are zero. If it rains you go inside. If someone needs the bathroom it’s thirty feet away. If the air mattress deflates at midnight you’re already home.
But the experience — the fire, the dark, the sounds, the feeling of sleeping somewhere other than your bed — that’s all real. Kids don’t know the difference between a state park and your backyard at 9pm with a fire going and nobody on their phone.
What they know is that dad made something happen.
What you actually need
Keep this simple. The more you complicate it the more reasons you’ll find not to do it.
The basics:
- A tent — any tent. Doesn’t need to be fancy. A cheap dome tent from Amazon works fine for a backyard night
- Sleeping bags or blankets — sleeping bags are more fun but blankets work
- A fire pit or grill — you’re making s’mores, that’s non-negotiable
- Headlamps — one per kid, they take this very seriously
- Snacks — s’mores supplies, popcorn, whatever they love
That’s the whole list. You probably have most of it already.
Nice to have:
- Camp chairs around the fire
- A bluetooth speaker for low background music (this is an occasional add-on, sometimes its nice to enjoy the natural campsite sounds)
- A star map app on your phone
- Hot chocolate
How to run the night
The structure matters. A backyard campout with no plan turns into kids running inside every twenty minutes. Here’s what works:
Late afternoon — setup together
Let the kids help pitch the tent. It doesn’t matter if it takes twice as long. The setup is part of the memory. My six-year-old’s job is the stakes. My eleven-year-old handles the rainfly. Neither of them does it perfectly. That’s fine.
Dinner — grill it
Don’t order pizza on campout night. Cook outside. Hot dogs over the fire, burgers on the grill, whatever is easy. The point is that dinner happens outside and everyone is involved. Campsite nachos are super easy and always a hit with my crowd.
After dinner — fire time
This is the main event. Get the fire going, pull up the camp chairs, and just sit. No phones. No agenda. Let the conversation happen naturally.
My kids ask the best questions around a fire. Something about the dark and the flames makes everyone slow down.
S’mores — obviously
Make them. Let the youngest burn theirs. Let the oldest get precise about the roast. Argue about whether the chocolate melts better if you warm it on the graham cracker first. (It does.)
Bedtime — later than usual
This is the one night where bedtime is flexible. Not midnight — but later than normal. The feeling of staying up past bedtime under the stars is the part they remember longest.
Involving kids at every age
Ages 3–6: Their job is snacks, stuffed animals, and being amazed by everything. Let them lead the flashlight exploration of the yard after dark. To a four-year-old your backyard at night is a different world.
Ages 7–12: Give them real jobs. Fire tending (with you right there), s’more making, tent setup. This age group wants to feel capable. Let them.
Ages 13+: They might act like they’re too old for this. They’re not. Invite without pressure, make the fire good, have their favorite snacks. They’ll show up and they’ll stay.
The gear worth having
You don’t need much. But a few things make the night easier:
The tent
When the kids were smaller we had an older Kelty tent. We’ve since upgraded and I’ll be honest — the Kelty Rumpus is one of the most fun tents I’ve ever owned. When you set it up the kids immediately claim the front vestibule like it’s their own front porch. Plenty of room to stand inside, and with the rain fly off you’re flat on your back watching planes and satellites cross the sky all night. It earns its keep every single time.
Backyard sofa
For seating the Kelty Loveseat goes everywhere with us — the beach, the game, the concert, the backyard. What I love about it is the height. Your legs actually stretch out without the chair cutting into the back of your thighs like every other tailgate chair on the market. Once you sit in one you won’t go back.
What to sleep on
I have a couple of Sierra Designs air mattresses and they’re exactly what a backyard campout needs. Quick to inflate, doesn’t require a ton of air, and easy to reposition inside the tent once everything’s set up. No fighting with a pump at 10pm.
Light at night
The Black Diamond Storm headlamp is non-negotiable — and not just for seeing in the dark. Hand one to a kid and suddenly they’re on a bug and critter hunt for the next hour. The red light night vision setting is perfect for moving around camp without killing everyone’s eyes, and the brightest setting will genuinely blind you like the headlights on a newer car. It’s that bright.
What to cook over
When I’m throwing down in a big way I pull out the Breeo Outpost grate. This thing is a game changer when you want real control over an open fire. I’ve cooked ribeyes on it, made sukiyaki, done things over a fire pit that most people save for a kitchen. The adjustable height gives you a hard sear close to the coals or a slower cook up high. It works as well at a state park as it does in your backyard.
When I need camp-side burners, I pull out the Camp Chef Everest stove. I’m pro-BTU output — this thing can boil water fast, but it also has tight enough control to simmer delicate vegetables without scorching them. I’m a self-trained foodie and I love that I can cook anything, anywhere, with actual heat control. It goes every time we camp for real.
Nostalgic
And the Coleman Northstar lantern — there’s something about the hum of a classic Coleman at a campsite that just feels right, whether you’re inside the city limits or at your favorite campground. It sets the mood in a way that a flashlight never will.
The real reason to do this
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about backyard campouts: they’re as much for you as they are for the kids.
There’s something about sitting around a fire in your own backyard after dark, with your kids nearby and nowhere to be, that resets something. The week doesn’t matter. The inbox doesn’t matter. The to-do list doesn’t matter.
Just the fire, your kids, and the kind of quiet you don’t get enough of.
Do it this weekend. The tent doesn’t have to be perfect. The s’mores don’t have to be perfect. You just have to light the fire and stay outside.
That’s enough.
Have you done a backyard campout with your kids? What’s your go-to setup? Drop it in the comments.