I thought I would ask this question two fold… What are your family camping traditions? And what activities do you find yourself doing the most with younger children?

Gotta have smores. The babies love the tub of Mega Blox that I keep in the TT - lightweight and colorful. They also gravitate towards any unused Lynx leveling blocks.

Exploring nature... looking for animals, signs of animals, identifying plants & trees, geology(rock formations, sediment layers, rock collecting) and more. A good source for information is to pick up a Boy Scout Handbook (the older the better). The handbook has lots of suggestions for fun things to do while camping.Here's a website with a complete Boy Scout Handbook you can read from 1911 It's fun to look through it and there is a lot of great information in it. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29558/29558-h/29558-h.htmA night we would play card games or scrabble, yatzee, uno, bingo..etc.Tell spooky stories around the campfire.Star gazingThrowing rocks at cans or skipping stones on a lake or river.Bubbles are always fun for the kids

the bear II wrote:Throwing rocks at cans This is exaclty why I asked the question... Very simple idea yet, that is something we have never done! We will give it a try to see how it goes over!

My kids are young (7 and 2). They love looking for frogs, playing at the playgrounds (a necessity for us) and generally puddling around outside. Every evening we camp, we go for a walk around the cg just after supper. The kids get a big kick out of seeing the other rigs and waving.

We took our grandkids out recently. Kids bingo was a hit. Also have a board game called "camp"' it was lots of fun to play with them. Also I went to Walmart and bought a kids plastic bow and arrow set. At the campsite, I stacked plastic cups on the campsite grill and they took turns trying to hit the target! It was great. Also popular with them is a scavenger hunt where they look for objects in woods like leaves shaped like a heart, acorns, pinecones, etc. Gives them different things to do.

What are your fun family activites while camping?

Mike__Rose
Explorer
Mar 23, 2013
Infrared Game-Camera
I received one of these cameras as a Christmas present from my kids to bring camping. I hook it to a tree or the RV ladder and let it do it's thing. In the morning my grand son loves to see what critters visited our site during the night. Now I know why my 2 dachshunds Hansel and Gretel want to go out in the middle of the night. One night they keep crying to go out and in the morning we discovered 2 bears had visited our site!
Goldstalker
Explorer
Mar 13, 2013
Wow that rocket stomp looks awesome! My son will love it. We also like to play washer toss.
mister_d
Explorer
Mar 12, 2013
We love many of the activities mentioned so I won't repeat(:

This cheap toy always gets the neighbor kids to come down.. pretty soon they're off having adventures together.

Clicky
Kittykath
Explorer II
Mar 11, 2013
Metal detecting on the beach for the teens. Small sand shovels for the little ones. Be sure to pre-hide a bunch of coins first.
Ragin_Cajun
Explorer
Mar 02, 2013
Nightly hikes for Sasquatch sightings!

Started this since our two kids were just out of diapers ( now 5 & 8), I have a blast getting them revved up for it every camping trip...one day it'll be over as they get older, but oh the memories & amusement!
4monkeys
Explorer
Feb 26, 2013
Check out frisbee golf courses at many of the State Parks.
Mark9090
Explorer
Feb 26, 2013
We always take books, sparklers, & magnifying glasses and butterfly nets. If there is a stream, river or lake, we make "war paint" by finding colorful rocks, wetting them and grinding them on a flat, plain rock.

Cooking over campfires (in pie irons), roasting marshmallows, and card games are also always a part of our trips.
NewMexicoCamper
Explorer
Feb 24, 2013
We have a number of girls in our camping circle and they love to make Fairy houses out of twigs, bark, rocks, etc. As the girls get older (11 and 12) they still make the houses but now they have thatched roofs out of pine needles and picket fences. We also like the little question cards like "Table Topics" around the campfire. They are nice conversation starters for both kids and adults.
jacobj
Explorer
Feb 05, 2013
My wife, kids and I love to go fishing and ride bikes together.
davosfam
Explorer
Feb 04, 2013
Our kids are 23 and 19 now but we have always brought a plastic bat and wiffle balls with us. They still play with them to this day and always have other kids joining in the game. It's a great way for them to make new friends and for other kids to feel included.