Family Reunion “Campfests”
This is a cautionary tale about the blessings and curses of having a large family—is there ever too much of a good thing? But also it’s a happily-ever-after story…
Twenty-six people staying in our house for four days. Showers, towels, sleeping bags, extra tables and chairs, chairs, everywhere. Eight people per bathroom. Coffee maker and hot water heater working overtime. Trips to the store for more bread, beer, and toilet paper. Laughter. Arguments. Decibel levels rising. Also quiet one-on-one conversations tucked here and there, reminding me of the movie The Big Chill.
It was Thanksgiving weekend, a few years back. We were hosting, as we’d done in the past. My husband Garth comes from a family of six boys. Add wives and kids and you have enough for two football teams plus cheer leaders and a couple mascots. We love getting the family together, but that year, after the third day of chaos, we looked at each other and slowly shook our heads. The group had outgrown our house.
We had an all-hands family pow-wow where we were relieved to discover that other brothers, who had hosted the group before, felt the same way. Someone suggested a brilliant alternative: “Let’s go camping!”
The idea was immediately embraced by all, and thus was the start of our new family tradition—annual family campfests. We meet for four nights at different campgrounds, avoiding holidays. Everyone has their own campsite where they can retreat or host happy hour. Everyone makes their own meals, except for a few shared potluck dinners. It’s relaxing, easy on everyone and there’s plenty of time for quality visiting. With lingering covid concern, a campfest offers plenty of fresh air and separate living spaces. And did I mention how economical it is? On the cost spectrum, campsites at $45/night for a family of four may be more expensive than sleeping in sleeping bags on our family room floor, but way cheaper than a VRBO or Airbnb or hotel.
If you’re in charge of a reunion (family or otherwise), I heartily suggest a campfest. Don’t stop reading, just because some members of your group are not happy campers. Hear me out. Later on, I’ll list a couple luxurious options for accommodations that will soon have them roasting marshmallows and singing Kumbaya.
Remember, you don’t have to go far. We didn’t. Here on the Central Coast, there are several campgrounds that are perfect venues for large gatherings. Garth and I have organized campfests at El Chorro Regional Park (across from Cuesta College) and El Capitan State Beach (north of Goleta). Morro Bay State Park is another good one.
Here are our campground criteria:
Within 5 hours drive for most
Nice adjacent campsites
Hookups if possible (elect./water at least)
Clean bathrooms/showers
Affordable
Something for everyone to do
Dogs allowed
Hotels and activities nearby
El Chorro checked all the boxes for our first family campfest. We included both our families for the Noble Kornreich Campfest 2018—complete with t-shirts, games, contests, crafts and a bonfire. I booked ten campsites around the little meadow in the Chumash Loop (C5,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,16). All had full hookups, picnic table and grill. There were clean bathrooms and showers.
We rented the Mariposa Day Use Pavilion for crafts, group meals and the big family bonfire. We also rented a baseball field for a cutthroat (but surprisingly injury-free) game of kickball.
Some of us had RVs. Some had tents. One family rented a fully appointed trailer from a local company who had it all set up in their campsite when they arrived. They also could have rented a hotel room in Morro Bay, just ten minutes west. See? Two easy glamping options! Do I hear Kumbaya?
We camped for four days which gave everyone the opportunity to do whatever suited them: golf next door at Dairy Creek; paintball at Gladiator Paintball Park across the highway; hike up to the Eagle on the hill; visit the Botanical Garden, or the nicest dog park I’ve ever seen, or the kids’ playground area complete with rock climbing apparatus; drive ten minutes east or west to San Luis Obispo or Morro Bay for movies, wine tasting, and shopping. Cayucos and Morro Bay both have great antique stores. There’s also surfing, sailing and kayaking in Morro Bay. Or there’s always simply reading and napping in camp. Something for everyone. El Chorro also has the perfect place for a group photo. Just a short walk down the road past the dog park, you’ll see an old, sprawling oak on your right. You can’t miss it.
El Capitan State Beach was the location of our second campfest. We traded having hookups for being by the ocean—a major plus for our Colorado relatives. I’ll cover everything El Cap has to offer in my next article.
When reserving campsites, I advise reserving a few more than you’ll need. You can always cancel extras before the event. It’s darn near impossible to add nearby campsites later, when Uncle Joe decides to join you.
Many campgrounds have group campsites that can accommodate 25-50 people—usually tent-camping only with a parking area for your cars. Check to see if RVs can join tent campers in the group campsites. If not, try to reserve campsites across the street or adjacent for the RVs.
No matter where you decide to camp, it’s crucial that you book well in advance. Reserving group campsites or multiple adjoining individual campsites takes a little pre-planning and effort. First, become familiar with the campground. Study a campground map online, and Google Earth it, if you can see through the trees. (Google street-view often goes into campgrounds). Also check out www.campsitephotos.com, one of my favorite sites for seeing photos of each campsite. Figure out campsites that will work for your group. Then pick dates. Try to avoid Friday and Saturday nights, and summer months if you can. Get everyone’s buy-in on the dates selected.
Then book it! Each campground has its own booking window and it’s best to get on their website the first day/first hour that reservations become available. Local campgrounds like El Chorro are much easier to book than say, El Capitan. In either case, review ahead of time which campsites you’re going for and enlist the help of other internet-savvy members of your group to go after campsites from their computers as well. If you’re super nerdy (like we are when booking Yosemite), you can read up on how to set your computer’s internal clock to match the atomic clock. In the case of Yosemite, every second counts. You sign in, find your campsite, hover your shaking finger over the button that says BOOK, and wait for the clock to click over to 7:00. Figure out ahead of time how many sites each person is allowed to book. If all else fails, give the campground or reservation office a call and let them help you.
A little effort up front is about all that’s required when planning a family reunion at a local campground. And the memories will last long after the final hugs goodbye, and the gravel crunches under the tires of the last car to leave, and the squirrels invade the fire pits looking for burnt marshmallows. Kumbaya til next year.