Transform an otherwise forgettable, routine weekday into a memory you’ll never forget! Head out of town right after work or school and spend the night camping (and maybe even cooking over a campfire) before starting the rat race all over again the next day.

---

Details

• Time Needed: Only one night!
• Cost: $
• Difficulty: Easy
• Other Variations: Leave the tent at home and camp under the stars or add some difficulty by making it a backpacking trip

In many ways, the concept of microadventures started based on this idea – finding ways to take advantage of your 5-to-9s, those “16 glorious hours of freedom between leaving work in the evening and returning the next day” as Alastair Humphreys describes it in the book that kicked off the movement, “Microadventures.” It’s easy to feel that adventures have to be something we take extended vacation time for or, at the very least, save for the weekend. But finding ways to take advantage of a weekday evening to do something adventurous gives you the power to break up the routine while also probably shocking your co-workers (and making them a little bit jealous)!

It’s easy enough… Plan ahead, pack your gear in the car (or a backpack if you really want to elevate the experience), and head to your campsite directly from work. Then enjoy an evening of campfire fun, stargazing, and sleeping in the woods before making the trek back to work the next morning. Make sure you pack some fresh clothes and toiletries!

This is also a great adventure to do with kids. Their evening will be the talk of the class the next day!

Our Adventure

For our weeknight camping experience, my two boys and I headed to one of our favorite nearby wild spaces – Lake Perris State Recreation Area. Located in Moreno Valley, CA, it’s less than 30 minutes from their school campus, making it a short, easy trip. After picking them up and stashing their backpacks in the backseat of the car, we drove straight to the park and had no problem finding an empty campsite (another benefit to weeknight camping is that there are no crowds!).

We quickly set up our tent and still had enough daylight time to explore the campground, climbing trees and chasing squirrels. We enjoyed a hearty Hamburger Helper meal before roasting marshmallows over the camping stove. I had decided not to do a campfire this time around given the wildfire danger in California lately and to avoid walking into work/school the next day smelling super smoky.

After that we called it a night, played some cards in the tent, and then enjoyed the sounds of owls before we all nodded off to sleep.

In the morning, we knew we’d be in a rush to be back at school by 7:30 so we grabbed a few granola bars and tossed all the gear into the back of the car and drove into rush hour to get us all to where we needed to be.

My boys had a blast and I’m very sure they’ll never forget the feeling of walking into school and telling all of their friends that they just strolled in from camping. Some kids thought they were crazy, others were jealous. But I know in those moments, my boys felt the rush of really living life and not playing by the rules that everyone else plays by. It’s little things like this that I hope help them develop a true adventurous spirit.

Before You Go

One complication, which may happen on adventures like this… arriving on a weeknight meant that the campground office was closed. So we had no way to pay for our camp site until the office opened up again at 9am the next day, which wasn’t going to work for us. We could have just left the next day without saying anything. But I thought it was best that my boys see us try to do the right thing. So on the way out, we flagged down a ranger at the exit and explained the situation. He thought about it briefly and then just waved us through, saying, “Don’t worry about it.” The lesson learned for me is, when we do this again, if it’s a fee based campground, I may try to reserve in advance. Something to think through in your research before you go, too!