A few weeks ago, the Merrill family went on their first camping–er, “glamping”–experience and here’s why it was actually perfect for our family.

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Let me start this by saying that I have never enjoyed camping. I have some foggy memories from when I was little from one camping overnight with some family and remember tolerating it, at best.

When I was sixteen, I went on an excursion to the Boundary Waters for something like 5 days including portaging (carrying your backpack, food pack, canoes, etc. along trails) and while it was beautiful, I was not a fan of being sweaty and dirty all the time and sleeping on the ground on a very thin mat in a tent.

Needless to say when my five year old brought up the idea of camping, and my husband suggested we buy a camper to “make family memories,” I was pretty hesitant.

My husband grew up on a dairy farm, so I feel he automatically has more outdoors skills than I do and a general higher tolerance of being outside and “roughing it.”

Our daughter is afraid of just about any bug that flies, complains if she’s too hot or too cold, and didn’t even like the white sand beach in Florida because it was too “sticky” and she couldn’t get it out from between her toes when she got wet.

So when I laughed out loud at the thought of us camping, my husband really shouldn’t have looked so surprised and my daughter really shouldn’t have been so offended.

However, I’m all about experiences for our family and especially for our five year old. If she thinks camping sounds cool, who am I to tell her it’s not?

Since there was a zero percent chance that I would sleep in a tent on the ground at some campsite surrounded by RVs and camper vans with generators running all night, I started looking for alternative options that also came without a huge financial and storage commitment.

When I saw a post by another Minnesota mom about their family’s experience in a camper cabin just outside of the Twin Cities, I researched a bit and figured out that I could probably tolerate a “glamping” experience (and so could the rest of my family). I ended up booking it the same day I saw it.

Located in Farmington, MN, just south of the cities on 400+ acres of preserved park land complete with hiking trails, a lake for fishing, and a kids’ play area that is totally nature based (and really fun for kiddos!) is Whitetail Woods Regional Park and I cannot recommend it enough for families, especially any interested in camping but not ready to fully dive into camping.

For a very reasonable rate per night ($97 for the smaller cabins), you can spend an overnight (like we did) or a few days in a cabin that feels far away, but is still close enough to see a soft city light glow from a distance.

The cabins are modern, clean, and comfortable, complete with actual beds with mattresses and a living space with a couch and a couple of chairs. Probably the best feature is a beautiful deck out the back that opens up to a gorgeous forest or prairie view, depending on which cabin you rent.

All the cabins have air conditioning and heat, screened windows, and a back sliding door, as well as a ceiling fan, making it truly comfortable no matter what time of year you visit. Since we went at the end of April, it was still a bit chilly and we were glad to have the heat and the fan to help circulate air.

Each camper cabin has its own fire pit for small camp fires and a picnic table. I also loved that the fire ring has bricks around it, so it was really easy to set up chairs and crowd around without worrying about uneven ground or cold, dewey grass. Nothing got wet overnight and we were able to set things up really easily for dinner and breakfast.

Speaking of dinner and breakfast, we decided that we would try and cook over the campfire since we weren’t roughing it too much in the sleeping and living situation for the day and night (I talk more about that a little farther down). We figured if we messed up too bad, we were close enough to a town with restaurants and grocery stores (about 10-15 minutes up the road) so we wouldn’t be starving.

I also packed plenty of snacks and backup options just in case, like granola and protein bars, fruit, and peanut butter and bread. There are no refrigerators or running water in the cabins, so we limited what we kept on ice in our backpack cooler and packed a lot of non-refrigerated snacks too.

For dinner, we roasted hotdogs over the fire and then for breakfast Jaremy tried his hand at open flame cooking with bacon, eggs, and English muffins. It was DELICIOUS!

We did buy a cast iron skillet for this trip (and future trips) for about $35 and it ended up working out really well and being a great investment.

I also purchased a kit of camping kitchen utensils that came in really handle and included things like tongs, scissors, spatula, a knife with sheath, stainless steel plates, and a set of four of forks, spoons, and knives, among other things. It all came in a zippered carrying bag and I’m positive we’ll use this all summer for picnics and future “glamping”/camping experiences.

Each campsite also had a grate on each fire ring with a handle to move it on or off the flame, so truthfully you don’t need a skillet if you are comfortable using aluminum foil or just the grates to cook. We used pokers for hotdogs, but that was because we didn’t know about the grate until we got there.

The sleeping situation was actually not bad. Inside the cabin are queen sized bunk beds, each of which has a window that opens for fresh air if you need or want it, and a light.

Keep in mind this is all a one room cabin, so it’s not in a bedroom, but the beds are at least spacious to sleep a couple people on each bunk, and the couch did pull out as another sleeping option.

There is no bedding provided, so we brought our sleeping bags to make it feel a little more like traditional camping, and our own pillows and blankets for comfort. I think having my own pillow actually helped me and my nervous system sleep a little better. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve actually slept decent outside of my own bed, so having a few comforts from home really helped.

Now let’s talk about the bathroom and running water. There isn’t any in the cabin. No sink, and no fridge while we’re on the subject.

However, just a short walk up a paved trail is a very nice building that has bathrooms, showers, and potable (drinkable) water that is open 24 hours. They were clean, smelled decent, and had toilets that flush. For me, this was a huge win.

If I can’t have a bathroom connected to my cabin, then this is absolutely the next best thing.

Let’s talk about some other nice touches that we appreciated.

First, having paved paths versus gravel around the cabins and bathrooms. We brought Viv’s scooter and she rode around up and down the paths when we were getting dinner situated, which helped a lot by keeping an impatient five year old busy while we figured things out. It also kept things so much cleaner both at our campsite and inside the cabin not having dirt and rocks everywhere.

There are also paved trails throughout the park reserve for scooters or bike riding too, so be sure and bring those if you’re into being more mobile than just walking or hiking.

We also loved that at the parking lot there are huge carts to use to bring your stuff to your cabin instead of making one thousand trips back to your vehicle, since the vehicle parking is up the hill on the other side of the bathrooms. Not parking at the cabin could be considered a downside, but having the carts to use was great. We just tossed everything in and rolled it right down the path to our cabin. It also really added to the quiet and ambiance of the camping vibe not having vehicles right next to you.

I also really appreciated the security of the cabin. Each one has a lock that requires a barcode to be scanned to enter. You do need the barcode each time to get in, and while it can be a bummer if you get locked out, you can just call the office and someone will come down to your cabin and let you in.

I had a printed copy and we each had a digital version on our phone to use just in case. It made me sleep much easier knowing we were safe and secure and not just anyone could walk into the cabin, especially because both of the cabins next to us were occupied with other people camping.

I also liked that each cabin has a picnic table. We didn’t know what the outdoor situation looked like, so we brought chairs for around the campfire, which we did like using, but if you don’t have chairs, they picnic table is great for sitting outside too, and even had a spot on one end for us to safely put our hot cast iron skillet while it cooled down–big perk!

Last, I loved the kids play area that was just a short drive inside the park. It’s a natural style play area with lots of sand, dirt, and rocks with two giant water pumps to create a “river” and “lake” area. There is a massive climbing structure made of timbers, as well as a rope net to climb up and down from the path.

Additionally, they have a big rope nest to lay in and look up at the sky that hangs between some trees, a tire swing, and a set of slides that go from one level down to the next. Everything is safe and leans into the natural landscape of the park.

Probably the best part about this entire experience was how little we really needed to pack. Being who I am, I definitely over-packed us. But I love how much was provided to us without needing to go out and buy a bunch of supplies or big items since they are mostly all provided for you.

When it comes down to it, for “supplies” you really only need some bedding, a cooler, a lighter (for a campfire) and food and beverages.

If you’re on the fence about camping like I am, this is really a perfect experience (experiment?) to see if you want to lean in more, or if you’re good with having a roof and a toilet that flushes.

I would 100% do this again with our family because it was just so easy, convenient, and fun!

As far as leaning more into camping…I think I’m good with the camper cabin option 🙂

Until next time,