The Camping Club

How to Plan Fun Family Camping Activities

By Roy Scribner
Camping Blogger

If you are planning a family camping vacation this summer, you might be wondering how you're going to keep the kids entertained when you're not out hiking or sightseeing. Luckily, many of the state and federal parks that are popular with family campers feature a lot of family- and kid-oriented activities during the summer to keep everyone entertained.

The first place to look for ideas on family camping activities is the description of the campground on its ReserveAmerica page. Two summers ago, we spend the Fourth of July holiday at Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area, near Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. ReserveAmerica describes the park as follows:

"There are 201 campsites, hot showers, playgrounds, hiking and biking trails. In the spacious day use area there is a large swimming area, boat ramp, marina, boat rentals, restaurant and groceries. There are also 11.5 miles of bike and hiking trails through a lush conifer forest with year-round streams and ample wildlife viewing."

When you're camping with young children, you can't go wrong with playgrounds, bike trails, swimming and wildlife viewing! It's always nice to have a nearby grocery store, too, particularly if you are new to the camping experience.

In addition to the activities listed on ReserveAmerica, many state and federal parks feature Junior Ranger programs throughout the summer. These programs vary by location, but generally run an hour in the afternoon and feature a youth-oriented activity that is fun, but also teaches something about the area or the wildlife.

If your summer vacation plans include hiking, you might be wondering how to keep your kids interested and engaged. One strategy is to turn the hike into a scavenger hunt. Begin with the letter "A" and challenge your children to find an object whose name begins with that letter. Continue through the alphabet during the hike and, before they know it, the hike will be over and they will probably be looking forward to the next one. Kids can take pictures of the object, or simply keep a list of the things they find...

More Fun Activities

Camping Cartoon Coloring

These amusing and fun pages can burst with colors when you grab your crayons and make it as colorful as your last camping trip!

Or spend hours of fun as you create finger puppets or play the memory game!

Start Coloring

Backseat Boredom Busters

Make getting there half the fun with brain teasers! Unscramble the words, do the word search, or try the crossword puzzle. Test your travel knowledge!

Good Luck

Print the Brain Buster booklet

Under the Sea Maze

 Anchors away, Matey! Make your way through the maze from the sailboat to the anchor!

Print the Maze!

Camping Word Search

Try our Camping word search and see how many words you can find! Let the kids try or give it a go yourself.

Print the word search now!

Color your Camp

 

Choose your best crayons and start coloring! This Campsite needs you to some colors to liven it up! Print several sheets and give them to your friends!

Color your Camp

Test your Memory

 Play the memory game on your next camping trip! The object of the game is to find all the matching pairs of cards. You can play the game on your own or with friends! It's up to you! Good luck!

Test your Memory!

Camping Cartoon Fun!

These amusing and fun pages can burst with colors when you grab your crayons and make it as colorful as your last camping trip!

Or spend hours of fun as you create finger puppets or play the memory game!

Print the maze now!

Notice Nature

IT goes like this: Starting with the alphabet A, we look for something in nature starting with an A. The first one to shout out and point to the item named, gets to earn a point and have first choice at B. After counting to 20, if B hasn’t been named, it goes to everyone. The next person to shout out and point to a B word, wins the point and has first chance at C. The game continues this way until we reach Z, and add everyone's points. The winner gets to start the next game. This can be played anywhere, and even in the dark for "spooky game time", making it harder for the older kids. Our family also makes a prize for the winner, which is usually s’mores or a snack choice for the winner. Our kids LOVE this game, although it sounds easy...It's harder than you think in the dark! Our boys are teens, so spooky games are more fun for them, but we also play in the car on the road, keeping them occupied during long trips. Recently, we visited a camping farm area, and my son learned a new A word, Alpaca! I've enclosed a photo of his new friend.

Submitted By: Tonia Crews

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Swirl Postcard

Based on the age-old principle that oil and water don't mix, this marbleized paper is one of those projects that looks like a 20-step Martha Stewart process, but is actually easy enough for someone like me to do. Jake, my six-year-old, made enough postcards to send to every close relative-- just so they'd know that staying at home is sometimes the best summer vacation of all. Parents may want to be available to help younger children with the paint.
WHAT YOU NEED

Old Tupperware container, or foil or plastic take-out container from your recycling bin (big enough to place a card in)
Water
Small plastic eyedroppers
Two or more colors of enamel paint (the kind used for models)
Toothpicks or sticks
A pack of white watercolor postcards or index cards

DIRECTIONS

1. Fill your container halfway with water.

2. Using an eyedropper, add a few drops of paint in different colors to the water. Swirl the colors with a toothpick or stick.

3. Drop a blank card into the water. After a second or two, carefully lift the card straight up and set it aside to dry on newspaper or paper towels. When it's completely dry, if the card curls, place it beneath a heavy book for a couple of days to flatten the edges.

Tip: You may want to clear the water between card dips by dragging a toothpick through the water.

COST: about $8

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