The Ultimate List of Camping Activities For Families (20 Awesome Ideas)

Summer is just around the corner; for many people, that means camping! It’s finally time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. 

Camping is a beautiful way to spend quality time with family and friends in a natural setting. It also allows you to escape from home life and spend time with family, friends, or loved ones. 

Camping is not just about setting up a tent, cooking over an open fire with the campers, and occasionally sleeping under the stars. There are many fun activities you can enjoy together.

But if you’re unsure what to do for your next camping trip, we’ve created this list of camping activities to help make any trip more exciting and memorable.

Let’s get into it!

List of Camping Activities

Some activities in this article might not be suitable for a specific group of people—for example, very young children or elders. Use your judgment to decide which one is the best for everyone.

Stargazing 

Stargazing while camping is a great way to bond with your son or daughter. In addition, you can share your astronomy knowledge and learn more from one another.

In addition, it can become a very romantic and educational moment for you and your loved one if you have some basic knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology.

However, to best take advantage of these opportunities, you should follow a few essential tips: 

• Brush up on your astronomy. Get a few astronomy books and learn the basic constellations in your area at that time of year. Another source of knowledge can be the local university or weatherman to get further specifics on what to look for.  

• Avoid bringing along a bulking telescope. Instead, tote a good pair of binoculars with great range. In actuality, binoculars are simply telescopes, so in the interest of space and binoculars, other possible uses (bird and animal watching), opt for an excellent pair to do some extra viewing.   

• Bring along a good blanket or jacket to lie back on. It will make your viewing much more comfortable as you will likely spend upwards of an hour viewing the stars. 

Hiking

Hiking is a fun and inexpensive way to spend time with your spouse and children. There’s no telling what you’ll find along the trail, whether it’s an animal’s tracks or Hawk flying overhead.

Also, hiking is a great way to teach them about nature and instill in them the love of physical fitness.

You can even hike the same trail over and over again and see something new each time hiking. Outside is full of surprises, and it’s an excellent way for children to use their imagination.

Hiking activity is also connected to greater physical and mental well-being. Before stepping on any trail, you’ll need to plan and pack.

For your first hike, choose a trail close to your tent. Next, pick an easy trail, something one-mile round-trip and is mostly flat. 

Let your kids participate in planning what they want to see. Speaking of packing, Make sure you have sufficient supplies for your trip.

The most important things you need to bring for the hike are:

• enough water for everyone
• sunscreen to prevent sunburn
• sunglasses
• hats
• first aid kit
• plenty of snacks
• bug spray
• layers of clothing (for cold weather)
• camera
• raincoat
• guidebook
• compass

Birdwatching

While you’re hiking, why not enjoy birdwatching together? Being away from the city, you can see several different types of birds that you would otherwise not be able to appreciate or follow. So here is a chance to see them in their natural habitat.

When you go camping, it may be more challenging to study the birds without a feeder. Since you will find them in their natural habitat and walking around might disturb them. 

Tell your kids not to make any noise and instead observe. You can also bring binoculars so that they can get closer looks. See the recommendation here.

A birdwatching journal is a great way to document the observations with detailed notes. Encourage your kids to note different aspects of the birds’ behavior. 

Are they singing? Perching? Walking? Swimming? Making nests? 

The journal will broaden their (and you too) knowledge about bird species. Hopefully, they will appreciate this amazing creature.

Exploring and Learning about Trees and Nature

Children can learn many interesting facts about plants through plant identification, especially when the trees are indigenous to your campsite area.

You can help them learn how to identify poisonous plants such as poison ivy, poison oak, and poodle dog bush. Learning about these dangerous florae will give your kids the necessary knowledge to protect themselves from potential harm.

Another way to learn about nature is by doing nature scavenger hunts. It’s a great way to sharpen identification skills. 

Identifying the different colors of flowers and types of trees will broaden their knowledge and instill a love for nature at a young age.

Learning about trees and nature is not only about your children – but you as an adult. 

This activity makes you realize that trees are a wonderful part of nature. They are amazing and beautiful machines constantly working to make Earth a healthier planet.

Treasure Hunters

Consider a treasure hunter game if you want to make your camping trip more exciting. 

To make it a more exciting activity, any one of you can pretend to be Jack Sparrow of the Pirate of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones, searching for the hiding treasures somewhere near the campsite.

Before leaving on your trip, print out free topographic maps of areas near your campground. Hide tiny “treasures” for campers to find with the maps, and write clues on the back to help them find the treasures. 

Another fun treasure hunt is to bring plastic Easter eggs filled with little treats and hide them around the campsite for children to find. Make the hiding places more challenging for older kids.

Biking

Do you want to know the best way to experience nature in a new way? Then take your bike with you on your next camping trip. It’s a great way to exercise, explore new places, and enjoy some of the best scenery near your campsite.

Here are some tips for having the best time possible on your camping biking adventure:   

• Bring plenty of water 
• Bring a camera
• Pack snacks 
• Wear sunscreen 
• Bring along extra clothes 
• Stay hydrated 
• Be careful on steep hills

Give this fun idea a try and see what adventures await! Your family or friends will have a good time together.

Starting Fires Without Matches

Learning how to start a fire without matches and lighters is essential for survival in the wilderness. It can be a fun game to do when camping. Make it an enjoyable competition with your friends or family and see who is the best.

If you have flint and steel, you can start a fire without matches. Instead, you can use this old-fashioned method of striking the metal against each other to create sparks that will ignite dry tinder, such as straw or grasses, very quickly.

Another method you could practice is by using a bow drill technique. Here’s how to make the bow drill:

• Get your bow stick, which should be strong and relatively inflexible to not slacken under moderate tension, and tightly secure your string, forming a bow. (The string should be just slack enough to be able to loop it around the spindle once.)

• Take your fireboard and make a small gouge near the edge. This gouge should be made so the spindle can fit snugly into it – not too tight, but certainly not too loose. 

• Cut a V-shaped notch from the board edge to the gouge you just made so you can place the tinder right up to where the friction is, creating the most heat.

• The rest is just placing the spindle into the gouge, looping the bowstring around the spindle once, and capping it with the wood or stone you have prepared. 

• If the tinder is dry and close enough to the “action,” it’ll begin smoking almost immediately, catching fire after about 20 or 30 seconds of pumping the bow.

• Also, make sure the top end of the spindle is somewhat pointy. You want to minimize friction in all places, but the business ends at the bottom. 

• Lubricating this top end is also recommended to lessen friction further.

You’ve made it!. Congratulation!

Campfire

A camping trip is not a camping trip without a campfire. There are many things families, and friends can do in the glow of the flames – roasting marshmallows and hotdogs is just the start.

Everyone loves a good campfire. Whether it is just some friends and good conversation or planned out with skits, songs, and the whole work, they are a ton of fun and a great way to bond together. 

Also, if you bring your kids camping for the first time, this is the best time for them to learn a new survival skill like how to start a campfire.

Your family will have a good time building a fire and eat dinner together. Afterward, you can sit around telling stories in the dark time, have great conversations, and gaze at the stars—a perfect night.

Fishing

Fishing while camping is a great way to bond with your family and get the kids involved in a new hobby. You can show off your fishing skill to them while also trying out some culinary skills, like cooking up grilled fish for dinner on an open fire.

To begin, you’re going to need some essential fishing gear. Spincast fishing reels are the easiest gear to learn for fishing for a beginner. They allow you to easily cast and handle anything that goes wrong without getting caught up in the line. 

You simply press and hold down the button, cast the fishing pole towards the water, and release the button once your bait hits the water. As for your kids, they should get a spincast lightweight reel with a light rod as their first experience in angling. 

There are special spincast combo designs like this for your kids to practice. In addition, the bright colors and characters of this fishing spincast reel help get kids excited about fishing.

Deer Hunting

Why not take your next hunting trip to the woods with a deer hunter camping adventure? A deer hunting camping trip with family and friends is a great time outdoors. It seems like an extreme camping activity, especially with children, but it can be done if you plan. 

Pack all the gear and supplies before you set out on your camping trip. This includes firearms, bows and arrows, safety belts, harnesses, and binoculars to spot any deer from afar.

Deer hunting is a very tiring experience but very rewarding if you find a precious head of a whitetail buck. Don’t forget to bring enough food along with you.

Learn To Swim

Teach your kids how to swim if you’re camping next to the lake, brook, or river. This is an important life skill that all of us should know.

Children who learn at a young age are more likely to be confident in any environment involving water growing up.

But before you are ready for the plunge, make sure it’s safe for swimming. Swimming doesn’t need expensive gear: just wear a swimsuit or swimming trunks. 

If you have young children, consider bringing a safety vest and inflatable float ring (if needed). Then, when your kids know how to swim, you can introduce them to kayaking or canoeing on future trips for more fun.

Stimulating Games

The best way to spend time with your family is by playing stimulating games like board games. They teach you about strategy, foster math, and reading comprehension skills, and help improve players’ communication. 

And don’t forget that it’s an excellent opportunity for you to bond with your children while teaching them valuable life lessons through playtime.

Some of the amazing family-friendly board games you can bring for camping are:

• Monopoly National Parks Board Game
• Pressman Family Classics Checkers
• Trekking The National Parks 
• Bananagrams
• Classic Mancala
• Beat The Parents
• Guess Who?
• Battleship
• Uno Wilderness Edition

However, if you do not want to bring those bulky board games, you can also spend some time playing card games.

If you want to explore the wilderness, you can also prepare some active games for the trip. Great games that you can play outdoors include frisbee and flag football. A game of Duck Duck Goose around the campfire can also keep your small children entertained.

Telling Ghost Stories

Do you still remember some of your childhood memories of hearing ghost stories from your parent? Why not sit around the campfire and tell your kids or adult’s stories while roasting the marshmallows.

Campfire stories are best told dramatically. Using different voices, sound effects, and some creativeness can add to the scariness of your story. Here are some of the campfire ghost storytelling tips:

• The atmosphere around your camping site is very important. Choose a night with a wind howling softly in the background that will make your stories scarier.

• Begin telling your stories with a soft voice to get people to pay attention. Then as you reach the climax of the story, it gradually gets louder.

• Just before the punch line, PAUSE for dramatic effect. It will build up suspense for your audience as they eagerly await what will happen next.

• Jumping up and pouncing at a person in the audience will add that little extra element of suspense.

• Before the story, you can have one of your family members (partner in crime) make a loud and scary noise.

• Here’s the fun part. Hold a flashlight under your face and move it wildly as you scream at the top of your lungs. I’m pretty sure your kids will start screaming uncontrollably.

Not sure what are the scariest ghost stories you can tell? 

How about The Vanishing Hitchhiker, The Ring, Bloody Mary, Kid Looking for a Report Card, Trapped in a Cemetery, or Hanged Man in the Shower. There are many more, and the best one might be the stories told by your parent in the past. 

Story Tellers

Instead of telling ghost stories, try something more challenging. For example, have each person tell one sentence from a scary or adventurous story while sitting around the campfire to keep it interesting and exciting as long as possible.

Other story ideas are to take a famous movie or novel and re-tell the sillier or more impossible, the better. 

Another favorite idea is called Behind The Music – someone tells a short story, then another person sings an original song based on that tale.

This can be even more entertaining if someone brings a guitar and accompanies the singer.

You could also entertain your children with family stories. Share some of the best moments you’ve experienced on all that’s happened over time and make them feel more connected.

Vlogging

Have you ever thought about starting a camping Vlog? The rise of social media has made vlogging even more popular – thanks to YouTube! You can share your experience and lives on camera. 

And not only that – it’s also a great way to earn money!

Vlogging doesn’t require fancy equipment or cameras. A good quality camera like an iPhone or Samsung can produce excellent videos for your camping activities. Most of them can record 4K videos.

Of course, if you’re very serious about vlogging, you can invest in more expensive gadgets like GoPro, external microphones, and even drones.

Don’t know where to start? Maybe share videos of how your family or friends work together to set up the tent. Or, maybe capturing landscapes or the journey is walking along the trails.

Orienteering With Map And Compass Or GPS

Orienteering is a sport that challenges the intellect and the body. It’s an outdoor adventure game where you navigate through a series of control points marked on unique orienteering maps, signing in as soon as you reach each point to show your progress. 

Orienteering is about navigating cross-country with a detailed map. To become an accomplished orienteer, you must first learn to step off a consistent pace for distance and find your way on the course. 

GPS devices are popular and can locate your position within a few feet, but they should not be relied on until you have prepared yourself with the basics like a map and compass.

To start, you must create a course on a map nearby your camping site. Then, place any of your family members at the starting point and direction and all between points and bearings. Next, instruct them to find the target.

However, to make this challenging activity successful, your family members or friends must be familiar with map reading and using a protractor and compass. 

Canoeing

If you have a pickup truck, taking an enjoyable canoe trip is one way to make your group or family caping more memorable. It can be a bit challenging but can give you a genuine adventure experience.

For adults, paddling a canoe while enjoying the picturesque surrounding can be therapeutic and relaxing. For kids, though, it might not be very exciting or interesting to them. 

You can consider paddling close to the shore for a few minutes to provide everyone an opportunity to watch for animals and birds and look for unique beach rocks.

Having your canoes will make your trip the best possible canoeing experience. Of course, you can see this fun activity together whenever you want. But, if you don’t have them, you could always consider renting them.

Knot Tying

Knot tying is a great way for kids and adults to have fun together. For those who know how to tie knots, the activity becomes even better when building something with rope and sticks. For example: build a fort, a shelter, a bridge, or even a catapult.

Knot-tying is an invaluable life skill that your kids should know. Knowing how to tie knots can save their day, and most importantly, it may even save their lives someday.

Learning some of these essential knots will prepare them for nearly any circumstance, whether securing a tent or trying out the camping gear.

Watch the video below to learn how to tie knots for camping.

Practice Knife And Hatchet Throwing

Learning to throw a knife and hatchet when camping will make the camping experience more exciting. Knife throwing is much harder than a hatchet because it has less weight. But both are fun techniques that every man should learn.

Knife and hatchet throwing is a fun activity that can be challenging but rewarding once you get the hang of it. It’s like playing darts, only much more manly! However, young children should not be practicing knife & hatchet-throwing because it could result in serious injury. 

Before doing this kind of activity, check the campsite regulation where you’re camping because in some states, carrying knives is illegal.

To start, it would be better if you could get a knife that’s made just for that like these. The next thing that you need is you want to have a good target made of wood. 

Watch the video below to learn some techniques for throwing knives.

Rock Climbing

If you’re camping near the Yosemite Valley or Red River Gorge (or any rock climbing place), why not consider the rock climbing activities.

Rock climbing is not just for grownups but can also be fun and beneficial to your kids. It has many benefits, including boosting one’s esteem by pushing their limits physically and mentally.

Rock climbing requires some preparation. You need essential gear like ropes, harnesses, quickdraws, protection devices, water bottles, first aid kits, etc.

If you have never rock climbing before, reading rock climbing instructional books and watching rock climbing videos will all enhance your experience, lessen your learning curve, and avoid possible injuries.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that camping is much more than just the activities. Don’t forget about downtime and enjoying the experience. 

Make sure you bring some good books, magazines, or games for those slow moments between your fun activities.

We hope this list of camping activities for families article has proved helpful and informative for you. If, by chance, you’re also looking for a camping tent, check out our articles below: