What do we do when we go camping?
If you are considering a family campingvacation this summer, you might be wondering how to keep everyone entertainedand active, while you are in the middle of the woods. Fear not! There arecamping activities to suit the ability and interests of everyone, young and oldalike. Here are ten popular camping activities to get you started on planningyour next family camping adventure.
GO FOR A HIKE
The vast majority of people who visit ournation’s parks and forests never venture very far from the confines of theircar. That’s a real shame, because the best views and sights are rarely locatedalong the access roads. Make the most of your family camping experience byresearching the day hikes available around your camping spot and picking one ortwo that suit your family’s ability.
The National Park Service providesinformation on hikes available in their parks. Some parks, like Yosemite, areso popular that they have spawned websites, such as Yosemitehikes.com,dedicated to providing information on hikes specific to the particular park.Other sites, like HikingUpward.com, focus on hikes in a particular state, inthis case Virginia.
Remember, no matter how much research youdo, there’s no substitute for local knowledge so be sure to phone the localranger district ahead of time, to get their recommendations and to get thelatest trail conditions.
TAKE THE BIKES OUT FOR A RIDE
Bicycling is a great way to extend yoursightseeing range over hiking, although you may be relegated to the roadsystem, or trails specific to bikes and horses. Don’t think that everyone hasto have a fancy mountain bike, either.
When researching trails for mountainbiking, around your family camping spot, many of the same strategies used forresearching hiking trails will apply. For information specific to bikingtrails, though, there are some excellent online resources, likeSingleTracks.com, that can assist you in your search.
MAKE A FAMILY CAMPING SCRAPBOOK
Scrapbooking is a great way to create ajournal of your family adventure. You can have a single scrapbook that theentire family can participate in making, or each child can keep their ownscrapbook journal. The best thing about scrapbooking is that the pages acceptmany different kinds of mementoes, from leaves to park brochures. The photosmight have to wait until you get home and can print them out, but keeping ascrapbook might just encourage you to take more pictures.
LOOK AT SOME STARS
There is no better place to gaze at the stars through a telescope, than out in the middle of nowhere, unencumbered bylight pollution from civilization. You don’t need an expensive telescope to getstarted, but you will need some knowledge of the night sky.
CATCH A FISH
Fishing is one of those classic outdooractivities that goes with camping like marshmallows go with graham crackers andchocolate. Fishing can be fun and challenging for the entire family, but it’simportant to get everyone involved if they’re going to stay interested. Infact, if this will be the first time fishing for your kids, don’t even plan onany fishing, yourself. Spend your time teaching them to tie knots, bait hooksand cast lines, because the only way they’re going to stay excited aboutfishing is if they actually get to experience hooking some fish.