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150 Things to Do While Camping!

Our friends at Camping Passport, have put together a list to keep you inspired while camping this summer! In the spirit of Canada’s 150th Birthday, there’s a total of 150 things to do, so dive in and enjoy the last month of summer while it’s still here!

  1. Hiking
  2. Biking
  3. Horse back riding
  4. Rent a paddle boat
  5. Canoeing/Kayaking
  6. Rainbow Scavenger Hunt – Find an item that matches each colour of the rainbow!
  7. Alphabet Scavenger Hunt – Find an item that starts with each letter of the alphabet
  8. Build a tipi
  9. Try all the flavours at the ice cream shop
  10. Fishing
  11. Go exploring with a fishing net
  12. Do a treasure hunt by hiding small items around the campsite for the kids to find
  13. Water balloon fight
  14. Water balloon baseball! Don’t have a bat? Use a pool noodle!
  15. Go to the pool
  16. Go to the beach
  17. Catch frogs
  18. Build a sand castle
  19. Write your names in the sand along with the date and take a picture!
  20. Paint some pet rocks
  21. Build an Inukshuk
  22. Blow bubbles
  23. Make a tin can telephone
  24. Memory game. When sitting around the fire take turns adding to the list of what you would pack for camping. “When I go camping I’m going to bring marshmallows.” Then the next person “When I go camping I’m going to bring marshmallows and chocolate” and so on!
  25. Chop wood
  26. Haul wood
  27. Collect kindling
  28. Leaf rubbings
  29. Scope out the historical sites
  30. Bingo
  31. Tic Tac toe with sticks and stones
  32. If you haven’t done so yet, download your Camping Passport App! Available on the App Store and Google Play
  33. Build a wind chime with sticks, leaves and stones. Or maybe you can find shells at the beach to use!
  34. Go berry picking
  35. Find some cool shapes in the clouds
  36. Wood whittling
  37. Identify the birds you hear
  38. Identify the plants you see
  39. Star gazing
  40. Make a wish on a shooting star
  41. See an outdoor movie
  42. See an outdoor concert
  43. Play horseshoes
  44. Build a slingshot with elastic bands and sticks
  45. Use those same elastic bands to make a natural paintbrush by attaching different types of foliage to a stick!
  46. Mini golf
  47. Play frisbee
  48. See if there’s a frisbee golf course nearby
  49. Everybody show off your hoola hooping moves (this is particularly hilarious if the adults get involved!)
  50. String up the hoola hoops in trees and use them as targets to launch pool noodles through
  51. Climb a tree
  52. Make a ring toss game out of glow sticks
  53. Nature art
  54. Decorate your very own walking stick with ribbon, yarn, paint, beads, etc.!
  55. See how many different animal tracks you can find and see if you can figure out who they belong to
  56. Build a stick tower, how high can you make it?!
  57. Build a stick raft, does it float?!
  58. Nature weaving. Lots of beautiful examples here on Pinterest
  59. Squirt gun race using solo cups. Poke a hole in the bottom of the cup, hang it on a string so that it lays horizontally, now you can squirt water into them to make them slide along the string!
  60. Play rhythm cups with more solo cups
  61. Make a fairy garden
  62. Make a wire wrapping craft with rocks
  63. Obstacle course. String some rope between trees and see if you can manoeuvre through without touching them
  64. Play the parachute game but with a beach towel and a beach ball! Better yet use a water balloon and see how many times you can toss it before it breaks!
  65. Nature names – Use leaves, sticks, etc. to spell out your names!
  66. Scope out the other sites at the campground. Is there one you’d like to try next time? If so be sure to make a note in your Camping Passport App!
  67. Enter your current trip in your Camping Passpost App!
  68. Meet your neighbours
  69. Do yoga! What better place than the great outdoors?!
  70. Bring a big piece of fabric the kids can colour. We found this one at IKEA. When it’s all filled in frame a piece of it as a souvenir!
  71. Tell ghost/campfire stories
  72. Try a new recipe. One of our favourites is ham, swiss cheese and apple pie filling in a sandwich maker over the fire. Yummmm!
  73. Take a nap!
  74. Read a good book. One of the most recent books I read which I LOVED was“Wild” by Cheryl Strayed.
  75. Enjoy a nice peaceful morning coffee outdoors. Don’t rush, there’s no hurry to get anywhere!
  76. Sing songs around the campfire, bonus if somebody has a guitar!
  77. Go on a photography walk, how creative can you get?! Remember to change your perspective, get down low to try to imagine how the ants and spiders see things, get up high for a bird’s eye view!
  78. Skip rocks
  79. Watermelon eating contest. Great way to meet the neighbours, ask if they want to join you!
  80. Fill a basin of water and go bobbing for apples.
  81. String apples up in a tree and see who can take the first bite, do this blindfolded for added difficulty!
  82. Make campfire banana splits! Leaving the peel on, cut the banana length wise, stuff it full of chocolate chips, marshmallows, peanut butter, any other topping you can think of… wrap in tin foil and place over the fire to melt! When it’s ready eat with a spoon!
  83. Make campfire cones! Same as above but this time use waffle or sugar cones. The stuffing possibilities are endless!
  84. Pick wildflowers
  85. Make a flower crown
  86. Play cards
  87. Play boardgames
  88. Have extra packing room? Bring some lawn games like Giant Jenga or Yardzee
  89. Visit the visitor centre
  90. Play balloon tennis using blown up balloons and fly swatters
  91. Put on a puppet show
  92. Make a grateful journal
  93. Fly a kite
  94. Roll down a hill
  95. Play in a river
  96. Collect river rocks
  97. Play charades
  98. Find a farmer’s market
  99. Bean bag toss
  100. Play hide and seek
  101. Collect bugs
  102. Go for ice cream again!
  103. Make a lemonade stand
  104. Go on a picnic
  105. Do a random act of kindness such as haul wood for somebody!
  106. Make your own little spa, soak your toes in warm water while enjoying your favourite drink!
  107. Visit a waterfall
  108. Dance in the rain
  109. Jump in puddles
  110. Feed the ducks
  111. Play beach volleyball
  112. Learn a card trick
  113. Learn a magic trick
  114. Make a nature bird feeder! Tie string around a pinecone, roll in suet or lard, cover in birdseed and hang in a tree for the birds to enjoy!
  115. Put on a talent show (you’ve been working on that hoola hooping right?!)
  116. String together pop can tabs to make a bracelet
  117. Collect bottle caps and make a wind chime out of them
  118. Set up a pyramid of cans and try knocking them over with a ball or use a pool noodle like a javelin to knock them over.
  119. Set up lawn bowling with empty cans
  120. Play catch
  121. Tubing
  122. Waterskiing
  123. Float down a river in a tube
  124. Invent a new drink
  125. Try paddle boarding
  126. Try yoga paddle boarding!
  127. Find a Parks Canada Red Chair and take a picture with it!
  128. Move out of the camper one night and sleep under the stars!
  129. See some fireworks
  130. Go white water rafting
  131. Wake up super early and watch the sun rise
  132. Stay up late and watch the sun set
  133. Go to a petting zoo
  134. Make a list of 150 things you love about Canada!
  135. Build a campfire
  136. Practice lighting a fire without using matches or a lighter
  137. Wherever you are, take a moment to check in. Take a deep breath, be grateful, enjoy the moment!
  138. Roast marshamallows
  139. Make S’mores
  140. Make Bannock in a Bag! Before leaving home, put 3 cups of flour, 2 tbsp. baking soda and half of a tsp. of salt into a large Ziploc bag. Seal and shake. When you’re ready on site add half of a cup of lard or softened butter and 1.5 cups of water and then while still in the bag have the kids squish it all together. Now you can either bake for 15-20 minutes in foil packs (sprayed with non-stick spray or oil) over the fire or wrap around a hot dog and bake it that way!
  141. After dark give the kids some sparklers to play with
  142. Visit a look out point
  143. Take the kids to the park
  144. Go on a leisurely walk and see where you end up. You’re camping, no need to be anywhere at any specific time!
  145. Even if you have a camper do the dishes outside! We always do and it makes this boring task way more fun!
  146. Get out the colouring books, this can be relaxing and some good down time for kids and even “kids at heart” as well!
  147. Put the kids to bed!
  148. Have a drink by the fire, maybe sneak another snack that you didn’t want the kids to have!
  149. Sleep!! Maybe even sleep in a little, but not too much so that you can…
  150. Wake up and do it all over again!!

What’s your favourite camping activity?

Leanne is the creator of Camping Passport, a new app that lets you plan, review and evaluate your camping trips all from your phone! You can download it directly here from the App Store or Google Play.