Best Baby Camping Beds for the Perfect Night’s Sleep Outdoors
If you’re planning your baby’s first camping adventure, but aren’t sure about what to bring for safe sleeping, you’ve come to the right place!
One of the biggest issues that babies and young kids have with traveling is that their nighttime routine is altered, which can a rough night’s sleep for everyone.
And, when you’re in a tent after a long day of outdoor fun, the last thing you want to do is worry if your baby will sleep well.
Having the right bed for your baby’s first tent camping experience is key to getting a great night’s sleep for everyone.
As a mom of two who started tent camping with my kids when they were tiny, I know that sleep can make or break a family’s vacation plans.
To ensure that you focus on having s’more fun instead of having sleepless nights, I’ve rounded up the best baby beds for camping, which will help your little camper snooze until sunrise.
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Should I Take My Baby Camping?
In general, whether or not you feel comfortable taking your baby camping depends on a few things:
How old your baby is,
If your baby sleeps through the night,
The time of year, and
Whether or not you have previous camping experience.
If you’ve been an avid tent camper for years before you’ve had kids, then you know exactly what things need to be done at the campsite and what areas of the process cause you stress.
In that case, you should have a fairly easy transition into camping with your baby as it’s just a matter of tossing baby-specific items into your tried-and-true camping gear.
If you’re new to camping, that’s a tougher question. Without previous knowledge of tent camping, you might find it overwhelming to figure it all out while simultaneously caring for an infant. Or, you might see it as just one more challenging in the larger challenge of new parenthood!
I think that camping with a baby is a bit easier after they start sleeping more or less through the night. I know that people do tent camp with a newborn, but I personally had a tough time with the first 3 or 4 months of being a new parent.
Once my kids started sleeping for much longer stretches, the idea of taking them tent camping became much more appealing. It turns out that being well rested as a parent makes for a fun experience for everyone. (Who knew?!)
I also didn’t savor the idea of taking our babies out into the winter weather for our first few tent camping experiences, so we waited until the moderate spring came around here in South Carolina.
Ultimately, you know your baby the best, and you can determine the right time for baby’s first camp out based on your own intuition and experience.
What Kind of Bed Does My Baby Need for Camping?
While they are cute and portable, babies do come with a lot of stuff.
At minimum, you’ll need to bring:
something for them to eat, either bottles and formula or you, if you’re nursing.
somewhere to play. We always carried a pack and play or fenced in play area to let them explore the campsite safely.
somewhere to sleep. You’ll need a safe area for baby to rest and take naps.
Making sure that your little camper has a proper sleeping area does a few things, both for your baby and for your camping trip as a whole.
Having a dedicated bed for your baby, first and most importantly, ensure that he or she can safely snooze the night away.
Secondly, it provides some consistency for your baby between camping trips and your home. I know that many young children struggle to sleep when they’re away from home because it just doesn’t feel the same. Using their travel bed provides that comfort.
We had a little travel bassinet that went everywhere with us when our babies were tiny. When they were toddlers, we upgraded them to a small travel cot, and they loved that, too!
What is the Best Overall Camping Bed for Babies?
Our pick: MonGianda Portable Nest Lounger
Cost: $75
Dimensions: 35 x 19.7 x 19 inches
Weight: 5 lbs.
The MonGianda Portable Nest Lounger is our pick for the best overall baby camping bed.
It has a sub- $100 price point, making it an inexpensive addition to your baby gear. I know that many of my readers may be toying with the idea of tent camping with their family, and don’t want to spend a lot of money on things they may or may not use a lot.
This little cot is so flexible that you can use it for everything from tent camping to visiting your in-laws at the holidays.
Nothing about it screams, “Hey, I bought this specifically for camping!” so if you don’t end up tent camping as much as you want with your baby, you can still use it for many other occasions.
It’s long and wide enough for newborns to 12 months, ensuring a full year of fun nights at the campsite before you need to upgrade.
I also love that it comes with mosquito netting, which is a great add-on if you find that there are more bugs in your tent or around your campsite than you’d like. There’s also a small mobile with a cloth sun and moon to help entertain your baby while he or she falls asleep.
It packs away easily in a small backpack, so you could add this to your overnight or even your backcountry gear.
Best Baby Camping Bed by Category
Lightweight Bassinet
Our pick: ISELECTOR portable bassinet
Cost: $52
Dimensions: 35.8 x 18.5 x 6.22 inches
Weight: 2.6 lbs.
The ISELECTOR portable bassinet is a great option if you’d like a simple, but highly useful baby camping bed.
The carrying system is slightly bulkier than our pick for the best all around camping bed, but it is simpler as the bed folds down on itself to create the bag-like structure you can then carry.
There’s no mobile for entertainment, but I don’t think that’s a deal breaker.
The attached bottom pad helps your baby retain warmth while sleeping.
The sides of this baby bed are thinner than the all around bassinet, which eliminates overall weight. You still get the mesh mosquito netting which is a must have for tent camping, if you ask me.
If you’re looking for an easy to assemble bassinet with a lightweight framework, this would be the perfect pick for you.
Find the perfect campground for your family!
Check out the interactive map of kid-friendly U.S. campground reviews here.
A pack and play is such a great piece of baby gear, but the typical ones you’ll find in big box stores by Graco are really bulky. Their weight and overall footprint don’t work well as a piece of camping gear, especially if your campsite is any distance from your car.
The Hiccapop Travel Pod is a great alternative that retains the safe play opportunities of a traditional pack and play while replacing heavy fabrics and metal framing with mesh and lightweight legs.
This travel pack and play is so light that you’ll be able to stow it in the provided backpack. The backpack, when loaded with the bed, is still the size of a larger day pack.
The bed comes with multiple sets of washable sheets, which is a lifesaver in the middle of the night.
The included mattress is rated for safe sleep, thanks to the no gap design that ensures your baby will have a safe and comfortable place to rest.
Best Bed for Months 0-5
Our pick: Munchkin Brica Baby Travel Pod
Cost: $46
Dimensions: 30 x 21.25 x 11.75 inches
Weight: 2.4 lbs.
The Munchkin Brica Baby Travel Pod is an excellent choice if you want to take your new baby camping.
The mesh covering protects from bugs, while the mesh siding provides airflow and breathability for safe sleep.
The bassinet sits on the floor for easy access in the middle of the night. All you’ll need to do is roll over in your sleeping bag to comfort or feed baby.
It comes with washable sheets that help protect the thin bottom.
I love that the bed is under 3 pounds, which makes transferring it from your vehicle to the campsite incredible easy. When folded, it’s still bulkier than would be comfortable when carrying it for long distances, but for front country camping, that doesn’t matter.
This bed does have limited usage as it is only for babies under 15 pounds. If you’re looking for a simple, easy to assemble, and compact first camping bed, though, this is a great choice.
Longest Use
Our pick: Kindercraft 3-in-1 sleeping space
Cost: $129
Dimensions: 23.81 x 22.44 x 5.92 inches
Weight: 15.1 lbs.
I love considering the cost per use of any piece of gear I get, and that’s particularly true with baby items.
They grow so fast that it can be difficult to spend a substantial amount of money on something you know they won’t be able to use in 6 months.
If your family is really into camping, and you know that you’ll need something to use consistently while your baby is growing, consider a convertible camping bed.
This 3-in-1 sleeping space by Kindercraft converts from a bassinet to a pack-n-play, with an additional option to turn it into a play area.
The bassinet holds baby up so that you can easily pick him or her up, while the pack-n-play ensures that baby can stand up without tipping the cot over.
It’s not the smallest or lightest weight baby camping option out there, but it would be perfect if you do a lot of front country camping at state parks and KOAs.
Since you can keep it for years, this can be your baby’s home-away-from-home comfort space, and it will grow as they do.
Plus, I like the functionality of the pack-n-play, which does double duty as an area to put baby in while you’re cooking dinner and as a safe sleeping environment.
Final Thoughts on Buying a Baby Camping Cot
There are many things you need to weigh when choosing the right camping cot for your baby, including overall dimensions, item weight, carrying case options, netting, and bed sheet availability.
You’ll also need to consider your family’s camping needs. Are you camping at a front country campground with easy access to your vehicle, like in a state park or private campground? Or, are you camping with a required hike?
Finally, think about how much stuff you’ll need beyond just a safe space for your baby to sleep. Do you want a play area for your baby in addition to a bed? Do you want a mobile? Do you want your baby’s bed to grow with him or her, or do you prefer to purchase separate, dedicated beds for a baby and then, later, a toddler?
Based on these answers, you’ll be able to choose the best baby bed from the fantastic options above. Happy camping with your little one!
