Tolbert Travels

We took the kids on a short, 2-night camping trip to Dreher Island State Park over Spring Break and enjoyed the change of pace. For our first camping trip with two kids … Elias was almost 3 years old, and Arya was almost 4 months old! We made sure to pick up Arya’s free SC State Parks passport book and get her first stamp! 🙂 She was a happy camper and enjoyed the fire, while Elias was ecstatic because of SMORES after dinner each night! He also loved riding his bike around the campground loop and throwing rocks into the lake. We had great weather the first night, but the second night it was in the 40s, so I’m glad that I packed layers and warm bedding. We were never cold sleeping, though it was hard to get up in the mornings for breakfast! Thanks, Mom & Dad, for letting us borrow a mini space heater, as this made it a little easier:)

What did we do at Dreher Island State Park?

We got lots of exercise by enjoying the campground circle loop. We stayed at our favorite tent spot … #11, which is also close to a playground. See photo below:) Sometimes I pushed our baby in the stroller with roller skates on, and other times I just walked, as she isn’t quite old enough to be in the bike seat that attaches to my bike. Kristoff rode his longboard everywhere, and Elias loved riding his balance bike, though he also practiced some on his pedal bike. He loved riding at night since he got bike lights in his Easter basket this year.

We did one little trail in the park — the Billy Dreher Nature Trail that sits beside another playground we visited. This is by shelters 3 & 4. This trail is super short & easy. It passes the ruins at the former site of the Billy Dreher home (see photo below). We also made tacos out of mud, threw rocks, and noticed every plane/boat/animal. Elias also enjoyed swinging in the hammock with Kristoff, but his favorite activity was the campfire after dinner each night.

What are a few items we brought on this first camping trip of 2026?

#2) Portable sound machine for at night & a small space heater for the chilly mornings

#3) Ubbi diaper pail (highly recommend to have inside your tent if you plan to eat in it bc it was nice to throw everything in here and then not be able to smell anything), a pack n play, and a toddler airbed. We only used the mattress and not the rest of the setup, as our toddler knows how to stay in his bed, but we purchased this specific one in case we ever need it for a future kid one day. I love that it is crib size, so the waterproof and normal sheets all fit perfectly. Click here to view the waterproof crib sheets we love. We own 2 now since we have 2 kids!

#4) Camco portable toilet bucket (click here!). I love to have this for at night when I don’t feel like trucking to the bathhouse, but it came in especially handy with a toddler who is now potty-trained. A great buy!

#5) Bikes, playmat, books, cars, magna tiles, our yellow dump truck, soccer ball, and of course, sticks for roasting marshmallows

#6) Merino Wool base layers for both kids (click here). I had the kids wear these layers under their pjs to stay extra warm at night.

Dreher Island State Park was a lot of fun, and I’m glad we picked it for our first camping trip of the year. It was low-key and relaxing for Arya’s first time tent camping. If you have a boat, then you can just park it right at your site (if on the water) and add boating to your camping itinerary. Arya loves boating, and we actually boated past the state park to dinner with our friends the day after we got home from camping, haha. We usually don’t spend a ton of time in Prosperity, but we ended up spending a lot of time there over Spring Break. So thankful for the fun times and for another camping trip booked for May! Stay tuned:)