Every summer, my son loves to make a Summer Bucket List, and each year “camping” is one of the activities that makes it on there. Up until now, we’ve cheated by sleeping in a tent in our own backyard. This year, we decided to take it a step further and we signed up for the June Family Campout at the Huntsville Botanical Garden (because I’m still not yet brave enough for full-on camping with young kids). The garden hosts several of these nights each year (just search their events calendar to find the dates) and they are the perfect way to get a camping experience without all of the work. This is especially handy if you are new to camping or if you have little ones like we do. Plus, how fun is the prospect of sleeping at the botanical garden?!
Guests are instructed to bring their own tents and sleeping bags, along with other accessories to make the stay more enjoyable (flashlights, lawn chairs, pillows, games). The garden provides a Chick-fil-A boxed dinner and also sets up the campfires and hands out the supplies for making s’mores. Not having to pack food saves a ton of effort and makes the whole experience so much easier.
Our little family of four arrived around 6:30PM on our camp-out night, and we followed the back roads to the far side of the garden where we parked amongst several other vehicles. A rainbow of tents already dotted the landscape, and we searched until we spotted the perfect space to set up a “camp” of our own. I lobbied for a space right in front of a beautiful bed of flowers, and my husband obliged and set up the tent right there. A word of warning – at 5:30AM we discovered the hard way that, while the sprinklers for the grass had been turned off, the flowerbed sprinklers were left ON. Unless you like being woken up by water in your tent at dawn, I advise setting up your tent away from any beds!
Once the tents are set up for the night, campers have time to enjoy the golden hour. We brought a soccer ball for our boys, and saw lawn games and cards being played as well. Although there were at least twenty other tents of campers, we never felt crowded since everyone was spread out with ample space. The dinner service was very efficient and consisted of a table and tent handing out boxes and drinks. Eating outdoors in our camp chairs (and having to neither make nor bring the food!) was just lovely. After dinner guided garden hikes were offered, followed by multiple campfires and s’mores making. This was definitely the highlight for my boys! By this time it was nearly dark, and the boys also had fun catching fireflies. The last scheduled event was Story Time around 9PM. As a former teacher, I love that they included this and appreciate that they selected books with a connection to nature.
Restrooms are available throughout the night and are cleaned hourly. Campers needing to leave early can exit as the garden gates open automatically for exiting cars (but remain closed to incoming cars). In the morning, pastries and a Keurig machine are available for breakfast – and waking up in the garden is such a special treat! We definitely have another Huntsville Botanical Garden campout in our future!
SCHEDULE
Friday Night
6:00 p.m. Arrival and tent setup
6:45 p.m. Dinner
7:10 p.m. Guided night hikes and s’mores roasting
8:50 p.m. Story time
9:15 p.m. Off to bed!
Saturday Morning
6:30 a.m. Breakfast
7:00 a.m. Pack-up and clean-up
8:00 a.m. Head home
PRICING
Individual: $30
Family of Two: $60
Family of Four: $110
California native Mande Klein is wife to a super scientist husband, and mama to two young boys. She is a former elementary school teacher of almost ten years and holds a masters degree in education from UC Santa Barbara. Mande blogs at Klein dot Co about everything from baking pie and crafting with kids to scuba diving with sharks. Her loves include coffee, cocktails, yoga, and books.
When will the next one be?