Learn How to Camp at TPWD Outdoor Family Camping Workshops!

Texas Parks & Wildlife Outdoor Family Camping Workshops are family camping sessions designed to teach camping skills to those who do not know how to camp. Everything is provided from tent to broom. Gear includes a coffee pot, dishes, cooking pots, a camp stove, a battery operated fan and lantern, air mattresses, and a tent. Basic skills taught include pitching a tent, making a campfire, cooking on a propane camp stove, and Dutch oven cooking. Wildlife viewing, fishing, geocaching, kayaking, and many other outdoor activities are offered depending on the park and its facilities. After making reservations, families will be sent a packet of information which includes a list of groceries the family must bring. Those interested in this program may sign up for E-Mail Updates on currently scheduled workshops. Brazos Bend State Park (Gulf Coast) and Cedar Hill State Park (Dallas Area) are hosting Outdoor Family Camping Workshops the weekend of March 12, 2016. Other scheduled workshops include Estero Llano Grande State Park (Weslaco, 9 April), Franklin Mountains State Park (El Paso, 16 April), and Brazos Bend SP (23 April). Garner State Park’s workshop on the weekend of 1 April has a waiting list - always make reservations early at this popular state park! Workshops will continue through spring, summer and fall.

Supplies are Provided - You Bring Food

The Dutch Oven was designated the official State Cooking Implement by the Texas State Legislature for a reason - there is nothing more wonderful than an early morning spent outdoors enjoying the smell of bacon, biscuits, and hash browns (with onion) frying/baking in a Dutch Oven! Add cool or cold weather, and the scene is perfect! You may also cook cobblers, cornbread, stews, and other foods in the oven. Many of the Texas State Parks, Texas State Historical Parks (Fort Smith and others), and private historical parks, such as the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, Texas, offer Dutch Oven cooking demonstrations on weekends. Local chapters of the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society host cooking demonstrations, and offer information, cooking classes, a cookbook, teachers for novices, and organized family cook-outs. You may also cook with Dutch ovens in your own kitchen, and many of you may be able to cook in your backyards. Besides being a fun hobby, Dutch oven skills may be useful when your electricity is out.