Are you taking your family on a camping trip? Looking for fun things to do while on your vacation? Here are a few ideas; some of these ideas are suitable for campgrounds, others for wilderness, some for both.
Play Hide And Seek
No place on earth makes a better hide and seek game than a good patch of woods. Try playing after dark using headlamps and/or flashlights. Place a fire or light at your campsite, and instruct all players to keep that in sight so they can easily return to camp. After you locate a hiding place, turn your flashlight off. Make sure the person who is it has a strong enough flashlight to locate the other players.
Stalk Wildlife
Go out early in the morning or in the evening looking for wildlife. Try to find areas that wildlife frequent, such as fields, streams, salt licks, etc where there are not a lot of people. Take binoculars and a camera. If you have a camera with a tripod and good zoom, you may be able to snap some good photos. You can either actively stalk the wildlife, or site and wait where you expect it to come to.
Play Practical Jokes
Camping trips are highly conducive to practical jokes. Here are a few classics:
When hiking, run up ahead, out of sight of the group. Hide beside the trail and wait for them to pass. Then sneak up behind them.
Place rocks in other peoples backpacks.
Fill someone’s water bottle with something clear, yet unpleasant. Make sure you take along an extra bottle of water for them so they don’t have to go thirsty.
Move someone’s tent while they are asleep.
Use a squirt bottle to fake peeing on their tent.
Have An Orienteering Competition
Mark out a trail using a compass and markers. Make each leg of the trail long enough so the markers are not visible from Record the bearings for each turn, and give the instructions to the contestants. The first person to locate the end point wins.
Play Outdoor Games
The number of outdoor games you can play are endless. Everything from football to freeze tag to relay races. You can have a blast playing simple games with your family and friends. One particularly fun game to play while camping is capture the flag. This game can be played in fields, woods, or a variety of terrains. The more adventurous the territory, the more fun the game!
Go Sightseeing
Most camping spots have lots of things to see in the nearby area. Mountains, rivers, caverns, lakes, oceans – there are often lots of fun things to do. Check for an area visitors center to find destinations of interest, or ask a park ranger or other knowledgeable person.
The variety of things you can do while camping is nearly endless. With space, a few pieces of equipment, and imagination, you can create all kinds of games and have amazing amounts of fun! Make sure you invite plenty of friends and family to join you – the more the merrier!