Longtime Lynwood resident Aida Jackson never went camping as a child and had been hesitant to try the experience.  

But she, her daughter and two grandchildren put their stakes in the ground and learned a great deal from experienced Forest Preserves staff by participating in a Family Campout (redeveloped as Camping 101: Overnight!) program last May, at Camp Shabbona Woods in South Holland. That program, geared to camping beginners, provides staff-led instruction in setting up tents and other equipment, along with cooking and building campfires.  

“It was a good experience—a good introduction,” says Jackson. “You’re afraid of what you don’t know. I felt like being able to do it under somebody’s guidance, and talk freely to somebody, and knowing that other people were in the same boat—we encouraged each other to be able to do it. I didn’t know what to expect. I wanted to see if I liked it, and be equipped, and gain as much knowledge as I could, so I could start doing it.” 

During the May 2023 event, Jackson brought her own tents and sleeping bags, which the Forest Preserves provides for those who need them. “I wish I had used their sleeping bags,” she says. “I did not realize that not all sleeping bags are created equal, and I was very cold that night. I wasn’t prepared for how quickly the temperature drops outside. Other than that, the experience was wonderful.” 

Among other tips, Jackson learned what kinds of foods to bring and how to keep them refrigerated in a cooler, which she hadn’t been certain would guard against spoilage into the morning hours. “What do you do? What do you bring?” she says. “You can make pancakes—oh, wow, I didn’t know you could do that!” 

Jackson and her family members went on evening and morning trail walks and toured the Sand Ridge Nature Center on site, which she hadn’t known about before. “The kids enjoyed the interactions they had with the staff there,” she says. 

Tawana Watts took her four children ages 9 to 17 on the same campout, participating in the hikes and nature center tour, and she says they found it enjoyable. They plan to go again this year and hopefully bring additional family members.

“I’d never been camping and didn’t know anything about it. It was very helpful to have an organization that provides all that to people,” she says, adding that perhaps in the future, she will go independently with a group of people. “I enjoyed it. The kids had a nice time. They look forward to going again this year.”

The experience gave Jackson the confidence to recruit her husband and son to go with her and her grandchildren on a two-night campout in Indiana last August. “I knew what kind of stuff to bring and buy. I told my husband, ‘We’re doing this.’ He was skeptical at first,” she says. “We brought hot dogs and s’mores and did all of that. We brought grills and knew what kind of foods to prepare, and to keep them refrigerated. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed that one.” 

Jackson and her family plan to camp again this summer. “The grandkids are constantly asking me, ‘When we are going camping?’” she says. “That warms my heart.”  

Learn more about Camping in the Forest Preserves: fpdcc.com/camping.