12 Summer Camp Ideas That Feel like Childhood
Explore this collection:
Boat Making Competition
Watercolor
Nature Hunt
Nature Print Painting
Archery Tournament
Tallest Tower
Put Out the Fire
Water Balloon Toss
Night time Capture The Flag
Write ‘Home’ to a Loved One
Iron Chef S’mores Edition
Ghost Stories around the fire
There’s no reason to leave the joy of camp for our yesteryears. These activities can be done for a day of adult-only shenanigans, or over the course of the summer with your family. Whatever your stage of life, just know you’re never too old for canteen.
This site intentionally avoids intrusive ads. I provide links to relevant products are used in the tutorials as an Amazon Associate. I do when there’s genuinely a value in knowing and sharing the specific product used.The magical power of pinecones and art supplies
Camp Crafts
1 | Boat-Making Competition
This activity challenges people and kids to design and create their own miniature, water-faring boats. The goal is to have the boat that stays afloat the longest, and can be tested using a rock or any other test captain/victim of your choice. We did this once with our kids and they beg to do a new competition at least once a summer.
The Rules:
You can only use natural materials
The rock/test captain of your choice has to stay above the water
The vessel has to float on it’s own without assistance
It just has to stay afloat- it doesn’t have to travel (but bonus points if it can!)
Ideas for building materials:
Prairie or tall grasses
Plant stems (make sure not poisonous)
Reeds (either fresh and green for supple bindings or dried from past seasons for a sturdy structure)
Leaves
Bark (Birch or Poplar bark- just like the original life-sized canoes were made)
Sticks or small branches
Anything native to your environment and where you live. We are in Minnesota so happen to have deciduous trees, pines and lake habitat as our nature supply- but every environment offers unique materials to work with.
Designing with only natural materials
The key is to figure out how to secure your materials together using timeless technique- like lashings, knots, and natural friction. Some simple techniques:
Using long grasses or stems (while green and supple) to loop through holes with knots to secure;
To tie two or more parallel sticks/objects together with a simple shoelace/overhand knot.
As strap to tie together two perpendicular sticks - wrap the grass/stem around one side, then diagonally, then on the right side, then back across over the top diagonally the other way. Repeat and secure with a knot.
This project was inspired after studying camping tutorials and wilderness survival, which was helpful to learn techniques. To learn more about making quality bindings and all the things that can be created with natural materials- I recommend a few resources:
Wilderness Adventure Camp: Essential Outdoor Survival Skills for Kids (book)
SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere (book) - A dense, comprehensive read about lashings and so much more, but fascinating- for those serious about learning the techniques.
2 | Watercolor
Use nature as your inspiration as you rediscover the joy of ‘happy accidents’.
Supplies:
Watercolor kit (a basic Crayola kit works just fine, or if feeling like you want to invest in a new hobby- go for an upgrade.Water color paper or, if doing activity #10, opt for watercolor postcards
3 | Nature Treasure Hunt
Go for a walk outside, even better in a park or nearby local woods.
Gather tokens like small pine boughs, grasses, ferns- whatever will work well for the second part craft below and suits your fancy.
4 | Nature Print Making
Use your collection gathered above and return home for the crafts portion. Using your found items, you can create art prints using paint and cardstock to create negative-space prints.
Supplies:
Paint (can be acrylic, watercolor, etc.) (color of your choice, but if go with a lighter color or white if using a darker paper, and vice versa)
Art paint brushes (bigger is easier)
8”x10” frames
Instructions:
Paint one side of the object.
Arrange it painted side down on the paper as you wish (it could be an arrangement of multiple per sheet or a series of one shape per paper).
Place another piece of paper or paper towel over the object and use rolling pin to gently press evenly.
Remove the top sheet and discard and let dry before framing.
Earn Your Badges
Camp Activities
5 | Have an Archery Tournament
The classic camp sport. There are a spectrum of bow and arrow sets for varying types of activities. For pure recreation, there are cheaper alternatives and they are probably fine, but you get what you pay for. If you or your family are genuinely interested in the sport, I’d recommend a beginning compound bow. It’s not for young kids as it’s definitely got force behind it (and should always be treated as such, not used with pets or other people in the area). But it’s much easier and more enjoyable to use, and therefore more likely to actually be used.
Supplies:
Option A) All-purpose bow and arrow set
Option B) Beginner Compound Bow set
Target Block (Having one is important and very helpful)
Instructions:
You can either play casually and for the fun of learning how to improve, or set up a tournament bracket style.
6 | Tallest Tower
The goal is to build the tallest tower. Make it an individual sport or a group competition. No rules- just physics.
Supplies:
Outdoor/lawn sized Jenga-style blocks. They can be made in the garage or bought.
That first jump in the water. Exploding water balloons. Greased watermelons.
Water Games
Great for a family over the course of the summer, or as an adult afternoon fueled with Hard Seltzers.
Instructions:
Form two lines, pairing with someone on the other side. On the count of 3, all the people on one side (who start with a balloon) toss to their partners in the other line.
Each pair that loses a balloon sits on the ground while the remaining duos each take a step back and continue the process until there’s a winning pair.
Supplies:
Mini water balloons specifically designed to be filled en masse with a hose (any parent will recognize these already)
8 | Water Balloon Toss
7 | Put out the Fire
Instructions:
Form two lines, people facing the person in front of them
At a whistle, both lines start with the person in front grabbing a bowl full of water (from the water source) and handing it back over their heads to the person behind them (without looking or turning around!)
This continues with each person until the person at the end of the line who dumps it in the bucket behind them.
They person at the front runs to the back of the line upon passing the bucket, so the line continues shifting forward.
When the whistle blows (by a bystander), the team with the most water in the bucket wins.
Supplies:
2 Big buckets
2 Bowls
Body of water (lake, kiddie pool, etc.)
Crickets chirping. Sun setting. Quiet and magical summer evenings.
Night time Activities
9 | Night time Capture the Flag
What was a fun game as a child taken be taken up a notch now as an adult. Get a group of friends together for night time game of war and justice. The larger the space the better, and the more people the merrier. Check local parks to see when they become off limits- many local parks are open to 10:00 or even 11:00. This can make for a beautiful sunset game in the summer or a more dramatic game of espionage in darkness in cooler seasons.
Instructions:
Divide in to two teams and divide the space between the teams, with some natural mark as a boundary line
Each team’s home territory has a home base (marked with a flag (like a towel or object of some sort) and a jail
The objective of the game is to capture your opponent’s flag and make it safely back to your home territory. Whoever does so first wins the game (or the round)
If you get tagged by your opponent while trying to do so, you get hauled to their jail while you wait patiently to be rescued
You can rescue a teammate in jail by successfully tagging them in jail without getting caught yourself
Want to up the ante? Add a friendly wager- like round of drinks after or even an oath of truth, dare, double dare, or promise to repeat
10 | Write to a Loved One
Remember as a child a time you were homesick and all you wanted to do was feel connected? As adults with communication anytime we want, it’s easy to forget how important having real connections can be with the people in our lives.
In the quiet hours of the evening, take time for yourself and write a letter- a real, handwritten letter, to someone in your life. Tell them what they mean to you. It will take a few days to get there, but will feel far more special than any text or email you could ever send.
A great chance to share your water color artwork in postcard form from activity #2.
11 | Iron Chef - S’mores Edition
Once the evening rolls in and it’s time for the campfire-what’s better than s’mores? Finding creative ways to add upon the recipe.
Instructions:
Either individually or in teams, source unique ingredients to add to your s’mores sandwich.
Test out different combinations
Submit your winning idea to the group for a taste off
Shown here is a ‘Banana S’mlit”- honestly one of the best desserts I’ve ever had.
12 | Ghost stories around the Campfire
Ask your friends to come prepared with a ghost story or an urban legend. They’ll enjoy the challenge of a new tale, and if not, there are hosts of great short scary stories out there.
Some highly rated collections (New York Times) of short scary stories if needing inspiration:
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enriquez (Author) and Megan McDowell (Translator)
Tiny Nightmares: Very Short Tales of Horror by Lincoln Michel
Eight Ghosts: The English Heritage Book of Ghost Stories by Sarah Perry
Screen doors slamming. Camp bell ringing. First crushes forming. Be creative this summer as you relive the best of childhood.
Earn your badges and be back for canteen!
Continue the mood:
10 Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice (Full Thematic Track)
Individual Activities:
Shop the experience:
The smell of the vintage Main Lodge - Cedar incense