5 Trip Planning Tips When Camping During Thanksgiving

Tip 1. Use A Checklist For Thanksgiving Camping Trips

Some people go camping so often they don’t need reminders or checklists to organize for a trip. But, the most seasoned campers may not even think about special items needed for camping on a holiday during the off-season.

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Tip 2. Plan Your Destination And Travel Route

Where you will be camping and your driving route should be planned with weather in mind.

Thanksgiving Camping Destinations

If you are staying at a state park campground, national park or RV resorts park, make your reservations well in advance and check with the staff to see if they have any restrictions or advice for camping over the holiday.

Some of the most popular camping destinations for Thanksgiving are:

• Yosemite National Park
  • California
• Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim)
  • Arizona
• Rainbow Springs State Park
  • Florida
• Garner State Park
  • Texas
• Emerald Desert RV Resort
  • Palm Desert, CA
• Joshua Tree National Park
  • California

Ask about local events, weather, planned road closures and sources of information where you can receive updates.

You wouldn’t want to be a “surprise entry” in the local Thanksgiving parade, right?

If you are staying in a remote area like a National Forest, BLM Land or other dispersed camping area you should verify the area and the access roads you plan to use will be open for your arrival through your departure.

Many remote areas are seasonal and close the gates to visitors. Some closures are based on calendar dates, others are based on weather conditions so check with the governing agency to get the local details.

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Routes To Your Thanksgiving Camping Destination

Consider the road and weather conditions along your travel route. Plan for an alternate route in case your primary route is closed for some reason. 

As an example, we decided to spend one Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the Burnt Corral Campground on Apache Lake. Even though Apache Lake has similar weather and elevation to the Phoenix metro area, there is no direct way to get there because those big beautiful Superstition Mountains are in the way!

So, our departure and destination weather was great but because of the travel route and higher elevations we traveled through, we experienced rain and snow on our drive. Our trip was safe but slower than normal.

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Cold Weather Camping Tips

Make sure you bring more tarps than you think you need because they are essential for keeping gear dry in rainy and snowy conditions.

Cold Weather Clothing

Dress for success! I have to admit, I am the first one to get cold and the last one to warm up when we are camping in cold weather. So, I had to find ways to stay warm (and quit complaining about the temperature) before I was un-invited on winter camping trips! LOL

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Tip 3. Special Equipment And Resources For Camping In Bad Weather

Be prepared with the appropriate vehicle and tools for the worst case scenario in weather. It’s a good idea to monitor the weather before your departure as well as during your stay.

We all know weather forecasts are always 100% accurate … LOL. You may need special information resources and equipment in your vehicle to prepare for harsh weather conditions.

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Free Weather And Road Conditions Resources

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5-1-1 National Travel Alert System

The National 5-1-1 Travel Information Alert System is a great resource for nationwide travel info.

511 is a program within the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration that provides current real-time information about national roadway travel conditions that can be accessed by the easy-to-remember 3-digit telephone number (dial 511) or the website: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/511/

Arizona Department Of Transportation

If you are traveling within Arizona I can’t say enough good stuff about ADOT … I just LOVE them! Their communication team is totally on top of information about traveling in this beautiful state of Arizona.

You can find traffic updates from them at AZ511.gov, and by dialing 5-1-1 in Arizona from any landline or mobile phone, Outside Arizona, dial 1-888-411-ROAD (7623).

ADOT’s communication team is FABULOUS with their twitter updates. If you are not on Twitter and you will be traveling around Arizona, ADOT is enough of a reason to get tweeting!

If you tweet a question to them, they will answer you almost immediately about road conditions, closures, anticipated openings etc.

You can find them at https://twitter.com/ArizonaDOT.

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Special Equipment For Thanksgiving Trip Weather

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Regular Took Kit Items

Just because you are camping on a holiday, doesn’t mean you forget regular routine camping stuff. I recommend bringing an extra tarp or two to help cover gear and firewood in wet conditions. Our FREE printable camping trip planner has a great checklist for you.

Don’t forget to bring the normal tools too! Get your FREE copy of our RV Tool Kit Checklist!

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Tip 4. Planning Your Thanksgiving Camping Meal

There are several things to consider when planning your big Thanksgiving feast.

1. How large is the group? Do you WANT to have leftovers or just enough for one meal?
2. How many of your friends and family members will be available to help you with the meal preparation and cleanup?
3. What is your cold-storage capacity before and after the meal? Can you dedicate one cooler for the ingredients needed for your campsgiving dinner?
4. How can you hold hot recipes if the side and main dish recipes are not all ready at the same time? Do you need aluminum foil to cover pans without lids? Use cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens that hold heat longer than lightweight pans after they are removed from hot coals.
5. Are you making dishes that travel well? How many can be made in advance at home? Can you prep ingredients before your trip?
6. Can you serve out of the vessel the food is cooked in? Do you need special serving utensils?
7. Do you need special cooking equipment or fuel sources? Does the RV park or campground have amenities you’ll need for cooking, for example a campfire grate, or do you need to bring your own?
8. Can you make a new tradition with your menu by replacing easier recipes for your more complicated traditional favorites? For example, we make spiced potatoes in foil packets instead of our sweet potato casserole. And, we make steamed green beans instead of our brussels sprouts with bacon in a sherry cream sauce.

Cooking Turkey At The Campsite

Don’t know how to cook a turkey at the campsite? No worries, we can help! See how to cook a turkey while camping using 3 different methods.

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Camping Thanksgiving Dinner With Turkey & Trimmings

Our traditional Thanksgiving camping menu includes these yummy recipes:

• Main Course
  • Grilled Turkey With Gravy (we actually make turkey 3 ways on Thanksgiving camp trips: grilled, roasted or deep fried, we’ll show you how to make them all.)
    • If you need camping meals for two or have a small group and don’t want to cook a whole turkey, I recommend just using chicken or turkey breasts and doing half-recipe portions of the sides.
• Side Dishes
  • Classic Sage Sausage Stuffing Dressing (with celery, onions, garlic, bread cubes and sage sausage made in a cast iron Dutch oven.)
  • Grilled Spiced Potatoes (with white and sweet potatoes, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder and a few other spices made in foil packets over campfires.)
  • Cranberry And Toasted Almond Spinach Salad (with a simple homemade dressing.)
  • Orange Scented Cranberry Sauce (with fresh cranberries, orange juice and walnuts cooked in a pot on a camp stove until the cranberries pop then cooled before serving. I often make a double batch of this recipe because my family calls it a real winner … what we don’t eat during dinner does not go to waste. Leftovers are great on ice cream and in cocktails!)
  • If we have a larger group I just add a few more veggies that are really simple to make like squash or green beans that I quickly boil or steam and top with a little butter, salt and pepper.)
• Thanksgiving Desserts & Drinks
  • Upper Crust Apple Pie (with apples tossed in cinnamon and sugar then topped with a simple upper crust and baked in a camp oven or RV oven.)
  • Holiday Cookie Tray (If you have a really large group and don’t want to make dessert just put out a cookie tray with pre-made cookies that have flavors of the holiday like pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, ginger snaps, sugar cookies and cute little marshmallow pumpkin peeps.)
  • Pumpkin Chai (a great alternative when you have a taste for pumpkin pie but don’t want to make it … this warm drink has all the flavors you crave in a cup!)

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Tip 5. How To Make Memories And Reflect On The Holiday

Because you probably won’t be camping over the Thanksgiving holiday every year … make it special when you do.

The unique combination of a camp setting and a special holiday allows you to get creative in the ways you celebrate and remember your holiday.

Even if you typically use reusable plates on your regular camping trips, I recommend using disposable plates for your Thanksgiving dinner to reduce the amount of cleanup required after your big feast.

Activities And Decorations For Thanksgiving Camp Trips

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The Meaning Of Thanksgiving

Take time to reflect on what you are thankful for and the meaning of Thanksgiving.  Here’s a bit of history on the holiday from Wikipedia:

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.[1] Thanksgiving was also celebrated nationally in 1789, after a proclamation by George Washington.[2] As a federal and public holiday in the U.S., Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays of the year. Together with Christmas and New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the broader holiday season.

Read more on Wikipedia here: Thanksgiving (United States)

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