The Best Family Camping
Tents for Fall 2022
Home away from home. Shelter. Bedroom. Warmth and Comfort. Playroom. Changing room. And on it goes. Your tent is the heavy hitter of the campsite, the piece of gear without which you’re not really camping, you’re just kind of out there in the woods.
With a great family camping tent for fall you can quickly create a space that’s safe, warm, dry, and that can be used for sleeping, for games and storytelling, for mealtime if it’s cold or wet out, for dressing and changing and diaper business, and for storing gear and apparel. You can’t really have a good family camping trip without a trusty tent.
So while we have broken things down here based on the best tents for various autumn weather and conditions, for the smaller family, for the camping family looking for their best budget tent, and so forth, the common factors here are reliability and the fact that we have tested out gear from these brands ourselves, first hand, and in the field.
The Best Tents for your Fall camping trip
DECATHLON QUECHUA 4-PERSON TENT is Perfect for Keeping the Family Close While Still Providing a Bit of Privacy and Personal Space
This two-room four-person tent is really two tents in one. Like actually: it consists of two separate rooms that zip shut for privacy and complete insect protection housed under one large, waterproof canopy. In between the two rooms is a chamber that can be almost completely sealed to the outside or can be kept wide open for ideal enjoyment of gentle breezes and lovely views. The central area between the two rooms is perfect for gear storage, playing games, or hunkering down when it rains (though there's no hunkering required thanks to the 6'3" ceiling height of the middle chamber), and for putting a bit of space between the rooms, one of which can be occupied by parents, the other by kids. And for the record, this is a great tent for friends or couples sans kids to share, too, if that's your phase of life.
The Coleman Steel Creek Fast Pitch is a great three-season four-person tent
For the record, it’s always a good idea to shave a person or two off the stated capacity of a tent. So this one may say it’s a six-person, and it could be, but for four people, it’s a winner. We’ve used it with a cot, a queen-sized air mat, and a pack-and-play travel crib inside and we still had room for bags and sundries. The tent sets up in less than 10 minutes with one handy adult at work, in 15 minutes when the kids are getting in the way (which is OK), and in five when two adults are at it together. The rainfly blocks precipitation and limits solar heat and glare, while the screened-in “porch” area is great for a bug-free place to sit at night or even for one sleeper to use who wants an almost outdoor slumber experience. Details include dual interior mesh pockets for small but precious gear, a pass-through slot for cords, and raised waterproof floors. Having sat through downpours several times in a Steel Creek tent, we can vouch for the floor, the rainfly, the seams, and all the space the tent affords you even when you’re all stuck inside it.
A Kelty Grand Mesa Tent is light enough for hikers yet big enough for families
If you’re looking for a great tent for a three-person group or a snug but reliable tent for four, Kelty’s Grand Mesa 4- Person tent is a good choice. At a little over seven pounds, it’s light enough for moderate trekking (especially if you split up its components among adults) yet the tent still sets up large enough to accommodate four adult-sized sleeping bags, albeit without room to spare. This seam-sealed, double-walled tent will keep you and the crew warm and dry, and when needed you can easily tuck back portions of the rainfly to let the breeze blow through.
A Mountain Hardware Outpost is a great tent for cold weather
To be clear, this is a two-person tent, so unless you and your partner are camping with just one rather small kid, you’ll need to get two of these tents to house the whole crowd. But if you’re camping in cold, windy, potentially even snowy conditions, it’s a good idea to have a smaller, lower profile tent anyway. This rugged, well-sealed tent can keep its occupants warm and dry and can stand up against gusts and under moderate snow load. It’s an overkill of a tent for the casual fair weather campers, but a great choice for use in wilder conditions when your tent becomes not only about comfort and convenience but also about safety.
The Sea to Summit Telos TR3 three-person tent is a lightweight marvel
Yes, it’s pricey, but if you’re headed out for a trek this tent is a great choice. It weighs in at a mere four pounds, 11 ounces, and yet it has a footprint measuring 90” by 71”, which is decent space for a family of three or four if two of the sleepers are small. It sets up quickly in “freestanding” mode, though you can also spend some extra time and secure it down with additional hardware if things get gusty. And arguably best of all, the tent is designed to be stored in three separate stuff sacks when packed down, making it easy to spread out the weight – critical for trekking or mountaineering.
The Coleman Cabin Tent is a roomy classic that’s great for the campsite or the backyard
When you picture a classic camping tent, provided it doesn’t look like a classic 1950s Boy Scout A-frame model, it probably looks a lot like this one. But that’s not a slight! This is a classic for a reason. It’s easy to set up, it’s roomy, it’s reliable in moderate rain, and it’s easy to pack down. Being as this tent is on the heavier side and is larger when packed down it’s definitely a car camper – no hauling this one up a mountain. But given its ease of setup and stable design, it’s also a great anytime tent you could pop up in the backyard when the kids want a changeup to the playtime activities. (And if you’ve got a little army to shelter, it even comes in a two-room variety that’s large enough for 10 people!)
A Klymit Cross Canyon tent can serve the car campers, the trekkers, the paddlers, and more
Versatile by the nature of its design, this is a basic but spacious tent with a reliable rainfly, a decently large covered vestibule area, and multiple internal storage pockets. The four-person Cross Canyon is a great choice for the family whose camping adventures take many shapes, from the week traveling on trails or rivers to the weekend where you make camp a stone’s throw from the car. At about 10 and a half pounds all-in (meaning rainfly, poles, etc.) this tent is suitable for hiking provided you share the weight, and you’ll appreciate its 100” by 86” interior when it’s time for some shuteye. Or games. Or dinner on a rainy night. It’s a true three-season tent, and even fine for winter in milder climates.