It’s summer time in the USA. Summer is a great time to get the family into the great outdoors. Go hiking. Go canoeing. Go camping. Go swimming. Have bonfires and hotdog roasts. You name it. Don’t let the summer fly past without making some good memories with your family this year. Here are a few links with ideas of things you can do to make your summer more memorable.

Parks and Campgrounds has links for 10,000 campsites worldwide.

The National Park Service not only provides a way to reserve a campsite at any National Parks in the USA, but also has lots of interesting history and natural history about many of the parks. Be sure to check out the section on Junior Rangers. Your children will love earning pins or badges as they learn more about the parks that you visit.

While you’re camping or hiking, be sure to take time to learn about the nature around you. Take your magnifying glasses and binoculars. And take your favorite field guides. If you don’t own field guides, eNature provides some great online field guides. When you’re done looking through this blog post at Wonder in the Woods, you’ll have too many ideas of fun nature study to do while camping. Whatever you do, don’t forget your water bottle!

If you want to make sure everything you do counts for school, then check out all of the Pathfinder honors you can earn while camping: Camping Skills 1, 2, 3, 4 and Camp Craft.

So it’s time to get out the tent and the sleeping bags and take your kids camping. You’ll make memories that you and your children will cherish for the rest of your lives.