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Fun Camping Activities For Toddlers

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Camping Activities For Toddlers To Help Them Form A Love Of Camping And The Outdoors

When camping with a toddler, it is important to have a variety of camping activities for toddlers planned. Toddlers love to be on the move and are rarely stationary or interested in the same thing for very long, so having a variety of toddler friendly activities to take on your camping trip will help everyone to have a great time camping.

When our preschooler was two years old, we took him camping for the first time. We were a little apprehensive at first, but with a little planning we were able to keep him entertained and happy for the whole trip helping him to form a love of camping and the outdoors.

Below you'll find a list of activities your toddler will love that are easy to do and fun. The good thing about these activities is that our older son enjoyed them too.

Image Credit: Tent Camping Sticker by stick_figures at Zazzle.com

Contents at a Glance

1. Blow Bubbles Together
2. Play With A Tonka Truck
3. Collect Treasures
4. Chase Butterflies
5. Go On A Mini Hike
6. Give Your Toddler A Job
7. Make Trail Mix
8. Watch For Wildlife
9. Play With Balls
10. Play With Kids Flashlights
10. Play With Kids Flashlights
Featured Kids Flashlights
More Featured Kids Flashlights
Sound Off About Todlers And Camping
More Camping Activities For Toddlers
More Fun For Toddlers
What do you think? Any suggestions?
More Articles About Camping

1. Blow Bubbles Together

Blowing bubbles is fun to do when camping!

1. Blow bubbles together - One of my toddler's favorite camping activities is blowing bubbles. He also likes to pop bubbles that I blow. This is a wonderful activity to take camping and because bubbles are inexpensive and compact, it's easy to pack them with the rest of your camping gear. Try to collect a variety of bubble wands and bubble toys to use while camping, and when you return home you'll have them to help entertain your toddler.

Image Credit: Boy Blowing Bubbles by toddlersplace at Zazzle.com

Bubble Blowing Products For Toddlers

2. Play With A Tonka Truck

2. Play with a Tonka Truck - The most important piece of equipment that we took camping, after the tent, was our toddler's Tonka dump truck. I'm sure he pushed it 100 miles during our weekend trip. He hauled leaves, sticks, pine straw, and pine cones. He even tried to haul his 8 year old brother. Speaking of my 8 year old, he amused our toddler further by pushing him in the truck. At one point they were giving each other rides down a small hill at our campsite. I had a blast just watching them.

Dump Truck Poster Print by justconstruction at Zazzle.com

Tonka Trucks For Toddlers

3. Collect Treasures

3. Collect Treasures - Kids of all ages love to collect things, but toddlers make collecting a fine art. My son loves collecting so I took advantage of this little past time and gave him a plastic shoe box for him to collect things in. He collected sticks, leaves, pine straw, acorns... There is an endless supply of collection worthy objects out in nature.

Treasure Chest Booty Bag by KirstenEdwards at Zazzle.com

Toddler Collection Containers

4. Chase Butterflies

4. Chase Butterflies - Chasing Butterflies is a wonderful way for a two year old to pass the time. I could spend a lifetime chasing butterflies with my son.

Butterfly Kid by prawny at Zazzle.com

Butterfly Chasing Gear

5. Go On A Mini Hike

5. Go on a mini hike - Take your toddler on a mini hike. Most toddlers can't go on a "real" hike, but you can find a nature trail and go on a short hike. Actually, you don't even need to be on a trail, a hike though the campsite is fine. As you walk, practice talking. You point to an object and say it's name, then see if your toddler will repeat it. My son said "butterfly" and "flower" for the first time on one of our mini hikes.

Piglet, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh Hiking by disney at Zazzle.com

Mini Hike Products For Toddlers

6. Give Your Toddler A Job

6. Give your toddler a job - Make sure the job you give your toddler is age appropriate. Our toddler gathers pine straw and small sticks for use when starting a fire. (The dump truck comes in handy for this.) He also takes small items to the other parent as asked, "Take this spoon to daddy.". Doing these jobs gives him a sense of accomplishment, keeps him occupied, and teaches him that it is important for everyone to work together. There are tons of little jobs for toddlers to do on a camping trip.

The Fallen Leaves Of Autumn Bag by stick_figures at Zazzle.com

Reward That Baby

7. Make Trail Mix

7. Make Trail Mix - Making trail mix is a great camping activity for toddlers. Use your imagination on what to add to the mixture. Nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips are the traditional ingredients, but the possibilities are endless. Be creative.

Note: Always be aware of what your toddler is able to safely eat. Cheerios, freeze dried snacks from Gerber, and small cookies all make good choices to go in your toddler's trail mix
bag of trail mix by doonidesigns at Zazzle.com

Great Bowls For A Big Batch Of Trail Mix

8. Watch For Wildlife

8. Watch for wildlife -Watching wildlife is a great toddler camping activity. Wildlife is all around us when camping. There are birds, insects, squirrels, and other wildlife to teach your toddler about while camping.

Squirrel by mjsuber Zazzle.com

Binoculars For Your Toddler

9. Play With Balls

9. Play with balls - Toddlers love balls. This is an easy camping activity for toddlers to participate in. Just grab up your toddler's favorite balls and bring them along. It is best if there are a variety of sizes for your toddler to choose from.

FOUR PLAY BALLS by FUNFASHIONETC at Zazzle.com

Great Balls For Toddlers

10. Play With Kids Flashlights

Toddlers Love Flashlights!

!0. Play With Kids Flashlights - Toddlers are perfectly happy to just play with a flashlight, but as they get older you can play flashlight games with them. A favorite of my son is chase the light. Just shine the light on the floor and have your toddler try to step on it. Take turns to encourage independence.

Image Credit: Fisher-Price Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 Rex Light

Featured Kids Flashlights

Your Kids Will Love These!

More Featured Kids Flashlights

Great for camping, or at home.

Sound Off About Todlers And Camping

Are toddlers too young to go camping?

Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

No way, toddlers love camping and can learn a lot.

Kerry Silver says:

No they are not. my daughter enjoyed camping.

Posted November 27, 2011

themeaparty says:

Kids stay indoors too much as it is. They need to get out and explore their natural surroundings early ... within reason, of course. Meeting a bear won't be very good.

Posted November 03, 2011

MIshell says:

No way! We have 2 girls one an indoors type (4yo)and the other an extreme adventure seeker (17months). They both enjoy sleeping in the tent and although the 17month old likes to run, it is easy enough because she cant really go too far

Posted October 13, 2011

JanTUB says:

They love the adventure

Posted September 30, 2011

Grammy says:

As a grandparent who just returned from four days with 2 year old twins, toddlers are not too young to enjoys the outdoors. We have a travel trailer, which afforded us some more amenities than a tent, which was a good thing as we had some rain, and we usually camp in state parks where there are other youngsters, playgrounds, and other family centered activities. While this trip was not as restful for Grammy and Grandpa as our usual trips, it gave us an opportunity to have fun with our youngest grandchildren and share some really great experiences like catching a fish (almost alone).

Posted September 26, 2011

crudeoilsystems says:

Is good for family bonding and as long as you are watchful on them, it should be alright.

Posted September 08, 2011

whoisbid says:

I think they only need some nice adults around and they will be fine

Posted September 03, 2011

sam says:

i am taking my 2 year old camping this week for the first time. i grew up camping...i want to share that experience with my child too.

Posted August 22, 2011

jesica says:

no they can have fun and feel olde and boost their self-eisteem. a suggestion for camping is to sing campfire songs

Posted July 20, 2011

BalanceByDesign says:

No, camping is a wonderful family activity. We started camping when ours were toddlers, not they are grown and have been known to take even their babies camping! You have to adjust WHERE you camp with toddlers, but you certainly should camp.

Posted July 12, 2011

yes, camping is too dangerous and stressful for toddlers.

ana_nimoss says:

Yes, it is the quickest way for parents to have a nervous breakdown.

Posted September 25, 2011

dthonstad says:

Probably not too dangerous for Toddlers, but too stressful for parents. My wife and I love camping, but we haven't felt we could go yet because we have 3 young kids.

Posted July 11, 2011

karyne25 says:

No the earlier you start the better; My boy has been camping since he was 2 months old0 and we all love it

Posted December 18, 2010

Ramkitten says:

I like seeing parents camping with their young'uns. I think it's great to start them early on enjoying the outdoors, instead of constantly sitting in front of a television or needing other types of distractions.

Posted September 09, 2010

Jane says:

better go to a motel

Posted June 27, 2010

susannaduffy says:

Camping with toddlers is far too dangerous and stressful for grandparents - believe me

Posted December 07, 2009

view all 52 comments

More Camping Activities For Toddlers

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More Fun For Toddlers

And more Camping Fun!

What do you think? Any suggestions?

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Reply

JanTUB Sep 30, 2011 @ 9:29 pm | delete

What a great lens full of good tips and suggestions.

Reply

whoisbid Sep 3, 2011 @ 2:04 am | delete

I miss camping. I have not done it for years. I need to do something about it

Reply

BalanceByDesign Jul 12, 2011 @ 9:39 pm | delete

We love to camp with our grandchildren. Another idea is to have an age appropriate scavenger hunt.

Reply

dthonstad Jul 11, 2011 @ 8:53 pm | delete

Thanks for the cool lens!

Reply

JoshK47 Jun 22, 2011 @ 12:27 pm | delete

Great suggestions for keeping the little ones entertained and out of trouble! :)

Reply

signdesign Jun 3, 2011 @ 7:48 pm | delete

Unique and fun ideas here for camping with little ones!

Reply

Senora_M Jun 2, 2011 @ 9:37 pm | delete

We are taking our guys camping in 2 weeks. They are 2 and 1. We'll see how it goes!! Thanks for a great lens!

Reply

DaveHiggsVis May 15, 2011 @ 8:56 pm | delete

Great lens! I love camping, and now that I have a kid, these suggestions will definitely come in handy. Well, in a couple years. Thanks!

Reply

tssfacts May 10, 2011 @ 8:30 am | delete

Great advice. I have many fond memories of camping (from a preteen) up to adulthood. Lensrolling to camping quiz.

Reply

Senora_M Feb 5, 2011 @ 11:21 pm | delete

Still haven't gone camping. Have a 2 and 1 year old! They would love collecting stuff and so many of these other great activities!
**Blessed by the Toddler Neighborhood Squid Angel**
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