Original Camping Poems
These original camping poems are perfect reflections and musings for those moments away from the bustle of everyday life. Sleeping out under pine trees and stars, whether you’re in the backcountry of your favorite national park or just in the backyard, is a happy offering of yourself to nature & adventure. And I think the world would be better off if more people offered themselves to nature & adventure.
Make sure you share these camping poems with your outdoorsy, sleeping-under-stars friends and family.
Leave a comment at the bottom with your favorite poem from the list, will you?
You may also want to check out: Hiking Poems, Mountain Poems, Sunset Poems
All product opinions & recommendations are my own and are never influenced by brands, companies, or individuals. If you shop through links on this page, PineTreePoet.com may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for checking out my recommendations! Here’s my Affiliate Disclosure.
1.
Craftsmanship:
I construct a little canvas house
and sew myself inside a little bag
and maybe I’ve cooked a little dinner
over quite the little fire
but really I shouldn’t brag
2.
Treat your feet
to cold water, rough stones
loved boots, and soft moss.
And don’t forget the soft moss.
3.
I welcomed a little spider
into my tent
he’d been cast out of so many
the creepy guy just needed
a good, long vent
4.
Architecture:
I put my phone away
and build a perfect day
5.
It would be a grave mistake
to go through this life
without sleeping a few times
surrounded by pine trees
and strangers
with their curious stories
6.
I looked in the mirror
and I saw
trees and mountains
all around me
7.
Less concrete
more moss
less plastic
more dirt
less hurry
more sensation
8.
Screens are busy
concrete is rough
step away
you’ll be okay
9.
I’ve learned
to stop taking pictures
and start taking breaths.
10.
Sometimes I want to
set up a tent in my living room
and let a few crickets in
to charm me to sleep.
11.
My sleeping bag
and my socks
then the evening wind
said hello.
12.
I used to bring bear spray
but the bears
then stayed away
13.
I just can’t relate
if you don’t love the color green
with how much of a forest
is that same color
it seems an odd thing
14.
I woke up
with a crink in my neck
but it’s okay
I slept under the stars
on some natural bed
of dirt and down feathers
15.
My boots
resting
my toes
stretching
the sun
setting
16.
So many thousands
of stars and cicadas
so many songs
to play in my dreams
17.
Let your mind wander
the sights, smells, tastes, and touches
of the wild places you love
Sensation is the forest’s perfect gift.
18.
I think I’d be best off
living away
from all the speculations
and opinions and preoccupations
of this cold, concrete society
19.
Blueberry craters clumped
in the sweet banana bread
the rain falls steady
outside my sleeping bag bed
Patter patter
the drops fall down
in the environing softness
moss and bag and bread
I drown
20.
Let your guide be warm fires
and not just the fires you build
with wood
but the fires you ignite
with wonder
21.
Have you lately ventured
somewhere wild
somewhere free
of our rehearsed haste?
Such smiles
such ventures
restore.
22.
Mossy rocks
smiling at the waterfall
my easy friends
23.
Sleeping bag naps
high up trails
scrawled upon ancient stone
24.
My kind of pollution:
laughs and smiles
appreciation and good stories.
That’s pollution
I’d breathe deep.
25.
Where would you go
if there was
nowhere to go?
26.
Be wary of
bears
asking for directions
27.
Yeah
that all sounds nice
but have you ever woke up sweaty
in a tent?
28.
I hate staying up late
and waking up early
unless I’m surrounded
by friends and pine trees
29.
Find me baffled
by Creation’s sweeping brush
its bristles have hardly
scratched the surface
of nature’s immortal rush
30.
I want to go
where every sensation is ancient
and free from plastic and concrete
and hurry and haste
though they might beg relevance
are doomed obsolete
31.
I can’t decide
(when I’m up there in the mountains)
if it’s better to get a good night’s sleep
or stay up all night
staring at the stars
32.
Wool socks
in the bottom of my sleeping bag.
You know what I mean?
33.
There lives in the forest
a child’s spirit
who possesses
every wanderer there
34.
I’ve discovered
more than one talent of mine
sitting in the forest
watching all that talent
35.
I’ve good reason to suspect
the mountains are happiest
when we’re under their pines,
laughing and splashing
staring and crashing [sleeping]
beneath their needly green blinds.
What’s your favorite camping destination?
Did you have a favorite of these camping poems?
Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!
These are all so wonderful! They’re a bit nostalgic and make me look forward to my next outdoorsy mountain trip. They remind me much of my backpacking trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. My favorites are #’s 2, 8, 10, 15 and 20! Thank you for these!
# 17 really pulled on my heart strings remembering camping in Wyoming with my parents.
I love these! All of these poems put me in a different place. I can suddenly feel, see, hear and smell a past outdoor adventure. It makes me want another!
#4, #7, #9, and #25 particularly remind me to not take this life too seriously. What if we had nowhere to go? Wouldn’t that be amazing… then we could really go anywhere! We need to enjoy the present and what is in front of us. Less distraction from the beauty of where we are at.