Activities For Campers

Camping inspires physical activity while also allowing children to soak up the natural world surrounding them. Bugs, birds, trees and other critters open the door for new questions, crafts and nature lessons about the environment. Take advantage of everything camping provides by using the woods as your outdoor classroom for entertainment and vital lessons.

  1. Science Activities

    • Teach kids about bugs, birds and other animals by featuring science activities. Give the kids glass collection jars, water sample kits, nets and other tools. Explore with them through the forest, and help them collect samples from the forest, such as rocks, leaves and other materials to observe. The kids can also look at birds with their binoculars and write down behaviors they see. Just feeling and touching the environment can get them excited about camping. The kids can also save extra leaves and other materials to use for craft activities later on. Other science activities include viewing the stars at night with a telescope and identifying plants and stars.

    Water Activities

    • Feature water activities for campers, as long as the weather permits. If the river is calm, the kids can play in the water, look for rocks in the shallow water, float in floater tubes or just swim from one end of the river to the other. Avoid taking to the kids to rough areas of the river that could pull them in another direction. Sometimes water activities pose a threat, so always use caution. Boating with an experienced guide can provide ample entertainment for kids in the right environment. If the water or wind conditions are not ideal, you can feature other types of water activities with a grassy field. Fill up water balloons and let the kids get in their bathing suits and soak up the sun while they toss the balloons back and forth. You can set up a slip-and-slide or mini pools for some of the smaller kids to play in.

    Obstacle Courses and Other Outdoor Activities

    • Create your own obstacle courses for the kids to enjoy during their camping adventure. These courses can include all sorts of activities for kids of all ages. Find a large open area to create the course and include all sorts of physical activities within for the kids to enjoy. You can set a hula hoop in one area followed by a string of tires for the kids to hop through. Place a sand box in one area of the course and encourage the kids to stop and dig for certain items within the sand and then set them aside. Include a jump rope in the course and other physical activities with the course. Other outdoor activities also include nature hikes, relay races, rope climbing and sports such as football. Some activities may require large open areas, while others work best within the woods.

    Craft Projects

    • Craft projects can keep campers busy and entertained for hours. Small children might enjoy painting rocks and sticks solid colors or painting designs such as ladybugs and bees on larger rocks. Older kids can use hemp string, cloth and glue, along with sticks and rocks to create stick people. Other crafts can include gluing leaves and rocks on cardstock paper to make a nature collage, painting forest scenes or making pinecone friends by gluing plastic eyeballs, yarn and other materials on pinecones to create a face and hair.