Lake house packing list: what to bring vs. what stays there
The car is loaded to the roof, the kids are wedged between duffel bags, and you still arrive missing something. The phone charger. The little one's swim shoes. Or you hauled sheets for the whole family, only to find three clean sets in the linen closet. When several families share a lake house, it's easy to pack too much of some things and not enough of others.
A good lake house packing list separates two things: what you always bring yourself, and what should already be at the house. Here you get both, plus lists for summer, the cooler months and kids.
The core list: always bring these
These are personal items that shouldn't be left at the house. The list works in any season.
- Phones, chargers and a power bank (the dock is a long way from an outlet).
- Wallets, IDs, keys or the lockbox code, and any boat or fishing licenses you need.
- Prescription medications for the whole stay, plus a couple of extra days.
- Glasses, contacts and toiletries.
- Clothes for the number of days you're staying, plus one warm layer – evenings by the water get cool even in July.
- Fresh food for the first dinner and breakfast, in a cooler.
- Anything you borrowed from the house last time and took home.
Summer at the lake
- Swimsuits (two each, so one can dry), beach towels and a cover-up.
- Sunscreen, lip balm with SPF, hats and sunglasses with a strap.
- Water shoes – rocky shorelines and docks are hard on bare feet.
- Bug spray and something for bites.
- Rain jackets. A wet afternoon is more fun when you're dressed for it.
- Your own fishing gear, snorkel masks or paddleboard if you don't keep them at the house.
- Life jackets that fit, if the house doesn't have the right sizes. Check before you leave home, not at the dock.
Spring, fall and off-season weekends
- Fleece or wool layers, a warm hat and gloves for mornings on the water.
- Waterproof boots for muddy trails and wet leaves.
- Slippers or warm socks – lake houses are often chilly until the heat catches up.
- Board games, books or a project for rainy days.
- Work gloves if it's an opening or closing weekend. Our cabin opening checklist and closing checklist cover what needs doing.
Packing for kids
- A favorite stuffed animal or blanket for falling asleep in a different bed.
- More changes of clothes than you think – kids find the one muddy spot on any shoreline.
- A dry bag or backpack each, so they can carry their own swim gear to the dock.
- A flashlight or headlamp for evenings outside.
- Diapers, wipes and swim diapers for the youngest – the nearest store may be a long drive.
- A few small activities for the drive and for quiet time.
What should always stay at the lake house
This is where families who share a house save the most time. If everyone knows what's there, nobody needs to pack it. Agree on a list of what the house always has, and let whoever uses the last of something replace it or add it to a shared list.
| Category | Stays at the house |
|---|---|
| Bedding | Pillows, comforters, a set of sheets per bed, mattress covers |
| Bathroom | Toilet paper, hand soap, a few spare towels, a basic first aid kit |
| Kitchen | Coffee, filters, salt, pepper, oil, foil, trash bags, dish soap, paper towels |
| Lake gear | Life jackets in common sizes, a dock ladder, pool noodles, a cooler |
| Cleaning | Broom, mop, all-purpose cleaner, sponges, vacuum bags |
| Safety | Flashlights, spare batteries, a fire extinguisher, the main water valve location |
| Rainy days | Board games, cards, a stack of books, coloring supplies |
Decide whether each family keeps their own bedding or uses the house linens and washes them before leaving. Either works, as long as everyone does the same. A line in your family cabin rules settles it.
Keep the house list up to date
The biggest risk with a shared house isn't the packing list. It's not knowing what ran out last weekend. If the sunscreen bottle at the house is empty and nobody says so, the next family arrives without any.
- Write it down when you use the last of something. Not in the group text where it gets buried, but on a list everyone can see.
- Check the list before you leave home. Then you know whether to stop at the store on the way.
- Do a quick check on departure. Look at toilet paper, coffee, trash bags and propane before you lock up.
In FamilyHut, the shared shopping list works for exactly this. Whoever empties the coffee adds it, and the next family sees it before they leave home. You can also keep notes in the cabin info – such as which life jacket sizes are in the shed – so nobody packs what's already there.
An example
Say two sisters and their families share a lake house. They agree that the house always has bedding, life jackets in kids' and adult sizes, coffee and basic cleaning supplies. Everything else is personal. When the first family leaves on a Sunday in June, they notice the sunscreen and dish soap are almost gone and add both to the shared list. The next family buys them on the way up the following Friday. Nobody brings sheets, and nobody arrives without sunscreen.