A Camping Weekend of Kids’ Activities—with Paper, Pencils, and Everyday Gear

The tent is up, lunch is finished, and someone asks, “What can we do now?”

You don’t need a second trunk full of entertainment to answer. A notebook, a few pencils, and familiar items already at camp can become a guessing game, a shared drawing, or a record of things your family noticed outdoors.

These camping activities for kids fit into the spaces between meals, walks, and relaxing at camp. Choose one when it suits the moment. Repeat a favorite, change the rules, or leave the rest for another trip.

The goal is to have a few good options ready—not to fill every hour.

What to Pack for These Kids’ Camping Activities

Pack one small activity kit

Keep these supplies together in a reusable pouch or folder:

• A small notebook or several sheets of paper.
• Pencils or crayons, with enough for everyone who wants to draw.
• A firm writing surface, such as a clipboard or stiff folder, if you won’t have a table.
• A reusable bag or folder for finished drawings and scraps.

For the object games, borrow clean, safe items from your camping supplies: a mug, spoon, hat, flashlight, or empty water bottle. There’s no need to purchase special game pieces.

Skip sharp tools, medicines, matches, fuel containers, and hot cookware. Return borrowed items to their usual places after playing, especially equipment you may need later.

If you’re still organizing the rest of the trip, our two-night camping packing list can help you plan the essentials around this small activity kit.

Choose an activity for the moment

Use this as a menu rather than a schedule. The time suggestions are flexible; a game can end after one round or continue while everyone is enjoying it.

Weekend moment	Activity	What you need
First settled-in break	Camping Mystery Object	Familiar camp items
Before a meal	What Changed on the Table?	A few safe objects
Quiet morning	Camp Sound Map	Paper and drawing tools
Relaxed afternoon	Camp Sketch Swap	One sheet and pencil per player
Short walk together	Look-Alike Hunt	Optional notebook
Downtime at the table	Design a Make-Believe Campsite	Paper and drawing tools
Evening wind-down	Three-Box Camp Comic	Paper and drawing tools
Last morning	A Postcard from Camp	Paper and drawing tools

Before starting, agree on where the activity will happen and stay together. A game is not a substitute for supervision while adults cook or set up camp. Keep activities clear of roads, water edges, cooking equipment, and neighboring sites.

1. Camping Mystery Object

Good for: A seated group game with no extra supplies.

One person becomes the mystery keeper and secretly chooses a familiar item everyone can see or knows is at camp. Leave the item where it belongs; this is a guessing game, not a hiding game.

How to play

1. The mystery keeper chooses the item without announcing it.
2. Other players take turns asking questions that can be answered with yes or no.
3. The group gets up to ten questions total, then makes one final guess together.
4. Reveal the item and choose a new mystery keeper.

Try questions such as “Do we use it for eating?”, “Does it make light?”, or “Can it fit in a pocket?” Encourage players to build on earlier answers rather than restart the guessing each turn.

Make it easier: Choose from three visible objects and skip the question limit.

Add a challenge: Ask players to explain which answer helped them most before revealing the item.

2. What Changed on the Table?

Good for: A quick game while everyone is already sitting together.

Choose four or five clean, safe items, such as a spoon, mug, hat, and flashlight. Set them on a clear part of the table.

How to play

1. Give everyone a few moments to look at the arrangement.
2. Ask the guessers to look away.
3. One player changes one thing: turn the mug handle, move the spoon, or remove the hat to their lap.
4. Everyone looks back and describes what changed.
5. Restore the objects or start a new arrangement, then rotate the person making the change.

Make it easier: Start with three objects and remove one entirely.

Add a challenge: Change the position of one object without removing anything. Keep the game cooperative if remembering details becomes frustrating.

3. Camp Sound Map

Good for: A quiet pause that helps everyone notice the surroundings.

This is a drawing of what you hear, not a navigation map.

How to play

1. Choose a comfortable, safe place to sit together.
2. Draw a star in the middle of the page. That represents you.
3. Listen quietly for about one minute, staying in the same spot.
4. Sketch sounds around the star in the directions you hear them: ahead, behind, left, or right. Keep the top of the page pointing ahead.
5. Compare your pages. Which sounds did everyone notice? What appeared on only one person’s map?

A bird can stand for birdsong, wavy lines for wind, and little footprints for footsteps. Use a question mark when you don’t know what made a sound. You don’t need to follow it or identify it.

Make it easier: Listen for three sounds and let an adult help draw them.

Try another version: Make a “What I Notice” map using visible movement, colors, or textures. This offers an alternative for children who cannot access or don’t enjoy the listening activity.

4. Camp Sketch Swap

Good for: A playful group activity at the picnic table.

Each person starts a drawing, but everyone helps finish it. A boot might gain wings. A tent might become a campsite for imaginary creatures.

How to play

1. Give each player a sheet of paper and a pencil or crayon.
2. Start a camping doodle. Allow about one minute for the first drawing.
3. Pass every sheet to the person on the left.
4. Add something to the picture you receive, keeping the marks already there.
5. Continue drawing and passing until the original sheets return to their owners.
6. Share the pictures and give each one a name.

Start with a tent, mug, hiking boot, or campsite on another planet. Simple shapes leave plenty of room for the next person’s ideas.

For two players: Swap papers three times, drawing after each swap, then share both pictures.

Make it easier: Offer more drawing time or let a child tell an adult what to add. There is no best drawing to choose at the end.

5. Look-Alike Hunt

Good for: A short walk together or observations from one spot.

Instead of collecting objects, look for shapes that remind you of something else. A cloud might resemble a fish; a distant ridge might look like a sleeping animal.

How to play

1. Choose an allowed route together, or stay in a comfortable observation spot.
2. Each person looks for one shape that suggests something familiar.
3. Point it out without approaching wildlife or leaving the designated route.
4. Explain the resemblance: “That cloud looks like a turtle because of the little head on the left.”
5. Sketch a favorite if you want to remember it.

Different answers are welcome. Two people can see entirely different things in the same shape.

Make it easier: Start with broad prompts such as round, zigzag, or something shaped like a letter.

Add a challenge: Give three clues before pointing out the shape.

Leave rocks, plants, and other natural features where they are. The National Park Service’s Leave No Trace guidance supports observing without collecting or altering the setting. When animals appear, watch from a distance and follow the destination’s wildlife-viewing rules.

6. Design a Make-Believe Campsite

Good for: Children who enjoy inventing, drawing, or explaining ideas.

This imaginary campsite can sit on the moon, float above the clouds, or welcome very tiny campers. Keep the design on paper; there is no need to build or rearrange anything outdoors.

How to play

1. Draw a large outline for your campsite.
2. Add three places: somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat, and somewhere to play.
3. Invent one unusual feature, such as a reading tent for dragons or a telescope shaped like a flower.
4. Give the campsite a name.
5. Take turns giving a short tour of your drawing.

Ask questions such as “Where would visitors arrive?” or “What would happen on a rainy day?” Let the creator explain rather than correcting the imaginary design.

Make it easier: An adult can draw the outlines while the child chooses what belongs in each space.

Add a challenge: Design a campsite for a fictional visitor with an unusual need, such as a giraffe that needs extra headroom.

7. Three-Box Camp Comic

Good for: A wind-down activity with room for real memories or silly inventions.

Fold a sheet into thirds or draw three large boxes.

How to play

1. In the first box, introduce a character and what they want to do.
2. In the second box, add a surprise or small problem.
3. In the third box, show what happens next.
4. Share the comic by pointing to each panel and telling the story.

For example: a squirrel plans a picnic, discovers its blanket is enormous, and invites all its imaginary neighbors. Or draw something that really happened on your trip, such as a hat blowing off during lunch.

Make it easier: Use stick figures, or have a child narrate while an adult draws.

For a group: Each person contributes one panel. A flashlight or lantern can light the page if needed; the activity does not require a campfire.

8. A Postcard from Camp

Good for: The last morning or a quiet moment before packing.

Make a small keepsake from the trip using a half-sheet of paper or a notebook page. It can stay in your activity folder; you don’t need to mail it.

How to play

1. Draw one moment you want to remember on the front.
2. On the back, finish these prompts: “I noticed…”, “My favorite moment was…”, and “Next time, I want to…”
3. Add the date and a place name if you wish.
4. Share one part of the postcard before putting it away.

Make it easier: Ask the prompts aloud and write down the child’s words.

Add a challenge: Address the postcard to your future self and include one useful tip for the next trip.

Make the activities fit your family

Start with how children like to participate rather than a strict age cutoff. One child may want to draw every detail; another may prefer to point, speak, or watch before joining.

For mixed ages, let younger children choose objects or give ideas while older children help write or draw. Rotate those roles so one person doesn’t end up directing every game.

Shorten a round when attention fades. If paper starts blowing away, choose Mystery Object instead. If everyone needs a quiet break, offer an individual postcard rather than another group game. Move or postpone an activity when conditions are uncomfortable; a tent is not a substitute for appropriate shelter during lightning.

Keep drawings and scraps in the folder between activities. Count pencils and collect loose materials before leaving the table or campsite.

Choose three before you leave

For a first try, pick one activity with no extra supplies, one drawing activity, and one quiet observation activity. Keep the rest as options.

You might play Mystery Object after lunch, make a sound map the next morning, and finish with a postcard before packing. If the sketch swap becomes everyone’s favorite, play it again. You don’t have to finish this list to have a good camping weekend.

The drawings and conversations can become part of what your family remembers about the trip—alongside the walk, the meal, and the time spent doing very little at all.

Which would your family try first: a mystery object, a shared sketch, or a sound map?

Further reading

• National Park Service: Leave No Trace
• National Park Service: Respect Wildlife

These resources support the outdoor-care guidance. The activity instructions above are adaptable versions of familiar guessing, drawing, and observation games, not a claim that they are official National Park Service activities.

Canyon and Campfire is the camping and outdoor learning companion to Trailblazer Supply. We focus on practical planning guidance to help you make informed choices for your trips.