When planning your camping trip at Fall Creek Falls, you have to consider what camping foods to choose. The park already has options if you’d rather “eat out.” But if you’d like to keep it campground focused, I have a few ideas for you here too.
Morning Tea (or Coffee)
I drink morning tea most days instead of coffee. Of course, I drink coffee too, but I save that for after lunch. I basically do things backwards from what you’d expect, but hear me out. I used to do it the other way around until one day I realized that coffee makes me more dehydrated than tea. When I wake up first thing in the morning I’m already partially dehydrated. So, the last thing I need is something to dehydrate me more. That’s when I started drinking tea instead of coffee with breakfast. It was difficult for a couple weeks while transitioning and my co-workers were all drinking coffee instead. But I finally got used to it and now I am happy and don’t want to go back to the old order of things.
All that to say, one of the challenges I knew I’d face camping was my morning tea and afternoon coffee. How could I easily make both throughout the day? Queue the electric kettle. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Amanda, why get an electric kettle for camping when you can just get a gas powered camping stove instead?” Yes, I thought of that, but I figured the kettle could serve me even more than that. Because I was thinking about my home life as well. Since I heat up water for tea and coffee at least twice a day, it made sense for me to get a kettle for daily life at home as well. So, I bought THIS kettle off amazon and have loved it ever since. (The kettle linked is an updated version of the one I have. I wish I had this one instead because a temperature dial is nicer than the temperature buttons that mine has.) And yes, it was perfect for camping as well. For a video demonstration of how it worked for me while camping, click HERE.
Easy Camping Foods
Snackbar Grill
Breakfast is easiest when you don’t have to make it yourself, right? If you’re like me, you prefer to wake up, get dressed, and take a very short drive to grab a hot breakfast made just for you. And if you’re like me, then you need to try the Grill/Snackbar at Fall Creek Falls for breakfast. I got the “Hiker’s Breakfast Sandwich” two days in a row because it was that good! This is an egg, sausage, bacon, and American cheese sandwiched between a brioche bun. The second day I ordered it without American cheese though because I hate American cheese and didn’t see that was on it the first day when I looked at the menu.
We also ate at the Grill/Snackbar for a late lunch on the last day. My friend got a burger and fries while I had a corndog with tater tots. Not the healthiest of food options, but after hiking all weekend, we wanted some classic, fried American fare. As far as this type of food goes, Fall Creek Falls did not disappoint. The corn dog was delicious and these were some of the best tater tots I have had in a long time.
Overall, I must say that the Grill/Snackbar is on my list for the next time I visit. The food is better than you may expect, and the pricing is quite fair. I also love how you can eat inside or outside depending on the weather and it’s pleasant either way. Just note that Fall Creek Falls runs on Central Standard Time and be sure to check the opening and closing hours on the door. I failed to do this the first time and showed up to breakfast half an hour early the next day. Also note that they are not open for dinner.
Lodge Restaurant
The Fall Creek Falls Lodge and Restaurant recently reopened after an overdue makeover. And I must say, the results are beautiful. If you don’t want to camp but still want to really enjoy the park, you may want to consider spending a night or two here. And you don’t have to be staying at the lodge to take advantage of the new restaurant. Anyone is welcome to come in for a delicious meal. My parents and I tried the new place while following my one day Fall Creek Falls State Park itinerary. The restaurant is still fairly new, and they are playing around with the menu items so expect new or different options when you go.
No-Cook Camping Foods
If you don’t want to spend money “eating out,” the next easiest thing to do for camping foods would be to plan and pack “no-cook” meals. One morning I just had cereal for breakfast. And for lunch one day I had what you see above. Potato chips, pumpkin bread that I had made a week prior, and lentil salad. The lentil salad was something that I picked up right before our trip from a local bakery called Bread & Butter which you can find HERE. If you plan ahead, you can easily find and make foods to pack that can be eaten cold and won’t require a campfire or stove. Other items I packed were hiking snacks such as trail mix, applesauce, granola bars, and tuna. With food items like these, all you’ll need is an iced cooler to keep certain items cold.
Campfire Foods
Camping foods are best when there’s a campfire involved, right? I was inspired by Sarah, from Sarah S Reads, after reading THIS post to try the next two things I’m going to mention. First off, let me tell you that I have saved the best for last. I’m so glad I read her blog post and decided to try these two.
First up is the sandwich you see above. It’s a bacon and apple grilled cheese sandwich. I used the Cranberry Pecan Bread from Bread & Butter which just perfected this sandwich even more. To read more about the Bread & Butter Bakery as well as other Chattanooga bread bakeries, click HERE. Then I used a sharp white cheddar cheese, hickory smoked bacon, and gala apple slices. You can really use whichever flavors you prefer but I believe this is one of the best combinations.
I must say, if you decide to cook this sandwich over a campfire like I did, be sure to cover it with foil first. It will speed up the process a lot. It took my sandwich just over an hour to cook because I didn’t cover it, and even then the cheese wasn’t melted all the way through. I felt like I did such a terrible job with this great sandwich that I decided to try it again at home. The picture at the top of this section is the one I made at home. It turned out amazing! To watch the video of me making this at home, click HERE.
Pro tip I learned after making this sandwich a third time (after this video) that it helps to make the sandwich in this order: bread, apples, cheese, bacon, bread. Then, place the apple side in the pan first. This allows the apples to warm and the cheese will start to melt. Once the cheese has melted into the apples some, it will be much easier to flip the sandwich to the other side without any apple casualties.
Lastly is s’mores. You can’t say you went camping if you didn’t have s’mores at least one night, right? Well, thanks to Sarah, I was introduced to the genius idea of Reese’s S’mores. Instead of using the traditional Hershey chocolate bar, simply replace it with a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Trust me, it will change your life. Well, it at least changed mine. Because now I can never go back. From now on, if there’s no Reese’s for my s’mores, then I don’t want one! They really are that good.
To Sum It Up
No matter your approach to planning the camping foods you’ll need for your next camping trip, there’s always plenty of choices. Just because you don’t have a kitchen in the outdoors, doesn’t mean you can’t have great food. And depending on where you go, as I’ve demonstrated, you may have access to a kitchen where someone else will cook for you too.
To watch the video all about what I ate on my camping trip, click HERE. And let me know in the comments below what your favorite camping foods are. I’ll add them to my list to try next time. Until then, enjoy Exploring Chatt!
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