Best 6 Person Tents for Family Camping (2024 Update)

If your family has three or four members, you will most likely want at least a 6 person tent.  This will give you enough room to sleep comfortably and move around in the tent without waking each other up.  It will still be a bit cramped but, compared to larger family tents, a 6 person tent is still easy to pitch and relatively lightweight.

Below are the best 6-person family tents, including some hardcore ones for serious campers as well as budget 6p tents for newbies or those who only camp in ideal weather.  If you aren’t sure what type of tent you want, I suggest you read this post about the 10 types of tents and their pros/cons.  I personally prefer dome tents but, depending on your camping style (and height) you might prefer a different type.

 

Quick Picks

• Best Overall: Eureka! Space Camp
• Runner Up: REI Wonderland 
• Best for Hot Weather: Coleman Darkroom 
• Budget Pick: Coleman Instant 6P Cabin Tent

Comparison Table 6P Tents

Tent	Type	Rooms	Footprint	Headroom	Weight	Vestibules	Doors
Big Agnes Big House	Cabin	1	9.8x8.3'	81	16.4lbs	0	2
Coleman Dark Room	Dome	1	10x9'	68	17lbs	1	1
Coleman Instant Cabin	Cabin	1	10x9'	72	24lbs	0	1
Coleman Skylodge	Cabin	1	10x9'	75	24lbs	0	1
Coleman Skydome	Dome	1	10x8.5'	72	19.5lbs	1	1
Eureka Space Camp	Cabin	1	10x8.3'	78	16.1lbs	2	2
REI Base Camp	Dome	1	9.2x9.2'	74	20.6lbs	2	2
North Face Wawona 6	Mod. dome	1	10x8'+4.25x8.5'	76	21lbs	1	2
REI Wonderland	Tunnel	2	10x8.3'	78	22.9lbs	1	2

 

Best 6 Person Tents

Eureka! Space Camp 6

Best for: Spacious, lots of headroom, and lightweight

Review

Considering how big it is, the Eureka! Space Camp 6P tent is pretty lightweight.  Even though it is a cabin tent, it handles rain well because of its full rainfly.   The vertical walls do fall around in the wind, but they mean you get more usable space inside the tent.

There are some nice features built into the tent, like vents in the rain fly to prevent condensation. I love that there are two entry doors – one in the front and one in the back – for easier getting in/out of the tent.  Each door has a vestibule so you get lots of storage space.

Note there is a lot of mesh on the inner tent, and this mesh can’t be zipped up.  It’s great for ventilation but means you will have zero privacy in the tent if the fly is off.  Also note that the floor is pretty thin and you’ll want to get a groundsheet.

Buy Here

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REI Wonderland 6

Best for: Loaded with features and has two rooms

Review

The Wonderland 6P is REI’s upgrade to their incredibly-popular Kingdom 6P tent for family camping.  Like its predecessor, the Wonderland has a divider so you can create two rooms in the tent.  There are also massive front and back doors, so you can enter each room independently.  The walls are nearly vertical, so you get a lot of headroom despite it being a tunnel tent.

I usually don’t like tunnel tents because they aren’t freestanding and you have to stake them out very well. However, the REI Wonderland has a central pole that makes it more stable and allows it to be freestanding.  You’ll still have a lot of guylines to deal with, but it’s better than most tunnel tents.

There are loads of features on the tent, including vents for condensation and storage pockets.  The only thing I really dislike about this tent is that the fly doesn’t create a full vestibule. There is an optional “mud room” that you can attach to the front to get storage space, but this has to be purchased separately — and it’s expensive. The fly also doesn’t completely cover the sides of the tent, which means rain can be a problem.  For a tent this expensive, I’d expect better.  Regardless, it’s still an impressive tent that performs better than most 6P tents in wind, cold and rain.

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REI Base Camp 6

Best for: Bad weather and winter

Review

At just 9.2×9.2 feet in size, the REI Base Camp is the smallest 6P tent reviewed here.  You’ll only fit 6 people if someone lays at the feet. The headroom is also pretty low with a max height of just 74 inches. The geodesic pole structure means you get a bit more interior space than a normal dome tent.  To compensate for the small size, the Base Camp tent does have two doors and two vestibules for storage space.

You’ll want to choose this smaller tent though if you camp in 3-4 season weather.  The tent shape handles wind very well and snow falls off of it.  Setup is pretty easy because the poles are color coded.  I hate sleeves for poles (clips are easier) but the sleeves are sturdier overall.

The REI Base Camp is a 3-4 season tent.  It can fit six people if one sleeps at the feet.   It has a geodesic dome design, which essentially means that the poles cross over each other.  This structure makes the tent much sturdier so it can withstand high winds and heavy rains.   The tent definitely won’t leak – though some rain may get in through the top vents if it is very windy out.

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Coleman 6P Dark Room Tent with Screen Room

Best for: Summer camping in sunny weather

Review

This is one of Coleman’s Dark Room tents: they are made from materials which block sun and heat.  It’s a great feature to have when camping in summertime, especially if you like to sleep in.

As expected from a cheap tent, the Dark Room 6P is pretty basic.  It doesn’t have ventilation so condensation is bad in cold weather.  I also hate that some guylines go in front of the tent, which is a tripping hazard.  I’d buy some florescent guylines to use instead.  On the plus side, poles are pre-attached to the tent so you can set it up very quickly.  The tent is lightweight at 17lbs, has some storage pockets and has a hinged door.

Note there are two versions of the Dark Room 6P: Classic and with Screen Room.  The screen room is a very cool feature.  You can hang out there and hide from mosquitoes or keep gear there.  The problem is that there is no way to zip up the screen panels.  If it rains, the entire area will get wet – thus making it useless for storage in bad weather.  You’d have to hang a tarp over it to keep it dry.

Pros

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Big Agnes Big House 6P

Best for: Lightweight and versatile

Review

I love the Big House 6P tent because it is incredibly versatile.  It serves very well as a family cabin tent that fits up to 6 people (realistically, 2-3 adults and 2-3 kids or dogs).  You can also set up the rain fly by itself to use as a shade shelter.   If you need more space, there is an optional vestibule (sold separately) that connects to the front of the tent.

As you’d expect from Big Agnes, the tent withstands bad weather really well.  The rain fly actually extends far down the side of the tent so no leakage occurs. There are flaps over the zippers to keep rain from getting through.  The seams are sealed very well so you won’t have to reseal them anytime soon.

Because there are just two and a half poles, the cabin tent is stupidly easy to set up.  You just slide the poles through the small sleeves and then clip in place. The only real downside is that there aren’t any windows to look out and it gets dark in the tent.

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North Face Wawona 6P

Best for: Lots of storage space

Review

While very pricy, the North Face Wawona 6p tent has an amazing design that makes it great for family camping.  The main area is large enough to fit four people comfortable.  You could fit 6 people, but only if everyone is really small and likes each other. 🙂  The real highlight of the tent is its massive vestibule and covered entrance area. This provides an additional 44 sq. feet (the main area is 88 sq. feet).  Someone could sleep out there if they don’t mind insects.

There’s also a back door to the tent, which is convenient for ventilation.  The additional door also gives you some more flexibility with  how you want to sleep: you can sleep horizontally to the doors and still enter/exit without having to climb over everyone.

As expected from the North Face, the tent is very high quality and will withstand bad weather. It’s easy to set up, though I do wish it used clips instead of sleeves for the pole. The front vestibule also needs to be staked out well, which isn’t always easy on compact or sandy ground.

Buy Here (REI), Amazon

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Coleman Skydome with Full Fly Vestibule

Best for: Mid-priced tent which works in many conditions

Review

Coleman makes a few versions of the Skydome family tent.  You’ll want to get the version with a full fly vestibule.  This essentially gives you an extra room for storing gear.  The vestibule area is completely protected from rain.

The tent is pre-attached to poles so it is very fast to set up. There are some other nice usability features too, like vents, a hole for extension cables, and storage pockets.   It handles bad weather well enough so long as you stake it out completely.

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Coleman 6P Instant Cabin Tent

Best for: Budget 6 person tent

Review

This is one of Coleman’s most popular family camping tents.  The tent is great for beginner campers because it is very affordable and has instant setup. The design means it’s one of the few cabin tents that short people can put up. Despite being so cheap, the tent actually holds up well. It handles rainy weather well, but you can expect some leaking through the windows or doors in heavy thunderstorms.

It’s a 1-layer tent, which means that there is no separate rain fly to put on. This makes it faster and easier to set up.  However, 1-layer tents almost always have condensation problems.  There is a vent in the roof to help with condensation, but it will still get wet inside in colder temperatures. While the tent itself is large, there isn’t any vestibule, awning or other storage in front.  It can quickly get crowded inside the tent.

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Tips for Choosing a 6P Family Tent

Be Realistic about How Much Room You Will Have

A 6P tent can still be very cramped inside. You won’t be able to fit queen-sizd air mattresses inside, and even cots might be tricky to fit.  Even if they do fit, you won’t have much room for anything else. The vestibules on a lot of 6P tents (especially cabin tents) are very small, so you will have limited gear storage too.

As always, make sure you actually set up the tent in your yard before going camping with it. This will give you a realistic idea of how much gear you can fit in the tent. You might need to get a kitchen tent or screen house to hang out in if there will be mosquitoes or bad weather.

 

Do You Need to Walk Around in the Tent?

When tents list their height, they are referencing the peak height — not the height of the tent throughout.  With dome and tunnel tents, the height can be much lower on the sides than the center. It will not be comfortable to walk around in them.  If you are tall or want to stand in the tent, a cabin tent is probably the best choice.

 

Do You Need Multiple Rooms?

Most 6P tents only have one room.  There are some exceptions though, like the REI Kingdom 6P which has a divider to create two rooms.  If you really need privacy in the family tent, you’ll probably need to get an 8P tent as these are more likely to have multiple rooms.

 

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image credits:

“Campsite” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Eric F Savage,

“Hot Springs River Fest 2011” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by miggiddymatt