Camping Crossword Puzzle Printables Free

Print a criss-cross camping crossword of gear, campfire, trail and night-sky words, with a word bank and an answer key.

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Camping Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Word bank

  • Blanket
  • Boots
  • Campfire
  • Compass
  • Lantern
  • Pot
  • Sleeping bag
  • Smoke
  • Story
  • Sunset
  • Tent
  • Trail

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Answer key: Camping Crossword

1LA2P3BNOO4C5TENTO6SMOKETMR7C8SLEEPINGBAGAM9SUNSETPTSFO10TRAILRRY11BLANKET

Across 5 TENT · 6 SMOKE · 8 SLEEPINGBAG · 9 SUNSET · 10 TRAIL · 11 BLANKET

Down 1 LANTERN · 2 POT · 3 BOOTS · 4 COMPASS · 7 CAMPFIRE · 9 STORY

Next step Print the forest crosswordFind camping words in a word search

All 163 clues

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Camping Gear 32

  • Backpack Bag held by straps and worn on the back
  • Binoculars Hand-held lenses and prisms that make far things easier to see
  • Blanket Big wool wrap for a cold night
  • Canteen Flask a camper carries water in
  • Carabiner Metal link with a gate that opens and closes
  • Compass Device that tells north from south
  • Cooler Ice-packed bin that keeps beverages chilled
  • Cot Simple bed that is easy to carry and set up
  • Flashlight Carry-around electric beam
  • Grill Cooking device that holds food above the heat
  • Hammock Bed of cloth or cord hung up by its two ends
  • Hatchet Small, light axe with a short handle
  • Headlamp Beam worn above the eyes instead of carried
  • Kettle Lidded metal vessel that heats a liquid to bubbling
  • Lantern Its clear case keeps a light safe
  • Mallet Striking tool with an oversized head that is not iron
  • Map Picture of the land on a sheet, with each place marked
  • Mug Large cup for drinks; it needs no saucer
  • Pillow A sleeper's head sinks into it
  • Pole Long thin rod of wood or metal
  • Poncho Simple rain garment with a slit in the middle for the head
  • Pot Flat-bottomed thing to cook in
  • Rope Thick line of strands twisted together
  • Skillet Large, heavy pan for frying
  • Sleeping bag Padded sack that keeps a camper warm all night
  • Spork Spoon whose bowl ends in short tines
  • Stake Pointed piece of wood or metal driven into the ground
  • Stove Small cooker for heating food
  • Tarp Sheet strung up for cover; short for tarpaulin
  • Tent Cloth house that folds up to carry
  • Tongs Hinged tool for picking things up without touching them
  • Whistle Small device blown to make a loud, high sound

Around the Campfire 30

  • Ash What is left when a fire has burned out
  • Bonfire Great celebration fire, also used as a signal
  • Campfire Outdoor fire that warms a camp and cooks supper
  • Charcoal Black fuel made from wood
  • Coals Glowing or charred lumps of wood in a fire
  • Cocoa Steaming cup of sweet, milky chocolate
  • Crackle Run of small popping, cracking sounds
  • Ember Piece of wood glowing with heat
  • Firewood Fuel from trees, kept for burning
  • Flame The visible part of a fire, giving light and heat
  • Flint Hard quartz stone used to strike a fire
  • Ghost Spirit in a scary tale
  • Guitar Fretted instrument plucked with fingers or a pick
  • Harmonica Wind instrument with a row of holes to blow into
  • Hot dog Wiener tucked into bread with mustard or ketchup
  • Kindling Twigs and little bits of wood that get things burning
  • Log What is left of a dead tree once its limbs are gone
  • Marshmallow Soft sweet of sugar and gelatin, often browned over a fire
  • Match Small wooden strip treated to catch fire when struck
  • Popcorn Maize that puffs up into a snack over dry heat
  • Roast Cook over a fire
  • Skewer Spike of metal or wood that secures food during cooking
  • Smoke What you see rising while wood burns
  • S'more Snack of graham crackers and chocolate; its name means 'some more'
  • Song Music with words for singing
  • Spark Burning speck that leaps out
  • Stick Small, thin branch from a tree or bush
  • Story Something told, true or not
  • Tinder Dry, fine material that helps light a fire
  • Toast Brown lightly by holding near a fire

On the Trail 34

  • Blaze Mark made on a tree by chipping off a piece of bark
  • Boots Heavy shoes that come up over the ankle
  • Boulder Large mass of stone lying apart from the land around it
  • Cairn Pile of stones heaped up as a marker for travelers
  • Canyon Rock-walled channel carved by a river
  • Creek Running water smaller than a river
  • Footbridge Bridge for people on foot
  • Ford Shallow place with good footing for crossing moving water
  • Fork Point where a river or a road splits in two
  • Gorge Deep, narrow passage with steep, rocky sides
  • Hike A big outing on foot, done for fun
  • Hill Bump of land, not as big as a mountain
  • Landmark Something you can recognize from far off and steer by
  • Ledge Level strip projecting from a rock face
  • Marsh Low, wet land, often with tall grass
  • Meadow Grassy piece of open pasture
  • Mile 1,760 yards
  • Overlook Point that gives a view down over the land below
  • Pass Way through a barrier of mountains
  • Path Way worn by people on foot
  • Peak Top of a mountain that ends in a point
  • Portage Carrying a boat overland between two waterways
  • Ravine Deep, narrow cut in the earth worn by running water
  • Ridge A chain of mountains
  • Signpost Post with a sign that gives directions
  • Slope Tilted stretch of land
  • Summit Topmost spot, where the climb ends
  • Switchback Sharp bend where a mountain road nearly doubles back
  • Tracks Marks left by feet that have gone by
  • Trail Rough way for hikers and riders
  • Trailhead The point where a marked way begins
  • Trek Slow or difficult journey
  • Valley Trough between two heights where a river often runs
  • Waterfall Stream's plunge off a rocky height

At the Campsite 33

  • Backcountry Countryside so far off that it is difficult to get to
  • Bugle Valveless brass instrument
  • Bunk Bed with another bed above or below it
  • Cabin Small plain house of the frontier
  • Campground Whole area where many shelters are set up
  • Campsite Patch of ground where campers stay overnight
  • Canoe Slender craft with no top and a point at each end
  • Clearing Open space with no trees in a forest
  • Clothesline Outdoor string for hanging the washing
  • Cookout Barbecue party in the open air
  • Counselor Supervisor who looks after children at summer camp
  • Dock Landing where a vessel is made fast
  • Flagpole Tall staff where the colors are raised
  • Jamboree Large rally of scouts
  • Kayak Decked-over craft powered by whoever sits in it
  • Lake Big water shut in by land
  • Lean-to Rough shelter with a single slanting roof
  • Outhouse Outbuilding with a toilet in it
  • Paddle Blade on a shaft that drives a small craft
  • Park Land kept for nature or for fun
  • Pavilion Light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • Picnic Outdoor gathering where everyone brings food to eat
  • Pitch To set up a shelter for the night
  • Raft Flat-bottomed craft that floats and drifts
  • Ranger Keeper who ranges over wild land to protect it
  • Reveille Early morning signal that wakes everyone up
  • Rowboat Little undecked craft that needs a rower
  • Shade Cool, darker place where sunlight is blocked
  • Spigot A water tap
  • Swim Travel in water by your own strokes
  • Tipi Cone-shaped dwelling of the Plains peoples of North America
  • Wilderness Unsettled land in its natural state, home to wild animals
  • Yurt Round home with upright walls and a cone roof, from Central Asia

Wildlife and Night Sky 34

  • Bat Small flying mammal of the night
  • Beaver Semiaquatic gnawer with long front teeth and brown fur
  • Chipmunk Small striped rodent of North America
  • Chirp Brief, high noise from a bird or a bug
  • Constellation Sky picture, such as Orion the hunter
  • Coyote North American canine, Canis latrans
  • Cricket Insect that makes its sound by rubbing its wing casings
  • Dawn Morning twilight, just before the sun comes up
  • Deer Hoofed animal, often with antlers
  • Dew Moisture that settles on plants in the morning or evening
  • Dipper Big ___: seven bright points that form a bowl and a handle
  • Dusk Time after the sun has set, while the sky still holds some light
  • Firefly Glowing insect also called a lightning bug
  • Fog Cloud lying low over the land
  • Frog Small hopper with no tail
  • Hoot A night bird's cry
  • Howl Drawn-out, sad call of a canine
  • Katydid Insect named for the sound it makes
  • Loon Bird that dives for fish and has a yodeling cry
  • Meteor Shooting light caused by matter entering the atmosphere
  • Moon It goes around the Earth
  • Moose Tallest and heaviest of the antlered animals; the male has broad, flat antlers
  • Mosquito Little flier of which only the females bite
  • Moth Night flier told from a butterfly by its feathery antennae
  • Nightfall The close of the day
  • Owl Bird of prey that is awake when the sun is down
  • Polaris Bright point that stays almost exactly above the north end of the Earth
  • Porcupine Spiny rodent that raises its coat when surprised
  • Raccoon Masked mammal of the Americas with a striped tail, active after dark
  • Skunk Glossy black mammal with white marks and musk glands
  • Star Small bright dot in the night sky
  • Sunrise Time when the sun appears in the east
  • Sunset Moment when the sun disappears in the west
  • Thunder Rumbling crash set off by a bolt from the clouds

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site in five sets: camping gear, around the campfire, on the trail, at the campsite, and wildlife and the night sky. Every meaning was checked in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org), and six clues also follow English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0). Clues say what a thing is and give no camping, fire or wildlife safety advice. No brand is an answer. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

These camping crossword puzzle printables fit Letter or A4. The first puzzle has 12 easy words, among them Tent, Lantern, Compass, Trail, Campfire and Sleeping bag.

Read the full guide

Five sets, from the pack to the stars

Camping Gear has Carabiner, Poncho and Skillet. Around the Campfire has Kindling, Ember and S'more. On the Trail has Switchback, Cairn and Trailhead. At the Campsite has Lean-to, Yurt and Reveille. Wildlife and Night Sky has Loon, Katydid and Polaris.

Matched to the camping word search

Half of these answers are also hidden in the camping word search, so a class or a troop can find a word on one sheet and meet its meaning on the other.

  • For a campout, print On the Trail before the hike and Wildlife and Night Sky for after dark.

Questions and answers

Are the camping crossword puzzles free to print with an answer key?

Yes. Every puzzle prints free with its word bank, and the answer key comes last, on a sheet of its own. No account is needed.

What age is the camping crossword for?

Easy Camping Words suits grades 2 to 4, with answers such as Tent, Cot, Owl and Moon. The five themed sets suit grades 4 to 7, scouts and summer campers. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

What is in a s'more?

Graham crackers, marshmallows, often toasted, and chocolate. The name is a contraction of some more. S'more and Marshmallow are answers in Around the Campfire.

What is another name for the North Star?

Polaris. It lies less than one degree from the north celestial pole, which makes it useful for finding north. Polaris and Dipper are answers in Wildlife and Night Sky.

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