What to Pack for Summer Camp

A former camp counselor turned outdoor mom on what actually matters, and what ends up under the bunk.

I spent more than ten years as a camp counselor before I became the mom doing the packing.

Which means I have seen what happens to every item on that four-page packing list. The expensive water bottle that gets left at the ropes course on day two. The seven pairs of shorts that become a pile no one can sort through. The new clothes that are stiff and unfamiliar and generate complaints before breakfast on day one.

I also know exactly what kids actually need, what the counselors are actually doing about sunscreen reapplication (less than you hope), and which items do real work for the entire session versus which ones just take up space.

Follow your camp's suggested list, they know that terrain and camper needs better than anyone, but here are some tips to keep in mind. 

What I Watched Get Used Every Single Day

UPF sun shirts. I cannot stress this enough, and I am saying it as someone who spent a decade watching kids come off the waterfront at noon looking like they had been forgotten in the sun.

A counselor managing fifteen kids during swim time is not reapplying sunscreen every ninety minutes. It is not happening consistently, and it is not a criticism of the counselors. It is just math. Fifteen kids, back-to-back activities, a full program day. Sunscreen reapplication falls through the cracks.

A UPF 50+ sun shirt removes that variable entirely. It works when wet before and after swim time. It works during afternoon free time at the waterfront. It works at the end of a long day when no one is thinking about sun protection anymore. It does not require anyone to remember anything. Pack three and your kid is covered for the week regardless of what the counseling staff is managing.

A wide-brim hat. Not a baseball cap. The ears and back of the neck are where kids consistently get burned at camp, and a baseball cap does nothing for either. A hat that actually covers both, survives archery and the blob and a hundred other activities, is one of the most useful things in the bag. Label it on the inside of the brim because it will leave the cabin approximately four times per session.

Two good pair of closed-toe shoes. Not three options. One sturdy pair that handles trails, fields, the dining hall, and everything in between. And a spare because shoes get wet. 

A lightweight zip-up for nights. Even in Florida summers, evening campfires and air-conditioned cabins get cool. One layer is enough. Pack the worn-in one, not the new one.

What I Watched Get Ignored, Lost, or Left Behind

New clothes. Every single session, the kids in stiff new clothes were the ones complaining about waistbands by Tuesday. Send the worn-in, soft, already-broken-in pieces. Camp will destroy them and your kid will be comfortable the entire time.

More than four or five pairs of shorts. The kids with eight pairs of shorts had a pile. The kids with four had a system. Fewer items means your kid can actually find what they need without a full excavation of their cubby.

Anything expensive or irreplaceable. I watched so many nice water bottles leave camp in the lost and found bin, unclaimed. Nice sunglasses, sentimental items, anything you would be upset about losing, leave it home. The attrition rate at camp is real and the lost and found is a graveyard.

The Labeling Rule (Non-Negotiable)

Label everything. Every single item. Not with a Sharpie on the outside where it fades. A permanent laundry marker on the inside tag of every piece of clothing, every hat, every shoe, every water bottle.

As a counselor, the only lost items that made it back to their owners were the labeled ones. The unlabeled pile sat there until the end of session and then went to donation. Label the socks. Label the hat. Label the water bottle. Do it before anything goes in the bag.

The One Thing That Changes the Whole Camp Sun Situation

At home, you control the sun exposure. You can call your kid inside, check how long they have been out, reapply when you notice they are getting pink.

At camp, that control goes away for days or weeks at a time. The best thing you can send is gear that protects automatically, without requiring anyone to manage it.

The ONE Shirt for kids is what I would put in every camp bag if I could. UPF 50+ protection that is just there, all day, regardless of what the schedule looks like. Your kid spends the session doing camp things instead of standing still for sunscreen application. The counselors spend less time chasing kids with spray bottles. Everyone wins.

Pack three. Label all of them. Thank yourself at pickup.

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Play Outside Co. makes bamboo UPF 50+ sun shirts for kids designed to keep up with the actual pace of outdoor childhood. Even the ten-hours-a-day at camp kind.