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The Best Camping Games & Activities for Families

August 13, 2020 / 406 Comments

Camping can be a lot of fun for the whole family when you plan the right games and activities to keep everyone entertained. Between getting outdoors and enjoying nature, and the quality family time spent together by the fire, camping is an awesome way to spend time with your loved ones. To make the most of my camping trips, I plan and pack for several “must-do” family camping activities that make our trip a blast! Plus, these camping games and activities have become a tradition, so our kids really look forward to alot of these games and activities each time we are camping. Here is my list of the best camping games and activities for families!

Rock Painting

Rock painting is one of my family’s favorite camping activities; the whole family enjoys painting together. Usually we look for rocks at the campground while we are out playing during the day and then paint them back at the campsite. I put together a rock painting kit that is easy to take camping, with everything you need to paint awesome rocks. In this kit you need brushes and acrylic paints, I like to have nature inspired colors in my kit so we can paint outdoor scenes on the rocks. We use paper plates to put the paint on, as well as to paint on.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Nature scavenger hunts are also a very fun camping activity, especially for kids. I enjoy the walk/hike, and it gives my kids something to do while we are on the walk to keep them entertained. The goal is to find each object in the scavenger hunt while on the walk. You can make your own by simply using paper bags with a list written on them, but I like to use pictures for the younger kids who cannot read yet. While on the scavenger hunt, kids love to explore the wilderness – I encourage mine to play while we are on the walk. My youngest loves to climb in holes in trees.

Night Flashlight Walk

When it gets dark kids love to use their flashlights and lanterns. My kids love to go for a short flashlight walk after dark and hunt for mythical creatures. Sometimes its dragons, sometimes its fairies, and sometimes its even bigfoot! Be sure to add some little scary sounds throughout your walk to help your kids “hear” the creatures they are looking for!

Cornhole

Cornhole is hands down one of the adults favorite games when we go camping. It is super easy to play, and lots of fun! We like to bring a full size board, but there are tons of smaller, portable options as well. You can even step it up and make it a drinking game for those 21+ – just have the opposite team take a drink every time you make a point and a shot when you get it in the hole!

Campfire & S’mores

Building a campfire is definitely a must-do while camping. Be sure to follow all fire laws and regulations. If permitted, having a campfire is a great way to stay up late and pass time. You can add music, tell stories, or make some s’mores while you listen to the sounds of nature.

Card & Board Games

My family really enjoys card and board games, so when we are camping we try to make time to play several when we have down time at the campsite. There is a wide variety of games available, some specifically made for camping, but no matter what you bring card and board games are a great family activity while camping. Some of our favorites are linked at the bottom of this post.

Water Activities

If you are camping near water, having water activities is a must for camping. Some favorites include floaties and sand toys, but our families favorite water activity is kayaking. It’s really easy to do, you can haul them on top of most cars and SUVs with the right racks, and it allows our whole family to explore beyond just the swim area at the campground. You can rent kayaks at some campgrounds, but if you decide to buy them I highly recommend the wheelies that you use to walk them around. We load up all our beach gear on top of the kayak (and sometimes even a kid) and can easily wheel them from the campsite to the water and back.

If you plan the right camping games and activities your family is sure to have an amazing camping trip! Happy Camping!

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