Fun camping activities for groups of grown-ups can include competitions, word games, travel games, and activities that require teamwork. Whether you're on a group camping trip or looking for ways to connect with your new adult neighbors at a campground, adult group activities with a camping theme can make the experience more memorable.
Active Outdoor Camping Activities for Adults
Hiking, rafting, and lawn games are all great group camping ideas for grown-ups, but new and original activity ideas can take your camping trip to the next level. Try out new activities each time your group camps together or start a new tradition for your adults-only annual camping trip. If you're out of ideas, look for ways to add an adult twist to popular summer camp activities.
Creek Races
If you're camping anywhere near a small stream, creek, or crick, you can host some mini water races. Any group of adults will enjoy the excitement and gambling elements similar to attending a live horse race.
- Stick a board into the creek at your start and finish locations.
- Load up on a bunch of rubber duckies, plastic boats, or other kids bath toys.
- Add a number to the bottom of each toy with a permanent marker and give each one a name.
- Write the names and numbers on a large board.
- Players bet a quarter and choose their racing toy.
- Toss all the toys in the water at the same time and cheer on your racer.
- The toy that crosses the finish line first wins their owner all the quarters bet at the start of the race.
Outdoor Survival Challenge
The only pre-planning you need for this activity is to buy a copy of any outdoor survival guide. You'll put your group teamwork skills to the test as you try out different survival techniques together.
- Randomly choose a page number to start on.
- Read whatever is on that page in your outdoor survival challenge.
- Work as a group using the information you just read to demonstrate the survival skill mentioned. For example, if you read about building a shelter, you'd work together to actually build one.
Adult Treasure Hunt
While you might not be searching for lost pirate gold, geocaching and letterboxing are like real-life treasure hunts for adults. You'll need to check out the website for the type of hunt you want to go on. There you should find information about any hiding spots near your campsite. You'll have to use GPS or clues to find the location of the hidden box. This gets everyone outside, active, and working together to find the right way.
Camp Prank Wars
If your group is made up of couples, a simple summer camp prank war can be really fun because it feels nostalgic. Each couple must come prepared with the materials to prank each other couple.
- Pull your prank on each couple sometime before the last day of the trip.
- On the last day of the trip, each couple guesses who they think pulled each prank on them.
- Each couple gets one point for a correct guess or one point if they weren't identified for a prank.
- The couple with the most points wins.
Camping Gear Scavenger Hunt
You'll be running all over your campsite in search of specific objects in this fun group scavenger hunt game. Unlike other scavenger hunts where there's only one winner, this game requires participation from all the group to win.
- Write each person's name on a piece of paper and put them in a bowl or cup.
- Write random supplies or items, which don't have to be camping related, on individual slips of paper and put them in a different cup.
- Each person takes a turn drawing a name and one camping item.
- If your name is drawn, you have one minute to scour the campsite for the item that was drawn.
- Keep playing until each person has found at least one item.
Fireside Camping Activities for Adults
If you love campfire stories or want some relaxed activities, look for things you can do as a group while sitting around your campfire. Everything from word games to food activities and camping games for kids turned into adult drinking can include the entire group.
Stick-tionary Game
If you love board games, you'll love playing this twist on the classic board game Pictionary. Instead of drawing the items on the Pictionary cards, you'll have to create your image out of sticks you find around camp. If you don't have a Pictionary game to use, you can write down categories and items on pieces of paper and keep track of points on a notepad. Turn it into a camping drinking game by requiring each stick artist to drink if their image isn't guessed correctly.
Partner Fire Building Challenge
There are at least four different types of campfires, each with a unique shape. In this challenge activity you'll need to split the group into teams of two. You'll have fun competing against each other, learn new camping skills, and have an awesome fire to gather around at the end.
- Write each type of campfire on a piece of paper: teepee, log cabin, trench, and star.
- Draw one type of campfire from a cup and set a timer for five or ten minutes.
- Each pair must build that type of fire and get it going in the allotted time.
- If a pair doesn't successfully build their fire, they are out of the game.
- Each round requires the team to knock down their last build and start the new build in the same spot.
Eat What You Find Dinner
Enjoy a foraged group meal when you work together to find the elements of your dinner in your surroundings. This could include fishing, hunting, or gathering. Each person must contribute at least one food before the meal can be served. Groups of outdoorsmen or seasoned campers will enjoy the bounty of the land.
Finish the Camp Song Lyrics Drinking Game
You don't really need to prepare much for this simple campfire drinking game, just make sure everyone has a full drink at the ready. Groups where one or more campers have brought instruments will especially enjoy this musical game.
- Take turns going around the group as you sit around the campfire.
- On a turn, you sing part of a classic camping song or song that features camping/outdoor lyrics. As you sing, stop mid-lyric.
- If anyone can properly finish the lyric you left off on, you drink.
- If no one can properly finish the lyric, they all drink after you share the end of the lyric.
Progressive Camping Dinner
Work as a group to show off your individual campsites in a progressive camping dinner. Each separate tent, RV, or cabin owner provides one part of a meal for the entire group such as an appetizer, main course, dessert, and after-dinner drinks. Make the activity more fun by adding a theme everyone uses to decorate their campsite. The group works their way from one campsite to the next until everyone ends up at the last one together.
Communal Camping at its Best
Whether you love tent camping, RVing, or sleeping under the stars in the middle of the woods, group camping activities for adults capitalize on comaraderie. Turn your next camping trip into memories that will last a lifetime by including some fun new activities you'll do together.
