Camping Ideas and Activities for Couples

Published December 3, 2019
Couple camping in the mountains

If you're headed out camping with your spouse or romantic partner, you might be wondering what to do when camping as a couple. Spontaneity is best when it comes to creating a memorable experience together, but having a few romantic camping ideas and camping activities for couples in mind can help keep things fun.

Cute Camping Activities for Couples

Romantic ideas for couples to do while camping include romantic things to do outdoors and things you can enjoy together in a cabin, tent, or RV. Think about the mood you want to create for your camping trip together, then look for activities to help you achieve it. You don't have to plan out every second of every day, but having a few fun ideas in mind keeps things from getting boring.

Create Cozy Accommodations

When you set up your campsite, look for ways to make it feel cozy and keep you close.

  • Opt for the smallest shelter you can bear to stay in and bring a double sleeping bag to share.
  • Set up along the edge of the woods or the water so you don't see other campers when sitting by your fire.
  • Instead of separate camping chairs, look for a double chair so you'll always have to sit close to your partner.

Have a Fireside Picnic

What's more romantic than a private picnic? A private picnic next to a campfire, of course! You can create your own fireside picnic romantic dinner by placing a blanket on the ground next to the fire and dining in the dark. Take your camping picnic to the next level and set up a picnic in the dark while you're on a night hike. Use a small flashlight or dine completely in the dark for a whole new experience.

Host a Private Beer or Wine Tasting for Two

Start your tasting adventure with trips to local wineries, distilleries, or breweries. Pick out a few bottles to try and take them back to your campsite. You can use easy cocktail recipes to craft unique drinks named after your camping trip or simply enjoy the tasting experience in the comfort of your campsite.

couple enjoying camping

Have a Local Ingredients Cooking Challenge

While you're out exploring the area, learn what ingredients are unique to that place. Use traditional camping meals or recipes for meals prepared over campfires as your basis, then challenge your partner to a cooking competition where you each must incorporate one or more local ingredients. Spice up the challenge with a flirty prize for the winner.

Survive Together

Use a show like Naked and Afraid as the inspiration to challenge your survival skills together. Come prepared with a homemade camping survival kit and some tips on how to avoid getting lost. Try building a shelter together that you'll actually sleep in and make every effort to find your own food from your surroundings.

Dance in the Dark

Bring some portable Bluetooth speakers or a campsite radio and slow dance in the dark together. Songs like Ed Sheeran's Perfect were made for this moment. The glow of the campfire, the romantic lyrics, and your partner holding you close make this a must-try couples camping activity.

Go On a Heads or Tails Hike

Create your own outdoor adventure with a heads or tails hike that only works with exactly two people.

  • Start by each choosing either heads or tails.
  • Each person then picks a trail to hike and you flip a coin to see which one wins.
  • Throughout your entire hike, every time there's a decision to be made, flip the coin to make the choice.
Hiking couple

Hit the Hot Springs

Hot tub, hot springs, any way you can get steamed up together is a great way to create a romantic mood. If you can find a private hot spring near your campsite, you'll get to experience a unique natural phenomenon together.

Play Romantic Games

You might not have time to play romantic couples games at home because your kids aren't great at sleeping through the night or your neighbors are a little too nosy. That's why a couples camping trip is the perfect place to try out fun card, dice, or talking games with a romantic tone.

couple playing cribbage at campsite

Take a Night Hike

A night hike can be really romantic if you're an experienced hiker because it engages all of your senses. Your adrenaline might be a little higher than usual as you navigate the wilderness in the dark and you might feel inclined to hold hands and stay close.

Bathe Outdoors Together

Taking a shower or bath together at home is a romantic experience, but doing it in the wild can be even more intimate. You can purchase a simple camping shower to hang from a tree or take a dip in a creek together. Either way, you'll be close with nature and each other.

Set Up a Private Outdoor Movie Theater

If you don't mind bringing along a little technology, you can set up a private movie viewing at your secluded campsite. You can buy cell phones or attachments to project a movie onto a white sheet hanging from a couple of trees. Keep in mind you may not have internet access, so try to have a movie downloaded onto your device ahead of time.

Snuggle in a Hammock

Camping hammocks are easy to set up and fairly inexpensive. Get one that's made to support your combined weight and hang it near your campfire instead of using camping chairs. You can sit or lay together in the hammock to feel connected.

Help Each Other on a Ropes Course

Some campgrounds feature unique activities like a camping ropes course where you travel through the trees on a series of rope ladders, bridges, and ziplines. While it seems like a solitary activity, a ropes course is actually made for two people who can help and encourage each other along.

Special Types of Camping Made for Couples

When you want to make your camping trip all about you and your partner, look for secluded campsites and unique camping locations that feel private and cozy. Camping can be so much more than a tent or cabin and some campfires if you choose special types of camping that include romantic activities.

Go Horse Camping

Romantic movies often feature couples riding horses together on the beach, through open prairies, or in the forest. Book your next camping trip at a horse camping campground where each site typically only holds two horses per campsite. You can bring your own horses and tie them up at your site or you can pay to use horses owned by the campground.

Try Beach Camping

Spend your days scantily clad in swimwear and your nights watching the sunset over the water when you go beach camping. If you can find a private beach to camp on, you'll feel like you're the only two people in the world as you live on the water's edge for a couple of days.

Beach camping

Camp on a Boat

When you really want to be alone, boat camping is the best option. You can sleep on a boat that has a bedroom, like a houseboat or yacht, or you can spend most of the day in your boat and use it as part of your sleeping shelter on land. You'll need to communicate a lot to prepare for this type of trip and work together to make it comfortable and fun. This teamwork vibe paired with private activities and sleeping arrangements make it ideal for couples in need of a getaway.

Get Cozy With Winter Camping

Staying a few nights in winter camping shelters is the ultimate way to get closer to each other. The weather might not be right for the activities you like, so you'll be forced to spend hours close together inside. Romantic fireside chats and the feeling of being completely alone with the person you love make winter camping a truly romantic experience.

Try Naturism Camping

Naturism camping, or nude camping, is not for everyone, but it can be a romantic and memorable experience. There are organized campgrounds for people to camp in the nude, but couples looking to try naturism camping might prefer the privacy of a secluded campsite. You'll feel free to be yourselves and enjoy an unencumbered experience together.

Couples Camping Made Easy

Camping with two people can be really simple and requires little to no planning. Whether you're heading out on a whim or going for a planned romantic getaway, couples camping is a great way to bond with your partner.

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Camping Ideas and Activities for Couples