Kids at Nat

[G-Daddy]

Hey, not sure if this thread exists yet, if so show me the way.....

We're heading to Nitnat with the ankle biters at the end of this month. I'm going up on the 26th, rest of the family will probably pull in on the 29th to give me plenty of time to set up the 'Funhouse 6' and about a thousand tarps to keep em' all dry and smiling. Plan is to stay until around the 5th of August.

Last time we went we had a 3 mth old baby and all the gear we used before kids (think three person expedition tent and an MSR whisperlight stove). Needless to say it was a disaster. To this day my wife still tells stories about how the baby almost got eaten by a black bear....

We're smarter now, have a big family tent, coleman stove etc.... but she's still pretty nervous about our first major trip back to the Nat with small kids. I'm hoping to make it a success, or at least get the whole family out alive, so that we can come back another day.

This thread is about two things:

1)Those with mucho experience in this department, please post the things you've learned over the years that have made family time at the Nat a good time. Any secret tips etc...

2)An invitation for all those from the BWD community who will be out there when we are and packing munchkins to come by and share the toys, the good times, and the laughs. More fun for the kids that way, and more wind time for the parents.

G

[rvanderbyl]

Don't forget to urinate all around your tent once you set up camp! Important to mark your territory so the bears know where not to go. Or you could just pee in a cup and sprinkle it around your tent so as not to offend any neighbouring campers.

[KUS]

I tried this year after year....until the kids were 5-6 yrs old, all I got out of the deal was stress, guilt when on the water, sap on everything favorite and lots of stories of drunken idiots disturbing sleep and other disturbing events. We eventually stopped going, I finally convinced my wife to head up there for a few days again two years ago and we got to witness a drunken fight, two vehicles right next to the motorhome with swearing and puking right next to my rig for 2 hrs at 4 a.m. while their 6 year-old sat in the back of the truck and watched. Just glad no firearms were involved, thought I was back at Bear Creek Deliverance Country.

My kids were horrified. Yeay, Nitinat, last straw. Never been since but I do have some fond memories from years before and the shoulder season there is beautiful. Here's some things I found:

-Camp away from the road and the vehicles with alcohol/noise/low IQ factor
-Stay to the family end behind the parks sign at the front, the spit is also a better place to hang with the little ones and fewer errant kites/no launches
-porta potti, everyone uses it when its dark/u don't wanna wake everyone with the tent zipper
-Take some orange power hand cleaner, the like, for the sap, your kids will find it!
-keep the wife warm or she will hate you...wind shelter, heater, trailer, whatever. If you sail you better cook too
-take a rope swing and toddler swing, I used some poly rope and a piece of plywood (might wanna pad it, ensolite) and made a huge long swing that kept the little ones busy for hours, still have fond memories of the quiet time when they were swinging side by side
-PFD's take the strain off supervision and double as impact vests
-marshmellows, lots of em...take some charcoal/hibachi if fire ban
-star gazing map....finding stars in the sky, memory stays with them for life
-boogie boards get lotsa mileage but shortie wetsuits at least

As for bears, place some bricks of cheese under the van and pop corn on the roof of the guys that partied til 4a.m. keeping your family awake
Advice if you want to holiday and relax, go to Nimpkish if u can handle the no-see-ums, leave the bullshit behind that is Nitinat in July/August, what u can handle as a single adult is very different with the family in tow. Yes lots of people have had great times there with their kids/family, I wasn't one of them

[downwind dave]

camping with my one kid has always been awesome! hiking the loop trail to the swimming hole and dragging the boogie board behind the longboard is always a highlight. kids today can't get enough unstructured, physical play. just hook 'em into the roaming pack of wild ones and they are good to go. just keep them away from kite lines and off the road. and cranky dudes.

[rvanderbyl]

Well said Dave! I for one have never had a bad experience camping at the Nat. But then I never have slept in a tent there either. As far as drunks and idiots go that happens every where. Use good judgement when you pick your site. Preferably next to others with kids. Hopefully we will be there at least part of the time when you are.
Ray

[KUS]

yep, envious of you two who seem to have some great days there with your kids, good on you and the many others bit of a trick when I had 3 under 5 and some in diapers.....daytimes and the activities are wonderful, agreed, it's usually the evenings/nights that have spoiled things for me and the wife.....u know how one event can erase many hours of preceding happy times.

as an aside, in these threads people only remember the negative instead of also the constructive comments just sharing my experience, feeling my family members were threatened (and not by bears either, just those shooting at them) being the most important one, the Nat has left me with a bad taste in my mouth on many levels but yes, the early (pre&) society years were awesome....those were also the times I went there without kids/wife......and I regularly cleaned the outhouse

[Gdawg]

We're planning the same starting Aug 5. Done a bunch of day trips with the kids (1 and 3) and they've enjoyed those - now going to try a couple of nights. Not sure how its going to turn out but it'll be a fun experiment nonetheless.

[nanmoo]

With all the windfall, the river loop trail was definitely an interesting "ride/hike". I am only a little kid at heart, but all those logs to climb around could have kept me busy all day! Just remember to leave the bikes at the campsite.

[G-Daddy]

Yikes! Kus almost scared me off the plan.... but the advice was really good. Thanks for the tips, some stuff I would have never thought of like making swings will definitely go a long way.

Ray, hope to see you up there. Dawg come on by if we are still there when you come up, our kids are exactly the same age. Look for a white fiberglass trailer with a big 'JP' sticker on the back in the campground, or a tired looking dude with a bunch off North Dukes on the beach or on the water.

Bringing a boogie board, and have a wide SUP which should be fun for giving the toddlers a ride around.

[Vik]

I've been tenting at Nihnat regularly since the start of June and for a week at peak season in August last year. So far zero problems or issues to report. Everyone seems relaxed, chilled out and respectful. In fact it's one of the most tame campgrounds I've ever used that I didn't have to backpack into.

If you can haul/carry your gear it's not that hard to find a secluded spot in the trees away from the main campground.

Windfest is probably a gong show, but that's an easy time to stay away if you like it quiet.

[KC7777]

Hi,

I had my 2 sons (aged 10 and 12) there with just me (wife was in school) last year in July when it was pretty busy. Cause we are all short we slept in the back of a pick-up. We camped down near the sign vs closer to the kiting end and had no issues with drunks (except for me after too much red wine). They had a blast and I got a ton of sailing in as they hung with FOLO's kids and some others in a wild pack. Their BMX bikes were great for ripping around the campsite or for bike trips to the store for candy. Or they hung on the beach while I sailed. I did wait until my kids were a bit older before I brought them to nitinat without my spouse to watch them (ie..... they can both swim, feed themselves and are smart enough to run/bike faster than the other kids if they see a bear). Wetsuits, booties and boogie boards also get a lot of use.

[tempy]

We have been there every year even with kids in womb and then 8 months old the following year, for the last 14 years. Kids are now 11 and 8. They sleep well there; have never encountered a bear; fish at the river; ride bikes; play on the logs; chill in the hammock, and even occasionally get in the water. It is a summer ritual. Kus expereince aside, I never understand why some people stop camping when they have kids. Oh, and then there is the campfire and marshmallows. Take them, and meet other kids there. They will have a blast.

[KUS]

Yikes! Kus almost scared me off the plan.... but the advice was really good. Thanks for the tips, some stuff I would have never thought of like making swings will definitely go a long way.

like I say, I always thought it was a kid's and family paradise til these things happened and it's good to think about plan A to be prepared but also B just so you have one

[nanmoo]

(they) are smart enough to run/bike faster than the other kids if they see a bear

Survival of the fittest!

[more force 4]

After one Kus-type incident (car with driver too drunk to stand up with its headlights on my two boy's puptent a few metres away, revving to 6,000 RPM. I was petrified that they'd hit first instead of reverse. They didn't, and went on to burn doughnuts in the road and hoot and holler on the beach after) I had a plan B. I always parked with my vehicle between the road and any tents, or just tented on the beach itself. But there were many other incident-free glorious nights.