About this puzzle
This list reads like a good packing checklist with a few lessons mixed in. You'll find the gear (tent, tarp, lantern, sleeping bag, hiking boots), the campfire basics of kindling, firewood, and a hatchet, and the evening rewards of marshmallows and stargazing. We also included Bear Canister and Leave No Trace, two phrases every new camper should know before heading into the backcountry.
Scout troops and summer camps use it as a rainy-day tent activity, and it's a nice way to get kids excited in the days before a family trip. Print a copy for the car, or keep it on a phone for when the drizzle won't quit. The notes explain each word, so you might pick up a camping tip or two along the way.
The 32 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Backpack
- A bag worn on both shoulders. Backpacking means carrying everything you need, including your tent and food, on your back to camp far from any road.
- Campfire
- Always build campfires in an existing fire ring where allowed, keep water nearby, and drown the ashes until they are cool to the touch before leaving.
- Canoe
- A narrow, open boat paddled with single-bladed paddles. Indigenous peoples of North America built canoes from birch bark stretched over wooden frames.
- Compass
- A magnetic compass needle points toward magnetic north, which is not quite the same as true north. Map readers adjust for the difference, called declination.
- Cooler
- An insulated box that keeps food cold with ice. Keeping it in the shade and opening it less often makes the ice last longer.
- Fishing
- Many campgrounds sit beside lakes and rivers where families can fish. In most states adults need a fishing license, while young kids can often fish without one.
- Flashlight
- A handheld electric light. Many campers prefer a headlamp, which leaves both hands free for cooking or setting up a tent in the dark.
- Forest
- Many campgrounds in the United States are in national forests, which are cared for by the US Forest Service, an agency founded in 1905.
- Hike
- A long walk on a trail, often through woods or up a hill. Bring water, snacks, and extra layers, and let someone know where you are going.
- Lantern
- Camp lanterns light up a whole picnic table or tent. Older models burned fuel like propane, while most new ones use rechargeable LEDs.
- Map
- Trail maps show paths, campsites, and water. Topographic maps use curvy contour lines to show hills and valleys, so hikers can tell how steep a trail will be.
- Tent
- A portable shelter of fabric held up by poles and staked to the ground. Most modern backpacking tents use lightweight nylon or polyester with aluminum poles.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Bug Spray
- Insect repellent keeps mosquitoes and ticks away. DEET and picaridin are two of the most widely used and studied active ingredients.
- Campsite
- The spot where you set up camp. Many campgrounds number their campsites and give each one a fire ring, a picnic table, and a flat place for a tent.
- Hammock
- A hanging bed of fabric or netting. Native peoples of the Caribbean and Central and South America slept in hammocks long before European explorers arrived.
- Hiking Boots
- Sturdy boots with grippy soles and ankle support. Breaking them in before a trip helps prevent blisters on the trail.
- Marshmallow
- Marshmallows were originally made with sap from the root of the marsh mallow plant. Modern versions use sugar, water, and gelatin whipped full of air.
- Raccoon
- Raccoons are clever nighttime visitors with masked faces and nimble front paws that can open coolers and bags, so campers should store food securely.
- Ranger
- Park rangers protect natural areas, help visitors, and teach about wildlife and history. Many lead free evening campfire programs.
- Sleeping Bag
- Sleeping bags carry temperature ratings. A sleeping pad underneath matters just as much, because the cold ground pulls heat away from your body.
Added in Hard (12)
- Bear Canister
- A hard, locking container for food and scented items. Some parks require them because bears that get human food can become dangerous.
- Firewood
- Many parks ask campers to buy firewood locally, because moving wood long distances can spread invasive insects like the emerald ash borer.
- First Aid Kit
- A kit with bandages, tape, and other supplies for treating small cuts, scrapes, and blisters. Every camping trip should have one packed where it is easy to find.
- Hatchet
- A small, short-handled axe used with one hand to split kindling and small logs. It should always be stored with a cover on the blade.
- Headlamp
- A light worn on a strap around the head. Many headlamps have a red light setting, which helps your eyes stay adjusted to the dark and does not dazzle other campers.
- Kindling
- Kindling is small, dry sticks that catch flame from tinder and help light larger logs. A good fire builds from tinder to kindling to fuel wood.
- Leave No Trace
- A set of seven outdoor ethics principles, such as packing out all trash and respecting wildlife, meant to keep wild places wild for the next visitor.
- Mosquito
- Only female mosquitoes bite, because they need protein from blood to make eggs. They are most active around dawn and dusk, especially near still water.
- Stargazing
- Away from city lights, campers can often see the Milky Way. Eyes need about 20 to 30 minutes in the dark to fully adjust.
- Tarp
- A waterproof sheet that can serve as a rain shelter over a picnic table or a ground cloth under a tent.
- Trail Mix
- A snack of nuts, dried fruit, and sometimes seeds or chocolate. It packs a lot of energy into a light bag, which is why hikers like to carry it.
- Trailhead
- The spot where a hiking trail begins, often with a parking area, a map board, and sometimes a sign-in register for hikers.
A few facts to share while you solve
- The earliest known published s'mores recipe appeared in a 1927 Girl Scout guide called Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, under the name Some More.
- Yellowstone, established in 1872, is widely considered the world's first national park.
- On a clear, dark night far from city lights, a person with good eyesight can see a few thousand stars with no telescope at all.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 15 × 15 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 32 | 18 × 18 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard camping word search: all 32 words on a 18 × 18 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print camping word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 11 × 11 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
Is this camping word search good for Scouts?
Yes. Many of the words, like Compass, Kindling, Bear Canister, and Leave No Trace, match skills that Scouts learn, so it works as a warm-up before a meeting or a tent activity on a rainy campout. Leaders can read the notes aloud as a quick review.
What age is the camping puzzle for?
Most kids 7 and up can finish the easy level, where words read forward across or down. Longer phrases like Leave No Trace and Bear Canister appear on the hard level, a better fit for older kids and adults who want diagonal and backward words.
Why is Leave No Trace in a word search?
Leave No Trace is the name of the outdoor ethics most campgrounds and parks teach: plan ahead, pack out trash, keep fires small, and respect wildlife. Putting it in the puzzle gives families an easy way to start that conversation before a trip.
Is there an answer key for this camping word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 32 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
