14 Great Camping Games And Activities For Kids

Is summer camp something that your kids look forward to excitedly? Are you keen on heading to the great outdoors this summer? Looking forward to some fun camping games for kids that they can enjoy while at summer camp? If you can relate to the above, consider reading our post.

Here, we list some ideas to make that camping weekend extra memorable and special for the kids. So, scroll down to check out our outdoor camp games for kids right away.

Top 14 Camping Games For Kids:

Here is our list of fun camping games for kids that will be wicked fun for the kids and the rest of the family as well:

1. Treasure Hunt:

The outdoors will be a great place for your kids to go on a treasure hunt.

• Ask your kids to collect as many items as they can from the outside, such as leaves, pine cones, snail shells, maple leaves, pine needles, rocks and such.

• Another fun idea is to ask each kid to carry a camera and go on a photo clicking hunt, clicking pictures of as many such items as they can find.

• To keep it safe, ask the kids to work in pairs or small groups, depending on the number of kids who have gone to the camp.

• You can also teach your kids how to use a compass and keep a tab on the time by learning how to use a watch.

• Make sure to ask all kids to be conscious towards the environment, and ask them to carry cloth bags instead of plastic ones in which they can store the items they find.

• Also give each team a small piece of paper on a clipboard to each team so that they can keep ticking off the things they find.

• The team that comes back first with all the items on the list will be the winner. You can ask the last team that reaches into roast the marshmallows for all the other players.

[ Read: Treasure Hunt Ideas For Kids ]

2. Olympics At Camping:

Another fun kids camp games. If your kids are out camping near a beach, why not bring the spirit of Olympics around the camp? It is a fun camp games for kids.

• Use of the beach to try out a game of long jump.

• With so much open space around, ask the kids to get into a relay race.

• Use the water bodies at the campsite to try out some swimming races between kids.

• Ask your kids to grab hold of a long rope and get started with some fun tug-of-war games.

• Make sure that all the games are carried out in a fun spirit and even younger kids get enough chance to participate. The idea is to let your kids have as much free play and physical exercise as possible.

• Some kids may not want to be involved in out and out sports activities. For such instances, you can try and make some fun non-sporty activities such as asking the kids to skip stones or hold a tree pose for as long as they can.

3. A Story Round The Campfire Contest:

One of the most popular parts of going out for camping is sitting near the campfire and trading stories, so let your kids join in the fun.

• Let your kids come out with their creativity and imagination by encouraging them to take part in some story telling sessions around the campfire.

• To make it a fun and family activity, get involved in the story telling yourself and ask your partner to do the same too. Your kids will love listening to your stories, whether you tell them a fictional one or something that is real.

• Make your story by teaching your kids how to improvise on the spot. Start by saying a sentence out loud and the person sitting next to the left has to add another sentence or two to make the next part of the story. Keep doing this and see how a sentence can give rise to an entire story.

[ Read: Backyard Camping Ideas For Kids ]

4. The Alphabetical Scrapbook:

If your kids loved the treasure hunt, here is another kids’ camping games that is as much fun as the treasure hunt. Scrapbooking is something that the kids will love, and this activity will teach them something along the way.

• Hand out a scrapbook to every kid and ask them to prepare a scavenger hunt list in advance. To make it more fun, you could also ask them to stick to a particular theme.

• As the name suggests, the game is an alphabetical scavenger hunt.

• Ask your kids to go out and hunt for items that match the theme but they also have to make sure that all the items follow the alphabetical order.

• The kid who comes back first with all the alphabets in order will be the winner.

[ Read: Family Games For Kids ]

5. Mark Your Trails:

One of the best outdoor games for kids at camp. While your kids are out camping, it is important to teach them some basic safety tips and tricks, such as being able to mark out or read a trail.

• For this game, ask your kids to collect as many items as they can find around them, that they feel will help them mark a trail.

• For the first day, ask them to use the objects they collected to mark out a trail, any trail that they follow through that particular day.

• You can give your kids a few ideas about how they can go about marking their trail. One way is to put some bent sticks in the forks of trees. Alternatively, your kids can also put some colorful leaves or a particular color or size of rock at key points on the trail, which will let them easily identify them the next time.

• Your kids can also try and make some arrow marks along their path by marking out the shapes in a particular direction.

• Let your kids invent different ways in which they can leave behind a trail.

• Next day, ask them to follow the trail and see how much of their markers are still intact. To make it interesting, ask them to follow the trail of friends and see how the other kids marked their trails.

6. Impromptu Competitions:

Camping out is a great adventure for your kids, and you can make use of this adventurous spirit to let them indulge in some fun competitions.

• To keep your kids entertained and make them experience the outdoor life to the fullest, challenge them to some impromptu competitions that are more fun than athletic.

• Challenge your kids to see who can wear their socks first, or who can clean up their camping tent or bed faster.

• You can also arrange simple tasks as part of competitions; who can bring in the most number of sticks at a given time that will help start the fire, who can drag in the longest stick or who can jump over a branch etc.

• Make sure that whatever competition you have set for your kid to do, you or another responsible adult is constantly supervising them.

[ Read: Fun Park Games For Kids ]

7. Make The Fairies A House:

If you have little kids at the camp, whether little boys or little girls, this will be the perfect afternoon game to let them play.

• Spend the morning telling your kids stories about forest fairies and how they help take care of the different elements such as the trees, the sunshine, nature and such.

• Once the stories are over, ask your kids to collect materials from around them that they can use to build some homes for the fairies.

• You can ask your kids to collect different items such as twigs, leaves, pine cones, shells, rocks and such that they can then use.

• Let them build the house in a quiet corner of the camping site and make sure your kids take some time to decorate the houses too.

8. Make An Activity Trail:

Your kids will always remember the camping experience not just for being inside a camp but for also doing the many activities and games that will be unique to camping.

• Let your kids enjoy a different type of trail by making them a special do-this-do-that kind of activity trail.

• Mark out a special trail for your kids where you can set up pre-written notes that will mention different sets of instructions for your kids.

• Try different instructions that are age appropriate and that your kids will be able to do easily. Some ideas that you can try: stop where you are and hop three times in the same place, sing the happy birthday song, hold onto the branch of a tree and hang on for a count of ten, hop to the nearest tent on one foot and so on.

• Remember that this is not a competition or a challenge but is a fun list of activities that will surprise your kids along the trail.

[ Read: Outdoor Games And Activities For Kids ]

9. The Duck Duck Goose Game:

The Duck Duck Goose game is a classic games for kids while camping that will make your kids laugh out loud and keep them entertained.

• Ask all the kids to sit down and form a big circle.

• At first you have to select one kid who will be the ‘it’ in the game. The kid who is the ‘it’ has to get out of the circle and walk all around it, patting each kid lightly on the head and saying the word ‘duck’ each time he pats.

• The ‘it’ has to pat any one kid on the head by saying the word ‘goose’ instead of the regular ‘duck.’ The kid who gets patted on the head as ‘goose’ by the ‘it’ has to get up and start running after the ‘it.’

• The two have to run around the circle and try and sit down in the empty space that was made by the kid who got up. If the ‘it’ manages to sit down in the empty space before the ‘goose’ catches him, the ‘goose’ becomes the new ‘it’ for the round. If the ‘goose’ manages to catch the ‘it’ he can sit down and the ‘it’ has to continue all over again.

10. Make A Bug House:

If you have kids who love the outdoors and also love the bugs and insects that are part of the outdoors, this game will be just perfect for them.

• Ask your kids to take a large container, preferably one that has clear surface and sides, and put some dirt at its bottom.

• Next, ask your kids to dig out a few worms from the soil and place them in the dirt too.

• Now ask your kids to start looking for bugs by moving off the regular trails and looking for dead leaves and earth.

• To make the bug house more comfortable and natural for the bugs, ask your kids to add special touches to it by putting in some sticks, leaves, stones where the bugs can crawl about as well as some grass.

• Your kids can also add a watering spot for the bugs inside the bug house by keeping a small container filled with water. Let them also add some food for the bugs in the form of a few pieces of fruit and such.

• Make sure that your kids place the bug house at such a spot which is properly shaded and also ask them to let the bugs free before they leave the camping area.

[ Read: Water Games Ideas For Kids ]

11. Build A Camp Fort:

After making a fairy house and a bug home, the next thing your kids should definitely try and make is a fort right where they are going to camp!

• Ask your kids to choose a spot that they feel will be perfect to make the fort as well as give it enough support. To give their fort some extra support, your kids could choose a spot that has a big tree or wall, a strong bush, a big rock or even some sort of a fence.

• The next step will be to collect materials that your kids can find near the camping site. Ask them to look for items such as dead branches in different sizes as well as a lot of logs and long sticks.

• Your kids will also need additional materials that you may have already carried to the camp site from home. Let them use some basic materials such as a few sleeping bags or some blankets, some strings as well as some tarps. In case you want to plan about the camp fort before you leave home, make sure you carry these extra supplies for your kids.

• Once your kids have gathered all the materials, help them make the fort by using the various things they have. Your kids can use the tarp to build the floor of the fort. In case you do not have a spare tarp to use, your kids can also make use of the natural surface as the floor by making it clean and free of any grass or debris.

• Next, your kids will have to take the bigger pieces of wood or logs and make a frame that will help build the basic structure of the fort. For this step, your kids will need to make use of the additional support such as the fence, tree, bush or rock.

• Once they can figure out the frame of the fort, your kids will have to use the ropes and tie the pieces together. Make sure that you help them if required and also check that the knots are secure.

• Once your kids have tied the ropes, ask them to start tying up the many thinner branches that they got. The thinner branches will help to make the walls of the fort.

• Tell your kids to tie the thinner branches for the walls in such a way that there is some space left out for the windows and doors.

• Your kids can use different branches and leaves to make the roof of the fort. Alternatively, if you have some extra tarp to spare, your kids could also use that as a roof.

[ Read: Party Games For Children ]

12. Name Three:

Here is a fun campfire games for kids that will keep them entertained for hours around the campfire.

• Ask all the kids to sit down around the campfire and make a big circle.

• One of the kids will have to sit in the middle of the circle and close his eyes.

• Your kids will have to use one item that they can pass around. It could be a scarf, rock or anything else that kids can pass to each other.

• As the kid in the middle sits with his eyes closed, the kids have to keep passing around the object one by one.

• Once the kid in the middle says ‘stop’ the kid who has the passing object in his hand has to say out a letter from the alphabet. The kid who is sitting in the middle will then have to say the name of three things in the same category that begin with the letter. The categories could be anything such as food, toys, cartoon characters, movie and such.

• While the kid in the middle thinks of and says the name of the three things, the kids who are sitting in the circle have to continue passing the object from one kid to the other.

• If the kid in the center manages to name three things with the chosen letter before the passing object reaches the kid who had called out the letter, the two will exchange places.

• If the kid in the middle is not able to say the three things before the passing object reaches the kid who had called out the letter, they will continue playing all over again.

13. Musical Sleeping Bags:

Instead of the regular musical chairs, let your kids enjoy a camp site version of the popular game by playing musical sleeping bags instead.

• Spread out some sleeping bags on the floor in a circle. Count the number of kids who will play and make sure that the number of sleeping bags is always one short of the number of kids who are playing. For example, if ten kids are playing, use only nine sleeping bags.

• Ask all the kids to stand around the sleeping bags in a circle. As the music begins, the kids will have to walk around the musical bags.

• As the music stops, the kids will have to reach the sleeping bag that is lying nearest to them and get inside it. The kids are not allowed to turn backward to try and reach a sleeping bag.

• The kid who does not get to a sleeping bag is removed in each round.

[ Read: Indoor Games For Kids ]

14. One To Ten:

Here is a fun camping game that will keep your kids on their toes.

• One of the kids has to be first chosen to play the leader for the first round.

• Ask the rest of the kids to spread out over a large area but make sure they are near each other and can see all the other kids. The kids should also be at such a distance that they can hear the instructions that the leader will call out.

• At the word ‘go’ the leader will have to start calling out instructions that all the remaining kids will have to follow. Each time the leader gives an instruction, the kids will have to follow the same and then sit down wherever they are at the time they finished performing the given task.

• The leader will then again call out the same instruction and add another instruction to it. The kids will have to get up and perform the instructions and then sit down wherever they happen to be.

• In this way, the leader will have to call out the instructions from one to ten, so that at the last set of instructions, the kids will have to do ten different things.

• Some fun instructions that the leader could try calling out is simple tasks like shaking hands, jumping like a frog over three or four other kids, doing a somersault, running around the leader, jump up and down a given number of times, do a cartwheel and such.

While playing games at the camping site will be a super memorable experience for your kids, make sure you are constantly around and your kids are safe and supervised.

Compilations are always subjective! Do you know any games for kids camping? Tell us your top 10 below. We would love to add to our list here.

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