11 Best Family Tents for Camping: Your Buyer’s Guide

The Kelty Late Start is a super straight forward and easy to pitch tent for smaller family campouts of up to four people. 

This awesome value unit was recently sent out to me to test in the field, and I’ve been loving its ease of setup and performance so far. For the cost, it’s tough to beat the value of a Kelty tent – you often get more than you pay for with this brand.

The idea behind the Late Start was to create an easy to pitch and breakdown tent that won’t be a challenge to erect in the dark, or to break back down in a hurry. This unit is easy-peesy from staking it out to stuffing it back into the carry bag. 

The footprint of the four-man Late Start is 99 by 81 inches, with a peak height of 56 inches. There’s not really room for full-blown air beds in here, so plan on utilizing camping pads rather than mattresses. The poles are however pre-bent in order to create some extra headroom, so it feels more spacious in there than most four-man tents. 

The tent body is built from No-see-um mesh making it stellar for stargazing while the 68D polyester/1800mm floor and fly ensure you won’t get wet during nasty weather. The vestibule furthermore creates a nice little mudroom outside the single tent door for kicking off shoes and stashing packs. 

A gear loft is also present for hanging tent lights or stashing gadgets you want to have on hand come bedtime – a simple, but underrated feature. 

All in all, this is a seriously simple but reliable tent by trusted outfitter Kelty you’ll get a ton of use out of for the cost!   

Here’s another awesome value four-man tent option by Kelty that’s perfect for smaller family groups. The Night Owl is lined with nightlight pockets in order to scatter the light of your headlamp or flashlight to create a well-lit, yet softly illuminated sleeping and lounging space!

Setting up your tent and making fine-tune adjustments in the dark is made easy with the illumination pockets, and they also work great as interior lighting for those that like to read or play games inside their tent after dark. If you’re camping with children, chances are they’ll love this tent feature.

The footprint is 99 by 84 inches with 62 inches of headroom, so this tent is not massive when it comes to big group campouts – it is only a four man option. That being said, the tall center height allows most campers to stand up straight, so similar to the Kelty Late Start previously listed, there feels like there’s more room in here than there really is.

The tent body is built from No-see-um mesh which is great for ventilation and viewing the night sky, while Kelty’s stargazing fly system allows you to roll back part of the rain fly in order to see the stars on a clear night! It’s a pretty neat system that makes it easy to make a quick adjustment if you want to get a view of the sky.

Quick corners and built in guy-lines make the setup off this tent truly a piece of cake – go ahead and have the kiddos pitch it for you while you get the fire going. 

Perhaps the best feature worth noting about the Night Owl is the fact that this is a two-door tent. If someone needs to go take a leak in the middle of the night or comes to bed late, they can enter or exit the tent without having to clamber over everyone! There’s even a nice little vestibule space to keep some of your extra gear dry or to leave your dirty shoes. 

Another excellent family tent for the cost by Kelty that you’ll learn to master and love the first time you pitch it!

Here’s a unique family tent option by Coleman that’s designed with a fabric that keeps the tent’s interior effectively dark and cool all day long!

If you and your family enjoy being woken up by the early morning sun, then this tent is not for you. If you wish you could pull down the blinds in the AM when you’re camping, then the Coleman Dark Room Sundome Tent is the tent you’ve always wanted.

The fabric employed here effectively blocks 90% of sunlight from the tent interior, and it really works! Coleman sent me out the four-man version of this tent (also available through this same link) and I’ve had a couple of late mornings camping in it.  

There’s a nice array of features aside from the light-blocking feature of the Dark Room that makes it quite a capable family tent for the cost. Coleman’s WeatherTec System ensures this option won’t wet out or leak during even intense rainstorms, and the built-in screen room makes for a nice breezy lounge space. 

There are interior storage pockets for stashing your in-tent essentials, while the screen room works well as a gear-overflow space. Keep in mind the screen room will not stay dry in a heavy rain, so don’t put anything water-sensitive out there!

The 10 by 9 foot footprint allows for two queen size air mattresses while the 5 foot, 8 inch center height creates plenty of headroom. Add in the screen room and you’re getting quite a lot of tent for the cost with this one!

Erecting this bad boy and breaking it down are super simple as well – Coleman’s Fast Pitch tent design makes for setups as quick as 7 minutes! The stakes, tent, and fly furthermore break down nicely into the carry bag with a little practice.

Not too shabby for a six person camp-palace!   

The Coleman Steel Creek Fast Pitch 6 Person Dome Tent with Screen Room is essentially the same tent as the sun-blocking unit previously listed, minus the dark room feature. If you like the look and design of the previous Coleman tent but don’t want to sleep in an outdoor-dungeon then here’s the solution. 

The Steel Creek tent sets up super quick, is built with Coleman’s WeatherTec stormproof system and includes the same awesome screen-room for lounging. There are interior gear pockets and even an E-Port in the tent corner allowing you to run an extension cord from outside without opening the door!

Like the Dark Room Sun Dome tent, this option has a 10 by 9 foot base area allowing for two queen-sized air mattresses, and a center height of 5 feet 8 inches. 

It’s spacious, weatherproof and affordable – another great value family tent option from Coleman! 

Here’s a tremendous family tent option for up to 12 campers that might be just what you need if your annual camping trip includes the whole extended family!

The Tahoe Gear Bighorn XL is an 18 by 18 foot teepee style option that provides enough interior space for four queen air mattresses.

This unit is big, and I mean BIG. There are two doors and four plastic windows that can be toggled open or closed as well as four floor vents, so despite all the bodies you might pack in there, it should stay nice and ventilated. 

While this teepee is truly massive in size, set up can be done with just two people.

The floor is built from a durable waterproof fabric, and the teepee is rated to handle up to 35 mph winds so this is an adequate tent for standing up to even intense rainstorms. Once you batton down the hatches (secure the windows, doors and floor vents) you and your group will effectively stay out of the elements when you need to.

Unfortunately, there’s no stove jack kit included that would allow you to cook and have small fires within the teepee. There are however plenty of customer reviews claiming that modifying a chimney into the Bighorn XL is easy enough. If you’re looking for a tremendous group tent for ice-cold, winter campouts then you’re better off going with a canvas option – they insulate better and typically include a stove jack.

For the cost, you get a whole lot of tent with this one! You’ll be hard-pressed to find such a positively reviewed family tent of this size at this price point. No doubt a solid choice from Tahoe Gear that’s perfect for those all-in campouts!

Here’s a nine-person, big family tent option by CORE that’s built with a neat hub design allowing for ultra-rapid, 60-second setups! If you’re the type of family that appreciates simple camp gear that doesn’t require the family engineer to set up and break down, this could be a solid choice for you!

The CORE 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent is quite affordable considering its size and design. While the hub system allows for a 60-second setup time, the tent would be more or less compromised if you damage it in any way, unlike most tent designs that can be repaired. It’s a weatherproof, tough tent, but the hardware is somewhat fragile so just be mindful of that when erecting it and breaking it down.

If you leave the rain fly off, the mesh roof is great for stargazing and added ventilation – there’s also an additional ground vent for when things get stuffy if you really have a lot of bodies in here!

CORE includes a room divider, so you can split this tent in half or use it to create a changing room or private space of any kind. It’s honestly a brilliant feature just for organizing your gear alone – it’s awesome being able to keep everyone’s bags and groceries separate from the sleeping space. 

The floor plan is 14 by 9 feet, so there’s plenty of space for two queen size air mattresses and more!

An electrical cord access port is present at the tent floor for running power into this mansion so you can plan on bringing whatever tent lights, games or other gadgets you enjoy camping with. 

All in all, a stellar big family camping tent for the cost that you’ll fall in love with for its simplicity of setup alone!

The Browning Big Horn Tent is a high performance, five-person option that’s built with fiberglass poles and steel uprights in order to be extra strong against intense weather.

This option is built with straight sidewalls and an 8-foot center height, so there’s plenty of headroom for even the tallest campers. The sheer walls of the Big Horn also allow for more efficient gear storage and easier air bed layouts. 

A nice array of interior stash pockets line one of the tent walls giving you and the family a place to effectively store and organize your in-tent essentials.

The main downfall of the Big Horn as a family tent is the single door design. It can be frustrating when group camping to all have to use the same entry point but depending on who you camp with this may or may not be an issue.

The ceiling is mesh in order to ventilate and provide at least a small portal to look up to the stars on a clear night, but the tent body is otherwise covered by the 75D 185T Polyester fly with a 2000 mm coating. It’s a bit of a fortress compared to some of the lighter weight, minimalist options listed here, but the intention is absolute durability. 

This tent is otherwise quite straight forward – set up, adjustments and breakdown are simple while the longterm durability is promising. Browning is a trusted brand in the industry that builds quality equipment – the price may be a bit steep on this one, but you get what you pay for.

The Coleman 8-Person Red Canyon Car Camping Tent is a highly affordable large family tent option that has the option to be split into three separate interior rooms!

If your family appreciates a bit of privacy while camping or enjoys the option to have a separate “gear room” within the tent, this is a solid go-to that’s easily split into two, or three rooms using the simple wall dividers.

The base area is 17 by 10 feet and the center height is 6 feet tall. There’s quite a bit of space in here for the cost. Coleman really gives you a lot of tent with this one!

There is unfortunately only a single door with the Red Canyon, but at least there is a mesh roof and a rear doggy-door that can double as a floor vent for enhanced breathability during warm-weather campouts.

A well-designed gear loft, some interior mesh pockets, and even an integrated clothesline within this 8-man option give you all sorts of ways to effectively organize your sleeping space. Between all the storage and room dividers, you can really get creative with how you utilize this tent option.

Coleman has built the Red Canyon with their WeatherTec System ensuring wet weather and winds won’t ruin your campout. It’s impressively durable for the cost (and size) so you can camp-on in confidence.

Another stellar value family tent option from Coleman that you’re bound to get at least a few seasons of camping out of!   

The Wenzel 8 Person Klondike Tent is an impressive family camping option for the cost that sleeps five people in the main tent body, and an additional three in the screen room.

This tent has an 11 by 16 foot floor plan with a 6.5 foot center height, so there’s tons of headroom for taller campers. The screen room is an additional 9 by 6 feet and makes for great gear storage when not being used as sleeping space.

Fiberglass poles and steel uprights ensure powerful wind gusts won’t collapse the tent frame While Wenzel’s polyurethane coated Weather Armor fly construction is sure to keep you dry. 

There are six windows, a mesh roof and an additional floor vent which all combine to provide some awesome insulation. Sleeping out in the screen room is also a great way to keep cool and comfortable during hot and stuffy campouts.

Accessory pockets are stitched into the walls for stashing your phone, snacks, reading glasses, or whatever else you like to have on hand come bedtime.  

Wenzel offers a 10-year warranty on this product, so don’t let the low price tag scare you into thinking this is a low quality, risky buy – they stand behind their product!

The Big House 6 Deluxe Person Tent by Big Agnes is one seriously cool, fully equipped family camping tent! This bad boy is built remarkably well and includes an awesome array of features for those that appreciate some bells and whistles!

The steep sidewalls of this tent give you plenty of headroom and make the base area feel enlarged, while the 6.5-foot center height gives even the tallest campers space to stand! 

Two doors and several windows with various closure options provide plenty of ventilation and two entry/exit points. It’s nice being able to clamber in and out of the tent from either side.

Set up is super easy between the color-coded buckles and webbing and the press-fit connectors of the aluminum poles. There are even integrated guy-lines for making the necessary adjustments once pitched! The kids can help out with this one – it’s a breeze to pitch.

My favorite aspect of the Big House is all of the interior pockets (12 total!), storage space and gear loops. This tent has an awesome array of mesh sidewall pockets and two corner stowable bin pockets that work great as bedside tables. The ceiling is furthermore built with loops for securing some tent lights or adding an accessory gear loft. 

Perhaps above all else, campers LOVE the built-in welcome mat of the Big House. It’s a brilliant feature that greatly reduces the amount of filth entering your sleeping space. 

You get what you pay for with Big Agnes – an expensive but exceptional family tent option that will hold up for countless seasons of rowdy group campouts. 

The ALPS Mountaineering Camp Creek 6 Person Tent is a straightforward option for group campouts that should be considered for its ease of setup and breakdown, and long expected lifespan.

This tent is a great middle of the line product when it comes to overall quality. It can almost hang with the top outfitters (like the Big Agnes tent previously listed) but is offered at a much more reasonable price point.

The Camp Creek doesn’t lack any features you would want out of a family tent. There are steep sidewalls and a high ceiling to accommodate extra floor space and headroom, a hub design with easy snap clips and fiberglass poles for super simple setups, mesh throughout the tent design to ensure ventilation and a gear loft for stashing your in-tent essentials.

The Polyester fly with 1500mm coating furthermore creates a bit of awning space in front of the door and main window.

The floor plan here is 10 by 10 feet, so there’s lots of room for everyone to sprawl out for a six-man option.

For the cost, this is an excellent value family tent option that will serve you and the gang for many camping seasons!