From Texas to Colorado: Our 5-Day Family Camping Adventure

Sharing our itinierary along with the good and the bad of family tent camping in the mountains.

We set off on this somewhat last-minute camping trip hoping to make some sweet family memories and trade the humid Texas heat for cool mountain air. July is the slow season on our flower farm, so it's the one time of year we can realistically sneak away. It had been more than three years since we'd taken a proper family vacation, and while camping with two little kids isn't exactly restful, it was the kind of break we needed. A few days away from our normal routines gave us space to slow down, mentally refresh, and simply enjoy being together.

This four-night camping trip reminded us that family vacations don't have to be expensive or extravagant to be meaningful and create memoreis. Here's exactly how we spent our trip and what I would –and wouldn’t– recommend if you're planning something similar.

Day 1: Texas to Buena Vista, Colorado

We hit the road around 6:00 a.m., grabbed coffee and lunch in Amarillo, and made it to our campsite with enough time to get everything set up before dinner.

Before we left home, I made a big pot of taco soup, so dinner was as easy as heating it up and adding our favorite toppings—highly recommend doing this for travel day!

After we got settled, we made a quick ice cream run to Louie's in Buena Vista. Our oldest is dairy- and egg-free, and they had several incredible vegan options. Such a win!

Day 2: Crested Butte & the Gunnison Rodeo

We were up with the sunrise, made oatmeal and coffee at the campsite, and hit the road early for the two-hour drive to Crested Butte.

We grabbed lunch at Secret Stash Pizza and ordered their famous fig pizza. 10/10. No notes.

Somewhere along the way I realized I'd left my boots back at camp, so naturally I had to buy a pair of vintage boots from Wild Aster. No regrets.

We spent the afternoon wandering around town, doing a few short hikes, and letting the boys burn off energy at a playground before driving over to Gunnison.

We hung out by the river, grabbed barbecue for dinner, and ended the night at the Cattlemen's Days Rodeo. Such a fun experience!

Day 3: Aspen & Maroon Bells

We drove about an hour and a half into Aspen and started the morning at the downtown farmers market.

Then Aspen reminded us it's... Aspen. We somehow spent over $80 on a chicken sandwich, a hot dog, and a salad. 😅

From there, we took the shuttle to Maroon Bells and spent some time hiking. This stop was especially meaningful because Grant and I hiked here almost 11 years ago when we were dating in college. Getting to bring our boys back to one of the most beautiful places in the country made it even more special.

On the drive back, Grant made a stop at Devil's Punchbowl for a cliff jump before we headed back to camp for fajita night.

Day 4: A Slow Day Around Buena Vista

We kicked off the morning with sprinkle pancakes to celebrate our big 4-year-old's birthday.

After breakfast, we wandered through the local farmers market before heading to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. We've visited before, and it never disappoints. Soaking in the hot springs while the river rushes by was easily one of the highlights of the entire trip.

Later, we explored the shops in downtown Buena Vista, grabbed dinner at Buena Viking, and then went back to the hot springs for one more evening swim. We bought day passes, which aren't cheap, but if you're planning to spend several hours there, they're absolutely worth it.

We wrapped up the day back at camp with birthday cake, snuggles, and one very happy four-year-old.

Day 5: Made the Trek home back to Texas!

Here’s what we would have done differently:

We genuinely enjoyed every day of the trip, but doing both Crested Butte and Aspen back-to-back meant we spent a lot of time in the car. Since we'd already visited Maroon Bells on a previous trip, I don't think we'd dedicate a full day to Aspen again. Walking around Aspen is fun... if you're rich. 😂

Instead, I think we would have enjoyed exploring the town of Salida or spending another relaxed day in Buena Vista. If the rodeo hadn't been near Crested Butte, we probably would have skipped that day trip altogether.

Looking back, I think we'd choose just one big excursion day and leave the rest of the trip slower paced. It would have cut down on the time spent winding through mountain roads and given us more time to simply enjoy camp. That said, the drives were absolutely beautiful, so even the extra time in the car wasn't all bad.

We also spent more on eating out than we should have and had some groceries left at the end of the trip- better planning on that front would have saved us some money!

Some of the not-so-glamourous parts:

This was our very first camping trip with kids. It's something we'd always talked about doing, but life kept getting in the way until this trip.

Camping with little kids definitely isn't easy, but it was 100% worth it. Some of my favorite memories from the week were the cozy mornings at camp with silly cuddles, making meals outside, hiking in the beautiful mountains, and just watching our boys experience everything for the first time.

That said... we did have one rough night.

Our 1½-year-old woke up in the middle of the night and just wouldn't settle down. We think he was teething, but after trying everything in the tent, I ended up sitting in the car rocking him at 2:00 a.m. until he finally fell asleep. I was so nervous our neighbors were going to hate us.

The next morning, we apologized to the campers next to us and asked if they'd heard him crying. They said they hadn't heard a thing (though they may have just been being kind!). Even sweeter, they told us they were inspired that we'd brought our little kids camping. That encouragement meant a lot in the moment.

Overall, the boys actually handled the long drives much better than we expected. The only stretch that felt hard was the drive home—by then, all four of us were tired, ready for our own beds, and counting down the miles until we got home.

If you're thinking about tent camping with young kids, I say do it!!

And if you're wondering what we packed (and what we were so glad we brought), stay tuned for my next post where I'll be sharing our complete family tent camping packing list—including the items that made all the difference and the items that were probably unnecessary but made the campground vibes a 10/10.