Car Camping with 3 Dogs: Rookie Mistakes & Essential Beginner Tips
Zero camping experience. Three dogs. And an SUV so tightly packed it looked like we were fleeing town in the middle of the night. That was us, parked right in the middle of a lineup of shiny, decked-out RVs.
This is the unfiltered story of our very first adventure car camping with 3 dogs, rookie mistakes and all, plus the essential beginner tips and gear we wish we’d known beforehand.
Why We Went Car Camping With Zero Experience
My husband and I have always loved nature and traveling. We’d been feeling the weight of the daily grind, and out of nowhere, the urge to just get away hit us. Whenever we get the chance, we rarely plan ahead. We just load up and go.
Up until this trip, we usually left the dogs with a sitter and traveled as a couple. But lately, leaving them behind started to weigh on my heart. Watching our oldest dog age made me realize how precious every moment is, and I wanted her close for every journey we could share. These days that includes a stroller for the stretches that get too long, and I wrote about the signs your senior dog needs a stroller if you are starting to wonder about your own older pup.
When I was younger, I thought having a huge social circle was everything. Now, some of my absolute happiest moments are the quiet ones spent in nature with my husband and our three dogs. I wanted this trip to be a sweet memory for our pups and an unforgettable story for us. So, we took the leap into an impulsive car camping trip.
We still had zero plans. Armed only with the feeling that being outdoors as a family was all that mattered, we pointed our SUV toward the mountains near Malibu one May afternoon. All we packed was an SUV air mattress, an electric blanket, a few portable power banks, USB lights, and some blankets from home, all ordered last-minute on Amazon.
Arriving at the Campsite With Zero Gear Know-How
The second we arrived and tried to unpack, chaos began. We had no idea how to properly inflate the air mattress and spent way too long struggling with it. We had only brought a single light, so as soon as the sun dipped behind the mountains, we were practically in pitch darkness.
We didn’t know how to build a fire with the charcoal and firewood we bought for dinner, and we hadn’t even thought to bring work gloves. It was as raw and unprepared as it gets. Yet, somehow, the simple bowl of rice we cooked over the fire that night tasted like the best meal of my life.
After dinner, we finally took a breath to look around, only to immediately burst out laughing. The campsite right next to us belonged to absolute pros: a gorgeous RV, a massive tent, twinkling string lights, and cute outdoor decor. Parked right next to them, we truly looked like a couple on the run.
To top it off, when we walked to the communal shower, we realized there was no coin machine, forcing us to wander in the dark to find another facility. And the shower we finally found? Completely swarmed with ants. Talk about a hardcore introduction to camping!
A Freezing Night in a Packed SUV with Three Dogs
Could my 6’1″ husband, myself, and three energetic dogs actually fit on one SUV air mattress? No matter how far forward we pushed the front seats, the space was nowhere near long enough for him. In the end, we slept diagonally, tangled up in an X-shape with our legs curled up all night. Lol.
And that wasn’t even the hardest part. The temperature drop in the Malibu mountains in May was staggering. What started as a warm, sunny day quickly turned into a bone-chilling night.
The four portable power banks we brought weren’t enough to keep our electric blanket running all night. Even layered in thermals under heavy pajamas, I woke up shivering before dawn. Honestly, it’s a miracle we didn’t wake up completely frozen solid. You would think we learned our lesson. We did not, and it took one more freezing, no-hookup trip, which I wrote about in our Westside Regional Park camping with dogs guide, before we finally bought a real power station. If you are sizing one up for your own trips, here is how we handled tent camping with dogs on a 1024Wh battery, hair dryer mistake included.
The Morning Wildlife Raided Our Dog Food
Just when we thought the night was behind us, my husband greeted me in the morning with some shocking news:
“Something ate half the dog food.”
Leaving the bag of kibble sitting out on the picnic table overnight turned out to be our biggest mistake. Wildlife had raided our campsite before dawn and torn straight through the bag. That was the moment I realized: Yep, we are definitely out in the real wild.
Our Last Morning: A Beach Walk With the Pups
Despite the rough night, our last morning turned out to be the best part of the whole trip. We’d chosen this particular campground because it happened to be one of the few dog-friendly beach campgrounds in California. After we packed up and checked out, we drove straight to the beach so the dogs could finally feel the sand and water for themselves.
Watching our three dogs burn off some of that pent-up energy, chasing each other across the sand and sniffing at every piece of seaweed, was worth every rough hour from the night before. Our oldest girl, who usually takes things slow these days, was practically trotting along the shoreline like a puppy again. We just sat there in the sand and let them run and play as long as they wanted before the long drive home.
Why We Fell in Love With Car Camping Anyway
Despite the chaotic, freezing night, my husband got straight to work in the crisp morning air and handed me a warm, freshly brewed cup of coffee.
Watching him work so hard to rekindle the fire in the morning light, everything suddenly felt beautiful. Two clumsy beginners, fumbling through every single step and figuring it out together, that entire process felt so precious and real. The clean air, the quiet, and our dogs looking genuinely happy made every single mishap from the night before feel completely worth it.
Growing up, I thought a glamorous, fast-paced city life was the ultimate dream. But this campsite, squished into a tiny SUV with three dogs and my tall husband, turned out to be the warmest, safest haven I had ever felt. These days we even camp within driving range of a city on purpose, like the dog friendly San Francisco day we did from a campground an hour north.
Honestly, if we’d just packed a little smarter, this trip could have been close to perfect. We were the only unprepared part of the equation. That’s exactly why we’re already planning to go back, this time with proper gear and a little more confidence. (Curious which campground this was? We’re breaking down everything about it, dog policies, fees, and all, in a full guide coming next.)
And just like that, we were hooked.
3 Real Tips for First-Time Car Campers
If you’re planning your first mountain car camping trip, learn from our mistakes so you don’t end up freezing or getting robbed by raccoons!
1. Pack thermal layers and a heavy jacket (Never trust spring mountain weather): May weather can be very deceiving. The day-to-night temperature swing is extreme, so bring the warmest layers you own.
2. Store pet food in hard, airtight containers: Never leave food bags out on a table or inside a soft tent. Raccoons and other wildlife will easily rip through them. A sealed, heavy-duty container is a must.
3. Bring way more lighting than you think you need (At least 2–3 sources): Campgrounds have zero streetlights. Once night falls, it is pitch black, so having multiple lanterns and headlamps will keep you safe and comfortable.
Once you have the basics down, a state park campground is an easy next step. Here is what camping with our three dogs at Leo Carrillo State Park looked like, packing list included.
Frequently Asked Questions
One more tip we would add now: check the cell service before you book. We ended up at a beach campground with none at all, and three days without a signal turned out to be our favorite trip so far, but only because we were ready for it. And if you are switching to an inflatable tent, practice at home first. Here are the air tent setup mistakes we made on that same trip.
Will trip number two go any smoother for our “runaway” family? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
