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My son and I are going to introduce my grandson (3 yr old) to camping in a couple of weeks. I had picked Seven Springs as a reasonable spot for this, but looking at the web site it may not be open for camping. Besides, maybe one of you has a better idea.

Given the attention span involved, it seems like a place within an hour of Tatum and 101 would be ideal. And a hike of perhaps a mile to camp. Or a total car camp.

Any ideas??

There's a campground in Show Low called Fool's (it's actually a state park). I car camp there every year before a golf tournament- I love the place. It has showers, a nice size resevoir, a little playground, and easy driving into town or other hiking spots. I'm planning on taking my daughter this year, she'll be about 18 months. I think I'm going to play it safe while she's young and car camp with her- in case of inclement weather I might need a quick getaway

zonagoph wrote:There's a campground in Show Low called Fool's (it's actually a state park). I car camp there every year before a golf tournament- I love the place. It has showers, a nice size resevoir, a little playground, and easy driving into town or other hiking spots. I'm planning on taking my daughter this year, she'll be about 18 months. I think I'm going to play it safe while she's young and car camp with her- in case of inclement weather I might need a quick getaway

Strange. I have a cabin up there and have not heard of it. I dont go up there much simply because there is little to do for a 30 something yo. Thanks for the tip and I will look into it. I do like the idea of being able to have a car close by and not being to far out in the middle of knowhere.

Do you have any ideas on connecting with others that have kids that like this type of thing?

Mike, as a fellow gear head i must interest you in one of these - since he's prolly old enough now to get some PCT miles!
http://www.littlelightgear.com/
the FIRST UL kids' packs out there.

Also in Showlow is Showlow Lake Campground which I think you will also enjoy as well as Lynx Lake Campground in Prescott.

Try pitching the tent in the backyard. The 3-yr. old won't know the difference but you'll find out soon enough if you are up to the challenge of ' camping out' with a 3-yr. old. The real concern is if the adults will be able to tolerate the 3 yr. old and not the 3 yr. old being able to tolerate camping.

Looking at the date of the original post I think it is a 5 or maybe 6 year old now

BeeBee--You're right---this thread is from 2008. How did it end up at the front end of new posts? Camping with a five-year old might be a tougher chore since a five-year old is smarter than the average grandparent.

Yea I was reading the thread saw the original date and got a little chuckle out of it

BEEBEE wrote:Yea I was reading the thread saw the original date and got a little chuckle out of it

Still a good thread. I have a 3 year old now and am trying to find different things to do with her. I wish there was a place for people with young kids on these forums. Family night type stuff I guess

My granddaughter is 3. She's a handful, and loves to be outside. My son and his wife take her fishing, both fresh water and salt--she caught a halibut on her Barbie pole! A 22 inch halibut! She loves bikes, and has a regular little bicycle with training wheels and also they just got a trail-a-bike, and she can pedal that thing, too. She likes boating, she likes Jeeping, she likes hiking. I'm taking her to Indian Garden when she's 5. I think she's a little small for that yet.