Camping with children is fun, entertaining, and terrifying all at once. On the one hand, we want them to have all of the experiences of camping – from weird toilets to friends at the camp playground. On the other hand, we want to protect them from all the hazards – from snakes in the woods to creeps on the trail. And in the midst of it all, we want everyone to be one big, happy family of happy campers. One of the ways to keep the camping experience happy for everyone is to make sure you have a range of activities on hand to choose from. Our Camping Scavenger Hunt printable is an easy and fun activity to take along on your next camping trip.
You can make this a raucous game and burn off energy by choosing teams for competition, sending everyone out in droves across the campgrounds, and awarding prizes at the end. Keep it in the family, or join up with other friends for the fun. If you’re looking for even more fun, be sure to try our Camping Minute to Win It Games.
Camping Scavenger Hunt Ideas
The beauty of a printable scavenger hunt with both words and pictures is that it works for all ages. You can get everyone involved from the smallest to the tallest. Little kids can look for the pictured items and circle them or check the boxes. Older kids can practice reading skills as they complete the hunt. Tweens and teens can practice critical thinking skills, observation skills, and teamwork. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
This list includes a variety of things your kids will commonly find around a campsite. We have so many different scavenger hunts available though! Be sure to check out our Road Trip Scavenger Hunt, or purchase our Scavenger Hunt Bundle for lots of choices. to have on hand. I recommend printing several copies of each scavenger hunt in full color and laminating them to keep them nice and re-useable. Then purchase dry-erase markers to keep with each set.
If you are looking for a fun gift idea, laminate these and add markers as I described, then make a fun Camping Basket gift with S’mores ingredients, roasting sticks, bug spray, a picnic blanket, fire starters, and our Camping Minute To Win It Game!
Our Camping Scavenger Hunt list includes sixteen simple-to-find items including:
- Animal
- Marshmallow
- Tent
- Campfire
- Cooler
- Bird
- Firewood
- Insect
- Pinecone
- Picnic
- Wildflower
- Fungus
- Sky
- Leaf
- Backpack
- Roasted Item
Learning with the Camping Scavenger Hunt
As I mentioned earlier, kids can work on lots of different skills while they are completing a scavenger hunt. Not only will you be giving them a fun activity, you’ll be stretching their learning muscles at the same time. Here are some of the things they are learning.
Observation Skills. Kids will have to slow down and look around to find a bird at your campsite, especially if they have been noisy. They will have to adapt and get quiet! Finding a fungus might prove to be a challenge and will your kids becoming sleuths. They might even have to look up where fungi like to grow! What a fun chance to get your kids to actually look at the world around you.
Teamwork. Build your teams with a variety of ages and you’ve instantly created a fun lesson in teamwork. Adults can coach the team through any relational issues that come up and the teammates will work together towards a common goal. Learning through play is so powerful.
Memory Work. The more the team members can remember from the list, the more quickly they will be able to work. Encourage the teams to work in batches, looking for three or four items at a time before returning to the list to cross things off and remind themselves what to look for next.
Critical Thinking. Young students can practice reading the simple words we have included in the scavenger hunt, and can turn on their critical thinking skills to ponder where an item is most likely to be found.
How to Play A Camping Scavenger Hunt Game
Participation. You can either split your family or group into teams or have everyone participate individually.
Game End. The game can end at a specific time (5:00p.m. EST), after a certain length of time (twenty minutes), or whenever the first person or team finds all of the items. If you want to set a specific time to meet back at a central location, that allows everyone to regroup and determine the winner. The team leaders can all set a timer on their phones to give players a specific length of time such as thirty minutes. If you want to work until someone completes everything on the list, have some way to signal each other.
Completion. You might find it fun to require picture proof for each item on the checklist. Its also fine to take each person at their word. You decide! Scoring is as simple as one point per item, or first person to complete everything on the checklist.
Prizes. I recommend finding something simple and fun for everyone to enjoy after the scavenger hunt, like ice cream bars you’ve kept hidden in a cooler, or lollipops.
Camping Scavenger Hunt
Supplies Needed:
- Printable scavenger hunt for each child
- Laminator or page protector
- Dry erase markers
Instructions:
- Print out one scavenger hunt sheet for each child or team who will be at the campsite. Get your copy here.
- Laminate each page or put each piece of paper in a plastic page protector so it can be used more than once.
- Pass out dry erase markers to each child or team leader.
- Arrange a time when everyone will complete the scavenger hunt. In order to keep from disturbing other campers, you should probably compete before dark. When someone finds something on their page, they can place an X or checkmark in the box next to it or circle the picture.
- The first person or team to mark off everything on their list wins.
- If no one is able to finish their list by the time you designate, the person or team with the most checkmarks on their page is the winner.