Campground and drive-up sites
Weight is almost free. Space in the car is not. Pack comfort and a real kitchen, then stop before the trunk becomes a garage sale.
Car camping is the trip type where people overpack junk and still forget the can opener. A good car camping checklist is organized by bin: shelter, kitchen, cooler, camp life, and kids or dogs if they are coming.
You can bring the chair, the two-burner, and the lantern. You still need the boring safety group. Use this list as the bin map, then assign kitchen vs shelter if more than one car is going.
Bigger tents are fine. Stakes and a dry sleep system are still required.
This is the bin that makes car camping feel like camping instead of surviving.
Bring the items that earn a seat around the table. Leave the third grill.
Family trips fail on layers and first aid, not on missing s’mores forks.
If two families share a site, pick who owns the stove and who owns the tent before anyone packs. Duplicate kitchens waste trunk space; a missing first aid kit wastes the weekend. Assign items on a shared CampMate list so the group chat is not the source of truth.
Car camping food is a cooler puzzle: breakfasts, dinners, and the one lunch you thought the campground store would cover. Plan meals on the trip, then push food to a shopping list and cookware to packing so the spatula is not still at home.
Camping packing list
The category checklist that works across trip types.
Read the guideBackpacking packing list
When you leave the car behind, start here instead.
Read the guideFamily camping checklist
Kid clothes, shade, and first aid when the whole family is in the car.
Read the guideCar camping templates
Reuse a list that already survived a campground weekend.
Read the guidePack by bin: shelter and sleep, camp kitchen and cooler, camp-life comfort (chairs, lantern, canopy), then clothing, kids, and first aid. Weight is almost free; trunk space is not. Assign the stove and the tent to named people if more than one car is going.
Yes. Plan day-by-day meals on a trip, assign who's cooking, then sync once so food goes to Shopping and cookware into Packing—so meals aren't stuck in a separate spreadsheet.
Invite your campers by email, assign items to each person, and see who's bringing what in real time. No more confusion about shared gear.
Copy this camping packing list into CampMate, share it with your group, and let the forecast add the rain fly before you forget it.
