Updated March 2026 by Stacy Bressler
Camping with teenagers can be incredible – or it can feel like you’re dragging them away from civilization against their will. I’ve camped with my own kids and plenty of teens over the years, and I’ve learned that the secret isn’t banning phones or forcing them to “enjoy nature.” It’s finding camping activities for teens that actually match how they think and what they love.
Below you’ll find 30+ camping games for teens and activities covering everything from competitive challenges to creative projects to solo downtime – because teens need all of those things! Something here will land, I promise.
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Don’t miss the free printable selfie + emoji scavenger hunts at the bottom of this post – these are consistently the most popular teen camping activities I share, and they work for all ages!
Table of Contents
A Note About Teens and Phones at Camp
Before we dive in – some families ban phones at camp entirely, and that’s totally valid! But if your teen is newer to camping or in that “everything about my parents is uncool” phase, the fastest way to bridge the gap between home life and camp life is through activities that meet them where they are. Several of the camping games for teens below actually involve their phones – and that’s intentional. Once they’re having fun, they naturally put the phones down.
If there are younger kids coming along too, check out these camping activities for toddlers and this roundup of camping games for all ages!
Camping Games for Teens (Competitive + Active)
Teens love to compete – lean into it! These camping games bring out that competitive energy in a fun way.
1. Selfie Scavenger Hunt
Teens love selfies, so why not turn that into a camping game? A selfie scavenger hunt is just like a regular scavenger hunt but with a digital twist – they take a selfie with each item instead of checking it off a list. Teen campers everywhere love the opportunity to get creative with their shots, pull funny faces, and compete to finish first. Check out my free printable camping selfie scavenger hunt – it’s always a hit!
2. Emoji Camp Scavenger Hunt
Adding a twist to something teens already know keeps things fresh. This emoji-themed camping scavenger hunt gets them exploring around camp, laughing, and thinking creatively – and it’s always entertaining to compare what everyone wrote when they’re done! Grab the free printable at the bottom of this post.
3. Campfire Challenges
Teenagers love any chance to prove they’re the best at something – give them a structured way to do it! Campfire challenges are one of the best camping activities for teens because they build real skills while keeping things competitive.
Fun campfire challenge ideas:
- Best roasted marshmallow (put it to a vote!)
- Longest burning DIY firestarter
- Quickest campfire builder
- Fastest fire starter using only flint
- Camping trivia – campfire equipment, camp history questions and more
Let each teen make their own DIY camping crown for winning challenges – sounds silly but teens secretly love it!
4. Campground Riddle Treasure Hunt
A riddle-based camping scavenger hunt is way more challenging than a standard picture or list hunt – and therefore way more interesting to teens. It requires some prep (print and hide the clues ahead of time) but it’s always a huge hit. The problem-solving element makes this one of the best camping activities for older teens especially.
5. Bike Obstacle Courses + Challenges
Even if your campground doesn’t have much dedicated riding space, you can make the most of it with DIY jumps, obstacle courses, or balance challenges. Bring shovels, walkie-talkies, and maybe a small prize to fuel some friendly competition!
6. Remote Control Car Course
Building jumps, timing each other through courses, and the teamwork that comes with it – there’s something about RC cars at camp that just works. RC cars like this one are perfect for hours of campsite entertainment and friendly rivalry.
7. Classic Backyard Games (Campground Edition)
Portable versions of classic games are perfect camping activities for teens because they already know the rules and they pack small. A portable cornhole set is always a winner, and these are great for meeting other teens at the campground too. Check out even more options for portable backyard games here.
8. Hilarious Meme Card Game
If you’ve heard of Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, you’ll love that there’s a teen-friendly version that doesn’t sacrifice the laughs. “What Do You Meme?” uses recognizable viral memes and funny questions to see who can best match the situation – it’s perfect for rainy days or winding down around the campfire at night.
9. Play Charades Around the Campfire
Camping-themed charades is a surprisingly great icebreaker and works even when teens are being a little reserved. Have one person act out a scene while the rest guess, or switch it up – put the card on your forehead and have a teammate act it out while you guess! Grab these free printable camp-themed charades so you’re ready to go.
10. Nighttime Glow Activities
Everything is cooler in the dark! Plan some glow games for after sunset – like a ninja fight with glow-in-the-dark swords (this set includes ten so the whole group can play, and the hits don’t hurt which means fewer sibling disputes!). If you’d rather DIY it, there are tons of free glow-in-the-dark game ideas here.
Outdoor Camping Activities for Teens (Skill + Adventure)
These camping activities for teens build real outdoor skills while keeping things interesting. Great for teens who love independence and learning how things work.
11. Go Geocaching
Yes, it uses a phone – but geocaching is 100% worth it! Geocaching is the process of searching for hidden containers called “geocaches” using their coordinates in the app. It feels like a giant real-world treasure hunt – just be sure to leave something small behind when you find one. This is especially great for summer camping when you’re exploring new areas.
12. Learn About Local Geology (Rock Hunt)
Rocks look the same until you know how to identify them – then suddenly the whole landscape gets interesting. Pick up a local geology guide and challenge teens to find the most rocks identified, the rarest rock, or the most interesting specimen. To make it even more exciting, bring a rock tumbler home to polish their finds!
13. Learn to Navigate Using Nature
This nature navigation book is one of my favorites for teens because once they can connect with and understand the world around them, they get genuinely excited to keep learning. You don’t need any equipment to get started – just the book and a willingness to look around!
14. Brush Up on Wilderness Survival Skills
If you have a teen who loves Bear Grylls, independence, or just the outdoors in general, a wilderness survival book is perfect for them. We love trying one or two new things from our survival book each trip – shelter building, fire starting, finding water. It keeps skills sharp and gives teens a genuine sense of accomplishment.
15. Learn to Whittle Wood
Whittling is one of those camping activities for teens that sounds old-fashioned until they try it – then they’re hooked. My son loves it, my 14-year-old nephew loved it, and it’s an inexpensive hobby with free materials everywhere you go. This whittling book written specifically for kids and teens covers techniques and safety. A good Swiss army knife works perfectly to start.
16. Go Foraging
Finding something in nature, prepping it, and eating it yourself feels genuinely cool at any age. A general foraging guide works well, but a local area-specific guide (usually available at the visitor center) is even better. Even just identifying plants without eating them builds real knowledge teens are proud of.
17. Set Up a Slackline
A slackline between two trees is endlessly entertaining for teens – the challenge of balancing, the competition over who can go the furthest, the satisfaction of finally making it across. For younger kids in the group, keep the line low and add a secondary guideline a few feet above for support.
18. Have Teens Prep and Cook a Meal
Teens secretly like responsibility when it’s framed as a challenge rather than a chore. Assign a meal – even something simple – and let them handle it from planning to cleanup. My nephew once caught fish and had the seasonings, lemon, and foil all ready to cook them on the fire entirely on his own. It was delicious and he was incredibly proud.
19. Choose a Campground With Activities They’ll Actually Like
Fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, climbing walls – tons of campgrounds have access to activities teens genuinely want to do. The key move: let your teen research potential campgrounds ahead of time and contribute to the decision. They’re way more invested in a trip they helped plan. And if they complain of boredom later, you can remind them they picked it! (Teens will change you in ways you never expected.)
Creative Camping Activities for Teens
20. Paint Glow-in-the-Dark Rocks
Finding the perfect rock shape, thinking of a design, and making something that glows in the dark is genuinely fun for teens – even if they’d never admit it upfront! I love this glow rock painting kit because everything you need is included. Paint inspiring messages and hide them for the next campers to find – it’s a little tradition that really lands.
21. Learn to Make Paracord Bracelets
Paracord bracelets look cool AND actually come in handy around the campsite – real survival cord in a wearable form. These glow-in-the-dark paracord bracelet kits are perfect for teens who aren’t super into rock painting. Use this video as a guide for the basic knot patterns.
22. Get Creative With a Camping Journal
Journaling is a great way to practice storytelling, keep memories, and get creative without a screen. Keep some teen camping journals at the picnic table – they include prompts that encourage even the most “one-word answer” teens to expand on their experience. You’ll be surprised what comes out of them!
23. Build a LEGO Camp
LEGO is genuinely for all ages – as a 30-something, I still love it! It’s creative, challenging, and a single box can be used in so many ways. This “Camp Bricks” LEGO camping challenge is sure to get everyone at the table involved.
Chill Camping Activities for Teens (Solo + Downtime)
Teens need downtime – more than most parents expect. These camping activities for teens honor that need for independence and quiet without isolating them from the group entirely.
24. Bring a Hammock (or Three)
A hammock is one of the best investments for camping with teenagers. Not only is it a great place to relax, read, or just decompress, but teens genuinely value having a bit of their own space at camp. I made the mistake of only bringing one hammock once – five people wanted it. Bring one per teen if you can!
25. Bring a Friend (and an Extra Tent)
If your teen is in the “everything about my parents is uncool” stage, bringing a friend can completely transform the trip. Most teens naturally participate more – in hikes, games, storytelling, and campfire activities – when they have a friend along. Give them their own tent (and have them set it up themselves!) for independence and confidence building. Check out these tips co-written by a teen for more on getting teenagers to enjoy camping.
Summer Camping Activities for Teens
Summer camping brings extra opportunities – longer days, water access, and more time to really settle into camp life. Here are a few camping activities specifically great for summer trips with teens:
- Water gun battles – especially epic if you’re camping near a lake or river. Different snow textures in winter become different water pressures in summer!
- Night hikes – summer nights are warm enough to make stargazing hikes genuinely magical. Bring headlamps and a star map app.
- Kayaking or canoeing challenges – race each other, set up obstacle courses, or just explore. Teens who are resistant to “nature walks” often love water activities.
- Sunrise challenge – dare them to wake up for sunrise. Most teens who actually do it end up genuinely moved by it – it becomes a favorite memory.
- Campfire cooking competition – give each teen or team the same ingredients and see who can make the best camp meal. Great for summer evenings with long daylight hours.
- Geocaching trail – use the longer summer days to chain together multiple geocache finds in one outing, turning it into a full day adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best camping activities for teens?
The best camping activities for teens are ones that feel like their idea rather than something being forced on them. Competitive games like campfire challenges and scavenger hunts, tech-friendly activities like geocaching and selfie hunts, and skill-building activities like whittling and foraging all tend to land well. The key is variety – different teens engage differently, so having 5-6 options available beats trying to commit everyone to one activity.
How do you keep teenagers entertained while camping?
Meet them where they are – if they love their phones, start with geocaching or a selfie scavenger hunt. If they love competition, set up campfire challenges or RC car courses. If they need alone time, make sure there’s a hammock and some space. Once teens are genuinely having fun, they naturally engage more with the outdoors and put the screens down on their own.
What camping games do teens actually enjoy?
From experience, the camping games teens enjoy most are ones that involve some competition or creativity – selfie scavenger hunts, emoji hunts, campfire challenges, the meme card game, glow-in-the-dark sword fights, and riddle treasure hunts consistently get the best reactions. The printable scavenger hunts at the bottom of this post are the most requested items I share with camping families.
How do you get a reluctant teenager to enjoy camping?
Let them help choose the campground, bring a friend if possible, don’t ban phones entirely from the start, and lead with activities that bridge their home life and camp life. Geocaching, selfie scavenger hunts, and competitive games are great starting points. Once they’re having fun and feeling comfortable, they’ll naturally start engaging more with the outdoor experience on their own terms.
Get Your Free Teen Camping Printables!
The selfie scavenger hunt and emoji scavenger hunt are the most popular camping activities for teens that I share – and they’re completely free! Sign up below to get instant access to both plus my full resource library of camping printables.
Don’t want to sign up? I also have a super colorful premium version on Etsy that includes everything plus bonus content!
More camping with kids resources
- 37 Best Camping Games for Kids – Active, No-Prep + Campfire Ideas
- Camping Scavenger Hunt Riddles (Free Printable PDF)
- 51 Camping Crafts for Kids of All Ages
- The Ultimate Guide to Camping With Toddlers
- Free Printable Camping Charades
Campsite activities are the heart of outdoor adventures, offering a range of experiences for nature enthusiasts of all ages.