Camping is a way that fathers have been bonding with their sons for hundreds of years. Being in the great outdoors can really strengthen a father son relationship. Often I hear people asking, what is there to do while you’re camping? Here is a complete list of father son camping activities that will add a ton of fun to your camping adventure.
Simple Activities
A lot of times as parents we overthink things. On elaborate family vacations kids tend to remember the simplest of things. A friend of mine recently took his kids to Disneyland on vacation. When they returned home from vacation he asked his kids what their favorite part of the vacation was. They replied, “swimming at the hotel pool.” Here is a list of simple camping activities that your son will remember.
1. Swimming
Go camping by a lake and take a plunge with your son. Swimming in the outdoors is a great time and if you get lucky you may find a spot with a rope swing.
2. Treasure Hunt
Plan a treasure hunt before hand. Bring little prizes that your son can find along the way and he will fill like a real treasure hunter.
3. Boat Races
Build toy boats out of sticks, twigs, and grass. Then race them down the creek.
4. Exploring
Explore your surroundings and see all that nature has to offer. Do a little research on the area you’re going camping. You will be able to find some awesome spots to take your son. Some examples of spots you could explore are river banks, creeks, caves, and ghost towns.
You can see so many amazing things by walking along a riverbank or creek bed. One of my favorite things to explore along creek beds are beaver dams. It’s amazing to me how such a small animal can build such an elaborate structure by chewing through wood with their teeth. There is a good chance you will also spot a beaver, or an otter while walking along a creek.
Massive birds such as eagles and osprey frequent the rivers looking for their next meal. Maybe you will get lucky and see one catching a fish.
4. Nature Scavenger Hunts
Nature Scavenger Hunts are a lot of fun and a good way to get your son moving. Below is a free printable nature scavenger hunt that you can take with you on your father son camping adventure.
5. Horse Shoes
Horse Shoes is a fun classic outdoor game. The set up is simple all you need to do is pound two stakes in the dirt and your good to go. Here is a link to amazon for a great horseshoe set that comes with everything you need including a rulebook.
6. Dirt Tic Tac Toe
It doesn’t get simpler then tic tac toe. Grab a couple of sticks and play tic tac toe right in the dirt.
7. Spot It Camping
Camping is a great way to disconnect from daily life and build the relationship with your son. At my house my son is always asking to play games with me. With life being so busy its easy to let the simple moments of playing a game with your son slip away.
Take advantage of the time you have camping by playing some of the games your son is always begging you to play. Spot It Camping is a fun simple game to play that my son loves. The game comes with 55 cards with camping/outdoor images on the cards.
There are four different ways to play the game but, essentially every card has a matching image with one other card and you have to match those cards together. Here is a link to Amazon where you can find out more about Spot It Camping.
8. Corn Hole
Corn Hole is an easy and incredibly fun game to play. If you are with a group then team up with your son and the competition will really bring the two of you together. Here is a link to amazon with a great Corn Hole Set.
9. Ladder Ball
Ladder Ball is a similar type of game to Corn Hole. Incredibly fun and easy to have some competitive fun with your son. Here is a video that will show you how to make your own ladder ball set to take camping.
If you don’t want to build your own set then here is a link to Amazon where you can purchase a ladder ball set.
10. Marshmallow Roasting Contest
See who can roast the perfect marshmallow. Then teach your son the finer points of building the perfect S’more.
“I haven’t had anything yet… so how can I have some more of nothing?”
“You’re killing me Smalls!”
The Sandlot
Marshmallow Ideas
Instead of a chocolate bar for your S’more use a Reese’s or an Almond Joy
Make a Marshmallow Boat
- Take a banana and slice it half way through long ways
- Fill it full of marshmallows and chocolate
- Wrap it in Tinfoil
- Toss it in the coals of a campfire to heat it up
- Carefully pull it out and enjoy
11. Watch a Sunrise
Get up early, make some hot cocoa, and watch a sunrise together.
12. Watch a Sunset
Stay up late, tell some stories, and watch a sunset together.
13. Star Gazing
When you get away from the city lights the stars at night are incredible. One of my favorite things to do instead of tent camping is to sleep on a tarp. Getting to take in all of the fresh mountain air while gazing into space is good for the soul.
14. Skip Rocks
Teach your son how to pick out the perfect skipping stone.
15. Bird Watching
Worldwide there are about 9,600 bird species, and in North America there are more than 2,000. With so many different species of birds you will have plenty of opportunities camping to identify multiple species of birds.
You will want to make sure you have a good pair of binoculars and a bird identification guide for your bird watching trip. Here is a link to Amazon for the binoculars that I use and love. Here is a link to Amazon for a great bird identification field guide.
Fun Bird Facts Brought to you by birdwatching.com
- Fastest-moving bird: Peregrine Falcon diving at 200 mph (320 km/h)
- Slowest-flying bird: American Woodcock at 5 mph (8km/h)
- Longest-submerged bird: Emperor Penguin at 18 minutes
- Slowest wingbeat: Vultures at 1/sec
- Greatest weight-carrying compact: Pallas’s Fish Eagle lifting 13-lb carp-160% of body weight
- Coldest temperature endured: -80.5 degrees F (-62.5 digress C) by Snowy Owls
- Keenest sense of hearing: Barn Owl
- Greatest wingspan: Wandering Albatross at up to 11 ft 11 in (3.63m)
- Longest tail feathers: Crested Argus Pheasant at 5.7 ft (173 cm)
If you want to go camping to a bird watching hotspot here is a link to a map from birdwatching.com with hotspots by state.
16. Wildlife Viewing
Get up early and head out to view some wildlife.
Wildlife Viewing Tips
- Keep the wind in your face. Animals have a great sense of smell and they will normally smell you before they see or hear you.
- Move Quietly. Avoid wearing noisy clothing that will alert the animals of your presence.
- Wear earth colored tones
- Whisper. Try not to talk to much at all but if you have to make sure you whisper
- Get in a viewing position before daylight. Animals such as elk and deer will feed in the openings during the night and move into the trees during the day. Get a viewing spot before sunrise overlooking an open grassy slope and you will be able to observe them moving into the trees. At dusk you can use this same technique and observe them moving out of the trees to feed.
- Find a source of water and observe it from a distance.
- Take a good pair of binoculars and a spotting scope.
- Keep a safe distance away from the wildlife
- National Wildlife Refuges are great locations to view wildlife. Here is link to fws.gov where you can find a refuge near you.
17. Plant Identification
Spend an afternoon identifying the plants around you. This would be a great opportunity for you to teach your son about the importance of the plants all around us and the need for us to be good stewards of the environment.
18. Nature Photography
Capture the beauty before you. All you need are some photography basics and your smart phone to capture some breathtaking scenery that will help you and your son remember your adventures for years to come.
Nature Photography Tips
- The best lighting or “golden hour” for nature photography is the period of time shortly after sunrise or right before sunset.
- Avoid taking photographs right at noon as your lighting will be right above you.
- For a well lit nature photo take the picture with the sun behind you.
- To create a silhouette take the photo into the sun.
19. Board Games
Let your son bring his favorite board games to play on the camping trip.
20. Card Games
Playing cards is a lot of fun. Teach your son how to shuffle and how to play your favorite card games.
21. Paper Games
On a rainy day play some simple paper games in the tent. Some of my favorites are connect the dots, connect four, tic tac toe, and hangman.
22. Outdoor Games
You’re in the outdoors so if you’re going to play games why not enjoy the outdoors while you play. Here is a list of ideas for your outdoor games.
- Capture the flag
- Charades
- Tag
- Hide and Go Seek
- 20 Questions
- Chubby Bunny
- Kick The Can
- Red Light Green Light
- Mother, May I
- Fruit Game
- Button, Button, Who’s Got The Button
23. Sports Games
Practice throwing the football back and forth or work on his batting swing. Camping is the perfect time to play some of your sons favorite sports.
24. Cloud Watching
Lay back and see what images you can see in the clouds.
25. Listen
Get to a high spot, sit down, and just listen. As you focus on the sounds the forest will come to life. See if you and your son can pick out the different noises all around you.
26. Hammock
Hang up some hammocks and relax. This would be a great opportunity to talk with your son and get to know him, or just enjoy the silence with one another. If you’re really brave, spend the night in your hammocks. For tips on hammock camping follow this link to thedyrt.com.
27. Fire Wood Chopping
Head out in the woods to find some down trees for fire wood. Then you can bring out the inner Paul Bunyan in your son by chopping fire wood. Just be sure that you teach your son how to safely use an axe before you turn him loose. Here is a link to amazon with my favorite camping axe.
28. Campfire Stories
Stay up late telling stories around the campfire to your son. This could be anything from ghost stories to tales from your youth. Something about sitting around a campfire really gets kids talking. Making this a perfect opportunity for you to give your son your full attention as he tells you all of his stories. For some great kid friendly campfire ghost stories follow this link to koa.com.
29. Willow Whistle
Go down to the creek and teach your son how to make a whistle out of a willow branch. Watch the video below for instructions on how to make one.
30. Rock Hounding
Discover some treasures from the earth. There are many places you can go to find some really neat rocks. One of my families favorite areas to go is crystal park in Montana. There you can dig up quartz crystals. The best part about crystal park is its relatively easy for kids to dig up crystals there.
If you want to ensure your son finds some good gems while your rockhounding here’s a tip. Get some rocks before you go on your camping trip and place them in the area your are going rockhounding to ensure he finds some keepers.
31. Geocaching
Geocaching will make your son feel like a real treasure hunter. If you are new to Geocaching, this is where you use your GPS or smartphone to follow GPS coordinates to a cache. Every cache is different. /.Some are small pill bottles with a paper in them for you to sign and others are bigger totes with prizes in them.
The rule for prizes is that if you take one from the cache then you should put one of your own back in the cache. So bring some trinkets and knick knacks with you for your GPS journey. Here is a link to geocaching.com where you can download an app to your phone to use while Geocaching.
32. Hiking
Prior to heading out on your camping adventure look up some good hikes nearby. You want to size the hike up to your sons abilities to ensure that he has fun while doing it. If you’re up to another level of an adventure then you should take your son on a multiple day backpacking trips.
Survival Activities
Survival type activities are a ton a of fun and will make your son feel like Survivorman. These activities will also teach your son life skills that could one day save his life.
33. Fire Starting
What boy doesn’t love playing with fire? There are many different methods you can use to start a fire. Watch the videos below and try these methods with your son on your camping adventure. Once you’ve got them down you can have a little competition to see who can get their fire going first.
34. Make Fire Starter
In a survival situation being able to stay warm is extremely important. To do this you need to be able to start a fire. One great way to ensure you can start a fire is to have fire starters and a lighter with you in your pack. Camping with your son is a great opportunity to make some fire starters with your son. Watch the video below for instructions on how to make an egg carton fire starter.
35. Water Purification
The only thing more important than heat in a survival situation is getting water. On your camping adventure take some different water purification methods and test them out with your son. In my hiking pack I always carry two different methods to filter water with me. There are a lot of conventional ways to filter water such as boiling, filtration, and water purification tablets. Below I have links to Amazon for my recommend water purification gear.
- Katadyn Hiker Microfilter Water Filter– This is the water filter I use when I’m backpacking it works great and pumps a good amount of water. It also doesn’t leave a nasty after taste in your mouth.
- Sawyer Products MINI Water Filtration System– If you are looking for an awesome water filter that’s easier on the wallet then this is the water filter for you. Theres many different ways that you can use this water filter. It comes with a straw that you can use to put it in a bottle of water, or you can screw it right on top of standard water bottles. My favorite way to use it is putting inline with a hydration bladder.
- Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets– When I’m in the outdoors I always carry some Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets as a backup to my filter.
36. Build A Shelter
Build a shelter together and spend the night in it.
37. Survival Bracelet
Weave some survival bracelets around the campfire. They’re very practical for outdoor use and a lot of fun to make. Here is a video on how to make a standard survival bracelet. There are all sorts of different braids you can do but I would get stick with the cobra weave at first.
38. Tarp Uses
Tarps are extremely useful in the outdoors and especially in a survival situation. Spend some time teaching your son some different ways you can use tarps in the outdoors. Here is a great video that will give you some ideas for using tarps in the outdoors.
39. Bandana Uses
Much like tarps, bandanas are very useful in a survival situation. Here is a link to outdoorlife.com that covers different uses for bandanas in the outdoors.
40. Soda Can Stove
Soda Can Stoves are a lot of fun to make and very practical. I used a soda can stove on a week long backpacking trip and it worked great. It didn’t warm my food up as fast as a normal backpacking stove, but it got the job done and was very lightweight. Here is a link to the sodacanstove.com that will show you how to make one.
Mountain Man Activities
Bring out your inner Jeremiah Johnson while your up in the mountains with these fun activities.
41. Axe Throwing
Throwing axes at a target will provide hours of fun. It will also make you the coolest dad in town when your son tells all his friends about what he got to do for the weekend. Here is a link to a a great throwing axe set on Amazon.
42. Knife Throwing
I prefer to throw an axe for fun when I’m in the outdoors but that’s probably just my Viking blood coming out in me. Throwing knives is still a lot of fun. The biggest thing with throwing axes and knives is to be safe. Here is a link to Amazon to get some great throwing knives to practice being like Jim Bowie.
43. Track Identification
Head down some game trails or hike to a water supply to see if you can identify the animal tracks. Here is a link to naturetracking.com that will help you identify animal tracks. They even have an app you can download to use in the backcountry to identify tracks.
44. Edible Plant Identification
I would be very cautious of actually eating any plants while in the wild unless you know exactly what your looking at. Where I live we have water crest that are edible, but we also have poison hemlock. Both plants look pretty similar and grow in the same area. This could be a fun activity though to just see how many plants you could try to eat if you were trying to live in the mountains.
45. Medical Plants
Try identifying plants that could be used for medicinal purposes while you’re exploring the wild. Here is a link to a plant identification guide on Amazon that can give you more information.
46. Knife Sharpening
How to properly sharpen a knife is a great skill to teach your son. Being in the outdoors is a great place to teach him this. There are multiple methods you could teach him for knife sharpening and knife care. Here are some links to amazon with my favorite wet stone and pull through knife sharpeners.
47. Archery
My son has a bow and sometimes its hard to find time to practice with him at home. Flinging arrows while your camping in the great outdoors is so relaxing and a great way to spend time with your son.
48. Summit A Mountain
Climbing to the top of a mountain is hard work and at times frightening. If your son has a fear of heights this is a great way to help him overcome that fear. Reaching the top of the mountain is so rewarding and humbling as you look out across the vast landscape.
49. Orienteering
Orienteering is the process of finding your way with just a compass and a map. This is becoming a lost art for outdoorsmen with GPS units. Being able to find your way with a compass and a map could be a life saving skill for your son and its just a lot of fun. I learned orienteering from being a boy scout and it is still a skill I need to teach my son. Below is a great Youtube video on how to use a compass and a map.
50. Whittling
Grab a couple blocks of wood before you go out on your camping adventure to whittle something with your son. Boys love to use knives and whittling is a great way to teach them a constructive hobby that uses a knife. It is also a great opportunity to teach your son about knife safety as well.
51. Canoeing
As a young man I went on a week long 50 mile camping trip. It was an amazing trip that I learned a lot from. Sitting on a lake in a canoe is so peaceful and a great time to really bond with your son.
52. Kayaking
Kayaking is something that I would like to spend more time doing. I have done a trip down a river in a kayak and it was such an adrenaline rush and a ton of fun. I would not be confident enough to go down a river without more experience in a kayak. However, going on a kayak on a lake is a great way for beginners to get into kayaking.
53. Rafting
Rafting is the easiest and most forgiving of boating activities. Canoes and kayaks are easier to tip over and take some skill while rafting is relatively easy and also a ton of fun. Take a raft out on a lake and toss in a fishing line.
54. Tying Knots
Being able to ty knots is a great skill to teach your son. Below is a video with six useful knots to teach your son.
55. Rope Making
Rope making is something that I want to teach my son. It looks like a lot of fun and would make a great camping activity. Below is a video that will show you how to make rope out of twine.
56. Gold Panning
Head down to the river bank or creek bed and try your hand at panning for gold. This is a great father son activity and who knows you may strike it rich. Here is a link to a gold prospecting site. On the right side of the page there is a map that will show you spots to prospect for gold by state.
57. Shed Hunting
Shed hunting is a great activity for your son. The first rule of shed hunting is to not stress over finding sheds to much. Just live in the moment and enjoy being in the hills with your son. Here are some tips to shed hunting.
- Look on south facing slopes. Deer, elk, and moose loose their antlers normally between February and March. So they spend a lot of time on the warmer slopes.
- Look in feeding areas, follow game trails, and head through the thick brush. Spots like creek beds and fences are great places to look because the animals jump over them and that action can cause their antlers to fall off. In the thick brush their antlers can get caught and fall off. I’ve often found them under spruce trees or evergreen tress.
- Bring binoculars. You can cover a lot more ground with your eyes than your feet.
- Keep looking, don’t get discouraged, stay focused, and eventually you will find some.
- INSIDER TIP: GPS the location of each shed and go back to that location the next year. For areas that get snow look at the elevation of your GPS marker. Look at that elevation on other mountains and normally you will find sheds at the same general elevation.
Each state has there own regulations for hunting for sheds. Here is a link to a article from outdoor empire that covers regulations by each state.
58. Mountain Man Tales
While your sitting around the campfire tell your son incredible stories of the Mountain Man that came before us. Here is a link to Amazon with a great book about the lives and lore of Mountain Men.
59. Fishing
Fishing is a great camping activity. The great thing about fishing is that it doesn’t matter if you never catch anything. Telling stories with your son while you have a couple lines in the water is a great time. Here is a link to another one of my articles that has fishing regulations for each state.
Action Packed Activities
Are you looking for more adrenaline fueled activities for your camping adventure? Below are my top 5 action packed activities that you can do on a camping trip.
60. Dirt Biking
Dirt biking is one of the most action packed activities you can do. With dirt biking you not only get an adrenaline but you can cover a ton of country. There are a lot of single track dirt bike trails that you can’t access with an ATV as well. If you don’t own a dirt bike then call your local power sports business and ask them if they rent dirt bikes. Most power sport places will rent out dirt bikes. If they don’t they will know who does and be able to point you in the right direction.
61. ATV Riding
If dirt biking is to intimidating to you then look into riding ATVs. They are still a ton of fun to ride and are a lot easier for beginners. If your son is younger then look into renting a UTV such as the Polaris RZR pictured above. The great thing about UTV’s is that you can have a conversation with your son as you go riding through the hills.
62. Mountain Biking
If your not into the gas ponies then look into mountain biking with your son on your camping adventure. The suspension on mountain bikes are so good these days that it feels like you are riding on a dirt bike. If you don’t think you will be able to peddle around on a mountain bike then look into E-Biking. Another thing you could do is find a ski hill in the area you are camping. A lot of ski hills will sell lift tickets in the summer to take your mountain bike to the top of the ski hill. Then you just get the excitement of going down hill without all the work of peddling to the top.
63. White Water Rafting
White water rafting is an unforgettable experience. It is so much fun being on the water and feeling the sure power of the river. At certain points your slamming through massive rapids and at other times you will be able to get in huge water fights. This is one your son will never forget. Check out this link to oars.com where you can book guided white water rafting trips.
64. Overlanding
Overlanding is something that I want to get into with my son. Simply put overlanding is a vehicle adventure where focus is put on enjoyment of the journey. Often this includes going on more difficult off road terrain into more remote locations where you camp every night. There are a lot roof top tents that you can get for your SUV or Truck. Overlanding would be a great father son camping adventure activity. I currently do not own a roof top tent. I have friends that go once a month on an overlanding adventure and I plan on buying a roof top tent and getting into to it. Based on all of my research this is the roof top tent from Amazon that I would buy.
65. Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is a great hobby to get into with your son. You could plan your camping trip around a rock climbing trip. If you are new to rock climbing then check out this link to explore-share.com where you can book guided rock climbing trips all over the world.
Camping is a great way to spend some quality father son time. Any of these 65 camping activities would be a great time to spend time on your camping adventure with your son. What are you waiting for? Get your son to put down the smart phone and get outside.