I never figured on the rain.

The idea was to introduce the kids to the backcountry without all the work that backpacking entails. We planned to hike to a backcountry New Hampshire hut operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club (www.outdoors.org) where, rather than lug our tents and food, we'd each get a cot and a meal.

It poured the entire way, of course. We slipped and slid over the rocks on the muddy trail and arrived soaked, but laughing. Years later, my kids still talk about that trip. Two of the three have grown into accomplished backpackers. My older daughter, Reggie, has spent several summers leading teens on wilderness trips.

Often families say the things that went wrong on trips are as memorable as what went right and that's certainly true when you are camping and so completely out of your comfort zone. Californian Shelly Rivoli, mom of three and the author of Travels with Baby (www.travelswithbaby.com) remembers the night she spent driving her toddler around a campground because she'd awakened with a nightmare and Rivoli was worried she was disturbing all the other campers in their tents. Exhausted, mom and baby finally fell asleep in the car.

But that didn't dim Rivoli's enthusiasm a bit. ''We have so many great trips -- hunting frogs, marshmallows that are more fun to roast than eat, snuggling in a tent -- that we laugh at the tougher moments,'' she said. ``It is really great family time and the kids will surprise you at how much they find to amuse themselves outdoors.''

Just being in a tent is an adventure for young kids, says Nancy Ritger, an Appalachian Mountain Club naturalist who has camped with her three teens since they were babies.

CAMPER'S TIPS

''Definitely get the kids involved in the planning,'' she suggests. And it always helps to bring along food they don't get at home -- beef jerky, sugared cereals, Pop-Tarts or, in our family, plenty of Tootsie Roll pops and M&Ms.

It also helps, Ritger adds, to invite along another family with kids around your kids' ages, if the kids are tweens or teens, bring along a friend. And, for once, leave all the electronics in the car. ''It's hard to unplug,'' says Ritger. ``We've all got so many devices! But you'll definitely talk to each other more!''

Without the iPods and text messages, kids will make up their own games with rocks and sticks, compose songs on the hiking trail and entertain everyone with a skit around the campfire after dinner.

All that creativity is certainly a good thing. So is having a vacation that isn't going to break the budget. (You can score a campsite for less than $20 a night.)

That may be why this year more families are thinking about heading to the campgrounds. ''Camping has become cool,'' says Christine Fanning, executive director of the Outdoor Foundation, a not-for-profit organization charged with encouraging young people to get outdoors. Reservations for campsites and sales for camping gear are up, she notes; in just one month, REI (www.rei.com) reported family tent sales were up almost 30 percent from 2008.

And many appear to be first-time campers. ''We've had the highest growth of first-time campers in 18 years,'' reports Jim Rogers, CEO of the 450-plus KOA Campgrounds (www.koa.com) the world's largest system of family campgrounds.

To encourage the trend, The National Park Service (www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm), which also offers plenty of campground activities, has announced three free-entrance weekends (June 21, July 16-19 and Aug. 15-16).

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