15 Best Family Camping Tents & Quick Buyers Guide [2020 List]
Most reviews of tents for outdoor camping usually focus on small, one- or two-person models. These definitely have a lot going for them as they’re lightweight, easy to carry, and don’t need a lot of space to set up.
So, if you’re heading out on your own for a camping trip, a compact tent could be just what you need.
If there’s more than one of you, however, you’ll probably soon find it a bit cramped and realize that it’s not quite the best family tent you have hoped for.
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Best Family Tents for Camping: Our Top 3
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**Note – There are several possibilities that may fit your needs listed in larger detail below. If you want to skip the read, the three choices listed above are top picks and are battle tested. All three are great choices.
Distinguishing the Benefits of Small vs. Large Tents:
Small tents are really designed for lightweight backpacking, and the designers assume that you’re carrying a rucksack and not much else. That’s what they base the tent’s size on, but for campers with larger families, it’s not always the best assumption. As well as your pack, the chances are you have a lot of other gear with you too.
If you are hunting – you may have a hunting crossbow, fixed-blade survival knife, game camera, laser rangefinder, and everything else you need for a successful hunting trip.
It’s probably not an exaggeration to say that a four-man tent is going to hold two campers and their gear. If you are heading out on a fishing trip and are bringing along a fishing kayak and fly fishing gear, then plan accordingly to pick up a tent that has at least 2-3 more people than you will have on the trip. If you are just heading into the woods and only have basic camping gear, space becomes a little less of an issue.
Even if you’re camping on your own but planning to be away longer than a couple of days, it makes a lot of sense to take a larger tent. The extra space will soon be appreciated, especially if the weather’s not great. In a small backpacking tent, you often don’t have much more space than you need to sleep in.
Keeping your gear clean and maintained can be a real struggle in a cramped tent. On the other hand, if you go for a larger one, you’ll have plenty of room to relax and work on your gear, which will make your trip a whole lot more pleasant.
If you choose a six- or eight-person tent, there can be other advantages. These are usually divided into multiple spaces, which is ideal if you take the kids camping – they can have their own room. Alternatively, for hunters, you can have a sleeping area and another for storing all your gear. Whatever you decide, it’s always good to have more space and the flexibility it brings with it.
Ultra-lightweight gear is fine when you expect to have to carry it long distances – that’s what it’s for, after all. If you’re taking the kids, the chances are you won’t be carrying it more than a few hundred yards from where your car’s parked, so you can afford to bring a bigger, more comfortable tent. If you have the kids along, you’ll probably be more focused on finding a nice camping space and having some fun with some great family activities.
How to Choose a Family Camping Tent: Quick Buyer’s Guide
There are a few things to look for when you’re choosing any tent and a couple of extra points with a larger one. Here are the factors that should be looked at when you’re making your decision on what one to buy:
Size: This is a pretty obvious one. You need a tent that’s big enough to hold everyone who’ll be staying in it, plus all their gear, plus whatever activities you plan on doing inside the tent. Always plan for the worst case here, which usually means bad weather. It’s great to sit outside the tent when the sun is shining, or it’s a nice night around the campfire – but not so appealing when a cold wind is driving the rain into your face. Make sure that, if you have a wet spell, the tent is roomy enough to do more than squeeze inside.
Weight: For backpacking, every ounce counts. If you want a tent for family camping, it’s usually less of an issue. Heavier tents also tend to be more robust – they’ll stand up to wind better and should last you more seasons. If you just plan on camping out in your backyard and a half of a mile in the woods, then weight shouldn’t be a factor.
Layout: Most tents have an inner sleeping room plus a vestibule area inside the door, which can be used for storing gear. Many larger tents opt for a central door and vestibule with a sleeping room on each side of it. This is ideal for families, as it gives about as much privacy as you can have in a tent, and it also increases your options.
If there are two of you in a six-man tent, you might be able to only put up one of the sleeping rooms, giving you a large space to store and maintain your equipment, hang up wet clothes, or just relax at the end of the day.
Durability: A cheap tent designed for occasional family summer breaks might not stand up to a storm in the woods. Your tent is the only shelter you have, and it’s worth paying a bit more to get one that can stand up to the elements. You’ll also save money in the long run because it will last longer.
Just like any other piece of gear, it’s important to decide what you need before you start shopping around, and what tent suits you best will depend on your own requirements. Think about what sort of trips you plan to make, what you’d like to do inside your tent, and where you’ll be setting it up, and use those facts to pick the winner. To help you out, here are our favorite family tents that work great for hunting or camping.
Best 10-Person Tent for Families: Our Top Choices
Camping in larger groups is becoming more and more popular. If you are camping with a group of 10 people, the 8-person tents just won’t cut it. Most of the tents on our 10-person tent list will have at least two rooms, making privacy a little better, especially if two families plan to camp in the tent together. Let’s face it, though, if you have 10 people camping with you, space is going to be relatively limited.
The good news is that our top three choices on this list will all do the job. All three have adequate space and will allow you to camp in a large group setting. These tents are also good for people who have a family of 7-8 and just want a little extra room for their gear, pets, and whatnot. Let’s jump in.
1. The Coleman Weathermaster 10-Person Hinged Door Tent:
Coleman comes up big on our list, and they start it off with a monster tent that comes in at 17 x 9. It can fit up to 10 people or three queen airbeds. With a 6-foot, 8-inch center – most grown adults will be able to stand up inside the tent with relative ease.
The door hinges are great for people that are constantly coming and going inside or outside the tent. It comes equipped with a Rainfly that provides adequate weather protection if you get caught in a rainstorm, and it has a mesh roof that will allow a little sunlight to come in on sunny days.
Like similar Coleman models, the floor is constructed in a manner that’s designed to keep out moisture. If you truly need the moisture out, it’s still obviously recommended that you lay down a tarp firs before setting up the rest of the tent. This is a great pick for people that need the space and at a pretty reasonable price point, you can’t go wrong. If you have a ton of people coming along, or have larger pieces of gear like a tandem fishing kayak, then this is an excellent choice.
2. Mountain Trails Grand Pass Tent for 10:
Mountain Trails does a great job with the Grand Pass 10. It measures close to the same size as the WeatherMaster at 18 x 6.3 x 10. The big benefit of the Grand Pass is the storage. It’s designed to roll up and stuff into a duffel formation to make it easy to carry.
It’s one of the lightest 10-person models you can currently buy at around 21 total pounds. This is great because it won’t add unnecessary weight to your pack if you are planning on hiking long distances before you get to set up camp.
The tent itself has a full 170 square feet inside the tent, and it’s just over 6 feet at standing height. If you have a family of 7, you should fit very comfortably in the Grand Pass 10. It will fit your extra camping or hunting gear with relative ease.
Even though the floor is reinforced, we’d recommend laying down a tarp underneath just to keep any unwanted moisture out.
3. Ozark Trail 10 Person 3 Room Cabin Tent:
This is a great three-room tent. It has a center area that’s great for coming in/out of and two side rooms that are separated by dividers. It can fit up to three queen mattresses and has improved ventilation to help make sure the air in the tent is not so stale.
Slightly heavier at almost 32 pounds, this would probably not be our first pick if weight was a primary concern for hiking. Like others on our list, this tent packs right up into a duffel bag with relative ease. The setup is pretty quick as well, and the directions are not extremely complicated.
The price is pretty reasonable, and we’d recommend this tent if you are looking for a three-room tent with extra space. While we like the Coleman as our top pick, this is a great alternative at a lower price point.
Best 8-Person Tent for Families: Our Top Choices
If you have a larger family of 8, finding the right tent is definitely not an easy task. You have to take into consideration exactly how much privacy you need and how much additional gear you will need to store with the whole family.
You need to take into consideration room count, space, as well as everything we just covered in our buyer’s guide above when making the right choice. As always, we’d recommend that you pick a tent that’s at least two people bigger than you are planning on taking along to allow for adequate space.
There are a few top-rated tents that have done really well with the general population, and we’ve helped hand-pick our top choices for you below.
1. Coleman 8-Man Instant Tent:
If you want something that’s easy to set up, this Coleman is pretty hard to beat – you can do it on your own in ten minutes, and with two people, it takes a fraction of that. It’s also roomy, making it perfect for longer trips – but at 36 pounds, you won’t want to carry it very far.
This is an externally framed tent that comes out of the bag with all the pieces ready assembled. You just need to unfold and extend all the poles until they lock into position, so it’s basically impossible to get anything wrong.
Once it’s set up you just have to peg it down – use the guy lines! – and that’s it; everything’s secure. The Instant Tent doesn’t come with a rain fly, but Coleman’s 10×14 model will fit it if you want some extra protection. The heavy-duty, waterproof WeatherTec walls will stand up to most rain, though.
Inside there are some configuration options. There’s a zippered divider you can use or not, giving the option of one or two rooms – and each will take a queen size mattress with plenty of space left around it. There’s a door at each end and plenty of windows with mesh screens – one end can be converted into a sunroom.
2. Coleman Red Canyon 8-Person Tent with Three-Room Divider:
Coleman’s Red Canyon is marketed as an 8-person tent, but as usual, if you fill it to that capacity there won’t be a lot of extra space. It’s very comfortable for six though, and also very easy to set up the way you want.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Red Canyon is that it’s roomy. It’s 17 by ten feet, and there’s six feet of headroom in the center. Once the tent itself is set up, a rain fly goes over the top.
This only covers the top half of the walls, but the Red Canyon has a great reputation for keeping the rain out. One side of the fly is extended out to give some extra protection over the door.
Inside you’ll find one huge (for a tent) space, but Coleman also supplies two zip-in dividers, so you can split it up into three. Because they all have a sealed floor, they can be used as sleeping rooms, which not all tents allow. For light and ventilation, there are four mesh panels – on and opposite the door and at each end. The center ones have zippered privacy flaps and the others are covered by the rain fly.
The Red Canyon is quite easy to put up – it’s even possible to do it solo, although the long poles can take some wrestling. Poles are color-coded for simple assembly and shock-corded together. Overall this is a capable, well-made tent.
3. Wenzel Klondike 8 Person Tent with Two Room Divider:
At first glance the Klondike looks like it would be more at home on a campground than in the woods – its walls are close to vertical and there’s a big, mesh-sided sunroom on the front.
Don’t be fooled though. The main compartment is a tough dome tent and the sunroom has zippered walls that convert it into a second enclosed space. It’s ideal for an extended hunting trip or a family wilderness adventure.
The Wenzel’s design gives you a lot of options. The sun room can be left open to the air, with the mesh to protect you from critters, and makes a great place to relax. It’s also ideal for storing packs and other kit, and like the main compartment it has a sealed bathtub floor to keep everything dry. A big circular door between the two sections can convert it into more or less a single space if required – if you do, it feels big enough to have a decent party in there.
One strong point of this tent is the headroom, which is excellent – close to six feet everywhere. It can also be buttoned up for good weatherproofing, but the main compartment also has mesh-screened windows. It does need two people to set up – you’d really struggle on your own – but it’s a sturdy and spacious performer and also a great value.
4. Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent:
The Montana is a long, narrow tent at 16×7 feet, and inside there’s a large single room with a full floor. It comes with an included rain fly, so all conventional so far – but it has some very clever touches.
Each end wall has a mesh window at the top, which can be zipped closed for privacy – but they’re angled inwards, so they can be left open even when it’s raining without letting water in.
There’s also a D-shaped door with a lightweight hinged frame, which seals with both Velcro and a zipper – this saves a lot of zipping time if you’re in and out a lot. Below the door is a small folding mat sewn to the tent’s waterproof base, giving you something clean to stand on if you’re putting on dirty boots. The tent also has an interior pocket for small items and an electrical access port. The Elite version even has integrated LED lighting.
Very steep walls mean Montana catches the wind, so use the guy ropes, but it also gives excellent headroom. There’s loads of space inside and a small fly extension to keep the rain off the door. This is a solid and up-to-date tent, ideal for four or five people to camp in comfort.
5. Browning Camping Big Horn Family Tent with Two-Room Divider:
Browning has a reputation for quality that starts with its legendary guns and carries on into its wide range of outdoor products; it shows in the Big Horn tent.
Unusually they don’t make any claims about how many people it sleeps, but the floor area is similar to the 8-person models we tested – so ideal for four or five.
This is a cabin-style tent with steep sides, and the headroom is really remarkable; over seven feet in the center and generous everywhere.
The Big Horn uses the popular three-pole dome design; the poles are fiberglass, and the uprights steel for extra strength. A separate rain fly goes over the roof and buckles onto the poles – it’s worth fitting it even if it’s not raining because it shields the tent from the sun. That will protect the fabric and help keep you cool in hot weather. Inside there’s a zippered divider that can be used to split the tent into two good-sized rooms. Each room has its own door and three mesh windows.
This is a simple design but extremely well made out of solid materials. It’s a very waterproof tent. It also has some nice detail touches, including a hook in the center for hanging a lantern and three mesh gear pockets in each room. The quality makes it more expensive than some, but Browning is known for their quality in just about everything they do, and this tent is no different.
6. Coleman Evanston 8-Person Tent:
Affordable quality isn’t the only good thing about Coleman tents; they also have enough variety that you’re almost guaranteed to find one that suits you. The Evanston is a simple and spacious tent that’s quick to set up but gives plenty of room for an extended trip.
This tent is a dome design, with an extra hoop to support the generous screened porch. There’s a separate rain fly too, with triangular side gaps to allow ventilation and a view out of the windows. The interior is a single large room with close to six feet of headroom in the middle.
Its best feature is the porch, which is fully enclosed by mesh sides and large doors. You can’t close it in, and the sloped front means it can collect some rain, but it’s a great place to sit and watch the world from. It also makes a spacious gear store. Their wall between the porch and interior has a waterproof base, so any rain that does pool in the porch won’t make it to your sleeping bag.
7. White Duck Avalon Bell Tent:
Looking to step up your family camping game? Take the leap of faith and replace that iffy Coleman with this tough bell tent by White Duck Outdoors. You’ll never be looking back. The Avalon Bell Tent is an impressive 4-season, 8-person tent as water repellent as a duck’s feathers. It can withstand wind, rain, snow storms, and whatever Mother Nature throws at it. And for a premium, you can get the fireproof version too.
The tent is made of high-quality, heavy-duty 10.10 oz. Army Duck Canvas, the seams are double stitched, the floor is reinforced and waterproof, and there’s even a proprietary shock absorber grounding system for some of the most comfortable night sleep. One of the most outstanding things about this amazing family tent is its breathability. Unlike plastic, the canvas can be both water-repellent and breathable so that you don’t wake up with all that condensation dripping down the walls in the morning.
The Avalon Bell Tent is impressively roomy (it genuinely accommodates eight people with room to spare) and allows you to fully stand everywhere inside, even if you’re 6 ft tall. This one is a tent that requires some investment, but it will last you a lifetime. And customer service is amazing too.
Best 6-Person Tent for Families: Our Top Picks
Families of 6 are a little easier to plan for than a larger family of 8. These tents are great for people that are outfitting a family of four and can use a little extra space inside the tent for their camping gear.
If you are a full family of 6, we’d definitely recommend looking at an 8-person tent just because the extra room can come in handy. The 8-person tents aren’t that much bigger or heavier than 6-person tents, so they are ideal if you need extra room.
Six-person tents are great for people that have 3 – 6 people that are looking to cap the weight that they have to carry around. If you fall into this bucket, we’d recommend that you look at any of the 6 person tents we have outlined for you below.
1. Kazoo Saturn 6-Person Tent:
The Kazoo Saturn 6P tent is one of those large tents that actually accommodate the number of people stated on the package and some more. This double-layered instant cabin tent comfortably fits six adults with plenty of space for gear. The 118×110-inch floor fits two queen mattresses or six adult sleeping bags with plenty of room to spare.
Everything about this tent oozes quality and attention to detail, from the high-quality material used for its construction and sturdy aluminum frame to the waterproof seam-sealed zippers and waterproof seamed 210T rip-stop floor material.
Thanks to its aluminum automatic frame, it doesn’t take more than 1 to 2 minutes to get the tent up, even by one person, and tearing it down is just as easy. The tent has two upper full-mesh walls and two doors for some of the best ventilation seen in a large tent. You’ll notice that with six people inside, there is little to zero condensation after one night. Plus, the front door can be turned into a handy sunshade which is a great thing on hot summer days.
The Kazoo Saturn is one of the best large tents for family camping, especially because it is insanely spacious (adults can stand inside, and children have plenty of space to play and nap) and for being impressively sturdy for the money (there are several reports from happy campers about this cabin style tent holding up to some pretty severe rain storms and winds.) Hands down, this is our favorite six personal tent for family camping so far.
2. Coleman Sundome 6-Person Tent:
Another Coleman and another style, the Sundome, is a hexagonal dome tent that can fit six at a pinch but is ideal for three or four. It’s a simple design with a single large interior room and a rainfly that gives some extra protection to the door. The upper walls are mesh for ventilation.
One great thing about the Sundome is that it’s easy to set up, even on your own – it can be done in ten minutes. Despite its simplicity, it has some nice details.
faA lantern hook overhead comes in handy after sunset, and there are two mesh gear pockets on the walls. There’s a mat for the door, which helps keep dirty boots (and dirt) out of the interior. A port lets you run a power cable in if you have access to electricity. This tent is ideal for family trips to a campsite.
While a second room for storing gear would be nice, the plus side of the Sundome weighs just 18 pounds and is a good option if you plan to carry it any distance.
3. Coleman Weathermaster 6-Person Tent:
The Weathermaster is a six-person dome tent but a very generously sized one – it’s as big as some of the eight-person ones we’ve looked at and can comfortably accommodate five people. It has two sections, a main sleeping room you can divide in two with a zippered curtain and a mesh-screened sunroom.
The sunroom can’t be closed up, so it won’t double as more sleeping space. It also doesn’t have a floor. That has advantages, though, because you can store muddy gear in it without messing up the tent. For a bow hunting trip, that’s the best use for it, but it makes for a nice bug-free place to sit in the evenings as well.
As the name suggests this is a rugged tent. The fabric seems tough, and the walls have Coleman’s WeatherTec system to keep the rain out. Poles are heavy-duty 11 mm fiberglass. There’s a rainfly with an extension to protect the door. The door itself is the same D-shaped hinged model as Montana, complete with a fold-out mat underneath.
The WeatherMaster isn’t cheap for a six-person tent, but the build quality and performance make it a great choice for a few nights in the woods.
4. Coleman Instant Tent 6-Person Tent:
If you like the idea of the Instant Tent, but the weight of the eight-person model puts you off, this one might suit you. With 90 square feet of interior space and close to six feet of headroom, its cabin-style interior is roomy enough for three and all their stuff. It’s also a good bit lighter at 24 pounds.
The current six-person model has a few updates to the design, including reflective guy ropes to help you avoid tripping at night. Like its bigger brother, it uses Coleman’s WeatherTec system to keep the rain out, but it doesn’t come with a rainfly. If you’re expecting a major storm, you can improvise one with a tarp, but a Coleman one to fit this tent is due out soon. Details include a lantern hook and two mesh storage pockets inside.
This is even quicker to set up than the bigger version because there’s less weight to grapple with, and if you’re after a convenient tent, it’s a great option for the money.
5. Alpha Camp 6-Person Tent:
This tent takes a different approach to quick setup. It’s not quite as fast as the Coleman Instant, but you can still get it ready to use in just a few minutes, and there’s a lot less weight to haul around. The ALPHA CAMP will provide shelter for three people and all their gear, or four if you don’t have too much stuff with you, and tips the scales at 14 pounds.
ALPHA CAMP has gone for a four-pole design, with two long ones forming the central dome and another at each end. The telescopic main poles are pre-attached and just need to be extended to sort out the dome. Then attach the end poles to complete the frame, put on the rain fly and stake out the guy ropes. It’s quick and simple, and the end result is a sturdy and fairly roomy tent. It doesn’t have as much headroom as the others, though, so you won’t be walking around inside – it’s about 4.5 feet high at the center.
Inside, it’s comfortable and well-ventilated, with generous mesh panels shielded from the rain by the fly. If you’re planning on backpacking with a couple of friends, this isn’t beyond the limits of what you can carry, and it’s also a good size for hunting in dense woods where a higher tent would be awkward and conspicuous.
6. White Duck Prota Canvas Tent:
Here’s another fantastic tent from White Duck Outdoors. The Prota Canvas Tent comes with enough room for six people and their gear, has two practical no-see-um mesh doors for kids to enjoy, there’s plenty of ventilation thanks to the unique design and breathable canvas fabric, and has a reflective silver-coated canvas roof that keeps summer heat at bay for you and your loved ones to fully relax inside when temperatures are running wild.
The White Duck Prota Canvas Tent is made of 100% cotton Army Duck 10.10 oz. Canvas and its seams and floor corners are reinforced for extra durability. This is the kind of 4 season tent built to last, which can be used for multiple types of outings, from camping and hunting to carnivals and festivals.
The quality and durability of this cabin tent are rare to find, so if you’re looking to upgrade your regular 6-person family tent and truly have a home away from home when out in the Wild, look no further. The Prota has everything a family of six needs and some more.
Wrapping Up & Parting Thoughts:
When it comes to choosing the best family tent for your next outdoor excursion, we always recommend buying one that will sleep two people more than you actually have. This will ensure that you have enough room for extra camping gear like two-way radios or camping equipment and enough space that you don’t trip all over each other as you come and go.
While most of these tents can help make an outdoor excursion enjoyable, ultimately, you need to decide what specifications you are looking for before making a choice. Camping, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities are all going to have different levels of gear requirements, so it’s up to you to plan accordingly.
My articles appear in Marketing Edge Magazine, on Gizmogrind, and with various Medium publications. But one thing hasn’t changed in all of my life: no matter where I was or what I was doing. I’ve always loved to be outdoors.
A man needs nothing more than a good flannel shirt, a well-worn pair of jeans, and comfortable hiking boots. I don’t go for all the fancy luxury stuff. Suits are uncomfortable and shaving sucks.
