Best 12 Person Family Camping Tents

If you need a tent that can house a large group of campers, check out our review of the best 12 person family camping tents from top outdoor brands.

One thing to point out now is about the capacity. These tents are all huge, but manufacturers determine the capacity by the number of sleeping pads that can be placed on the floor. So although technically these tents can accommodate 12 people, they are all too small for such a number of users.

In fact, if you check best 6-person family camping tents, you will realize that many of them are larger than these 12-person tents. This is mainly because such large 6-person tents come from the EU market where the designs are different and tents usually have large living rooms that are in most cases fully protected.

So the irony is that many 6-person family camping tents can indeed accommodate 12 people, while this does not hold for the official 12-person tents. This is the situation on the market and it is good that you know this.

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My list of best camping tents for 12 people

So here is the list of tents ordered by the floor area from smaller to larger:

My focus here is on a variety of designs and features. So you have almost all standard shapes in the list. But some brands like Ozark Trail are specialized in building large tents and this is why you have several of them presented here, but they are all very different.

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1. Core Lighted 12 Person Instant Cabin Tent

This tent from the Core brand is one out of several 12 person family camping tents that they have. What makes it different from their cousins of the same capacity is the fact that it has integrated lights. The lighting system works on 4D batteries or 5V. Note that they have several lighted tents in this series, and this is the largest.

But this is also an instant setup tent with 8 telescopic legs poles, most of them are visible in the picture above. Its official setup time is 2 minutes. It is included also in my list of best instant camping tents.

This is also an impressive freestanding 3-room construction, very pleasant and tall, you have 80 inches (203 cm) peak height, and with 7 large windows on all sides. There are two doors and they also have windows. You can fit 3 queen size beds inside.

The tent’s official capacity is 12 people and this is why it is included here. You have an area of 180 ft² (16.7 m²). Note that it is heavy, the weight is 54 lb (24.5 kg), this is because of its steel frame and its overall size. The packed size is 49 x 16 x 11.5 inches (124 x 41 x 29 cm).

With such a boxy and tall construction, this tent is best suited for quiet summer camping, it is nicely ventilated and suitable for warm-weather conditions. You have around 20 steel stakes in the package, to secure it in the case of sudden winds.

What I like:

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2. Ozark Trail 12 Person Instant Cabin 16 x 16 3-Room Tent

This tent is L-shaped and fully freestanding, with numerous leg poles, but you have a full set of stakes and guylines to secure it properly. The frame is steel and the poles are telescopic, everything is pre-attached to the tent, and this is behind the word Instant in the name.

The tent weighs 61 lb (28 kg) and the peak height is 82 inches (208 cm). The area is around 192 ft² (17.8 m²) and it is organized into 3 rooms, but you also have a huge awning/porch area. Note that the dividers between its rooms are fully sewn-in. The mentioned awning is a part of the fly and you have the pole for its support included.

The overall dimensions are given in the official name of the tent, so it is huge, yet one person can set this tent up in just a couple of minutes. You have 7 windows and 2 huge doors. It is also nicely ventilated with its two floor vents visible in the picture above.

The fly is a durable 68D polyester with PU coating and a 600 mm waterproof rating. The floor is a 1000D thick polyethylene with a bathtub design. The materials meet the flammability requirements of CPAI-84. This tent is also in my list of best tents with three rooms.

What I like:

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3. Ozark Trail 20 x 10 Dark Rest Instant Cabin Tent

This Ozark Trail 20 x 10 Dark Rest Instant Cabin Tent is one of the best examples of the so-called dark-rest tents. So you will find it also in my list of best dark tents. It is the largest from a dark-rest series this brand has built. As you realize from the picture, this is a cabin-style construction with straight and steep walls.

But it is here because of its 12-person capacity. So this is a huge construction, the overall dimensions 20 x 10 ft (6.1 x 3.05 m), and the floor area is 200 ft² (18.6 m²). The peak height is equally great, you have 80 inches (203 cm). The inner space is organized into 3 separate rooms. In spite of such a size, you can have it ready in a couple of minutes only.

The fabric is very dark, and the inner is dark, but it has openings on the roof so you can also regulate the amount of light. The biggest part of the ceiling is a double layer with mesh, and underneath it you have panels with zippers. To reduce the glare you can close the ceiling almost completely. But few areas are with mesh for ventilation.

The fabric is 190T coated polyester. There are many windows here and they all are the double-layer type with mesh and panels. The floor is a bathtub-type polyethylene. The packed size (L x D) is 43 x 11 inches (109 x 28 cm), and the weight is 54 lb (24.5 kg).

What I like:

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4. Ozark Trail 12-Person Base Camp Tent with Light

This incredible tent is fully freestanding and supported by 10 fiberglass poles. As you realize, this is the most typical dome tent you will find around. It is also incredibly tall for a dome tent with 92 inches (234 cm) peak height.

It comes with a built-in light system powered by a Universal Power Bank or batteries. The tent is a single-layer structure with 8 mesh windows and 2 doors. You also have an E-cable port and a large wall organizer.

The tent is very stable and strong because of so many poles that create numerous cross points. When it is raining, you have to close the windows, and for such situations, you have 4 vents, 2 of them are floor vents and 2 ceiling vents.

Here are some numbers. The weight is 49.08 lb (22.3 kg), and the diameter is 16 ft (488 cm). So the area is 201 ft² (18.7 m²). The packed size is very good 29.1 x 11.4 x 11.4 inches (74 x 29 x 29 cm).

What I like:

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5. NTK Super Arizona GT up to 12 Person Tent

This tent has quite a unique structure, it looks like a tunnel tent but it can be described also as an extended dome construction. The area is organized into 2 rooms and you have 210 ft² (19.5 m²) in total. So this is a gigantic structure.

Yet another great feature that sets this tent apart is its two-layer design with the inner tent and a full-coverage fly. This means you have full protection from the elements and from insects, no matter where you use this tent. It will protect you fully in a 3-season use.

The fly is a PU-coated polyester taffeta 68D 190T with a 2500 mm waterproof rating, and the seams are sealed. The inner tent is 50% polyester mesh and the other half is taffeta. The floor is a heavy-duty fully bathtub style fully waterproof and seamless polyethylene with an inner silver coated layer. The poles are fiberglass.

You have two doors and they are with mesh for ventilation, and it allows for an awning configuration. There are 3 separate vents on the fly. Note that they also have the NTK Arizona 10 tent with similar features.

What I like:

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6. Guide Gear Teepee Tent 18 x 18

This Teepee has a huge base that is 18 feet (549 cm) in diameter, and it offers more than 230 ft² (21 m²) of the area. The official capacity is in the range of 10 – 12 people, but as you realize, the walls are angled and the inner volume is not so great. Though it is very tall in the center where you have 118 inches (300 cm) peak height.

So this is a modern version of a teepee tent, and this means a single-pole structure with 4 solid windows and 5 vents. Although it is so large, one person can set this tent up in 5 minutes.

Note also that the tent is lightweight for its size, it weighs 23.15 lb (10.5 kg), and its packed size is also reasonable, it measures 32.3 x 10.2 x 9.8 inches (82 x 26 x 25 cm) when in its carry bag.

The mentioned pole is steel, and the tent body is polyester with a 1000 mm waterproof rating. The floor is thick and waterproof polyethylene. You will want to know also that this is a very affordable tent. I have included this tent also in my list of very large camping tents.

What I like:

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Final thoughts

So this was my list of best camping tents for 12 people, and as mentioned above, I have tried my best to show very different designs. Some of these tents are representatives of series, and they are usually the largest tents in such series. So if these are too large for you, it is good to know that there are smaller versions for some of them.

If you are not sure which tent to choose, here are a few tips.

Ease of use

There are several tents with the so-called instant setup. So if you do not like the idea of dealing with tent poles, this is the type you would want to have.

Packed size & weight

These features are related to the mentioned ease of use. Namely, instant tents are usually heavier and longer when packed than the usual collapsible tents that need assembly. So this is a sort of trade-off.

Protection

If this is about summer camping and in mild weather conditions, you will want to have some larger and taller structures with windows and nice views around.

But the tent is supposed to be a shelter, so if you want something that can protect you in any weather situation, check my Editor’s Choice below.

Price

There are differences in prices, but I would say that all these tents are very affordable in particular bearing in mind their size. I did not give prices because they change all the time and this would not make sense. So please follow the links and check from your side.

Editor’s Choice Tent

I have no doubt when it comes to protection that the tent below is the best here in the group. You have a full-coverage fly, yet the tent is huge and pleasant, and with windows on the fly.

Thank you for reading. Check also my selection of great camping cots and self-inflating camping pads, you will need them in such tents. Let me know if you have questions or comments, there is a comment box below.