Camping is spending time outdoors, usually overnight, sleeping in a tent, camper, or under the stars instead of in a house or hotel. When families go camping, they pack up sleeping bags, food, and supplies, then head to a campground, national park, or wilderness area to sleep outside and enjoy nature.

Camping can mean different things to different people. Some campers drive an RV to a campground with bathrooms, electricity, and picnic tables. Others hike miles into the backcountry carrying everything they need on their backs, building fires to cook their food and purifying water from streams. Both are camping, just at different levels of comfort and adventure.

People camp for many reasons: to escape busy city life, to see wildlife and natural beauty, to challenge themselves outdoors, or simply to enjoy time with friends and family away from screens and schedules. A camping trip might involve fishing, hiking, telling stories around a campfire, or watching the stars without city lights blocking the view.

The word can also describe settling somewhere temporarily, like when you're camping out in the living room during a sleepover, or when a hockey player camps out in front of the opponent's goal waiting for a scoring opportunity.