70 Motivational Camping Quotes to Get You Outdoors

By Max Cordova

Writer, Teacher and Inspirational quote curator

Published April 27, 2022

These camping quotes will inspire you to plan your next trip as soon as possible.

Nowadays, everyone we know is running around chasing the next big thing.

Whether we are trying to get the next big promotion or buying things we don’t need, all of this can be a distraction from what’s important.

What are the benefits of going camping?

To get away from the fast-paced life , many people — if they can — take the time to plan a camping trip.

Away from technology and the hustle and bustle of daily life, going back to the outdoors can set us right again.

Not to mention, it’s fun!

Camping is an opportunity to enjoy the company of one another; to tell stories beside a campfire, sing songs, play games, and just be present.

Being outside and camping is one of the best things anyone can do to improve one’s health or just slow things down.

And, if you’ve never been camping or haven’t been in a while, these camping quotes will be sure to inspire you to plan your next trip as soon as possible.

Don’t forget to also read these climate change quotes to inspire you to take action.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.

Camping quotes about health

1. “The wilderness and the idea of wilderness is one of the permanent homes of the human spirit.” ― Joseph Wood Krutch

You will also enjoy our article on Jerry Maguire quotes.

2. “Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul.”― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Into the Wild Quotes to inspire you.

3. “If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.” ― Bill Watterson

You will also enjoy our article on forest quotes.

4. “To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” ― Terry Tempest Williams

5. Wilderness is not a luxury but necessity of the human spirit.” ― Edward Abbey

6. “Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” ― Walt Whitman

7. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.” ― John Muir

8. “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my sense put in order.” ― John Burroughs

9. “Going into the wood is going home.” ― John Muir

10. I don’t need a therapist. I go camping often.” ― Unknown

11. “There’s no wi-fi in the mountain but you’ll find a better connection.” ― Unknown

12. “Don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.” – Chris McCandless

13. “In a cool solitude of trees, where leaves and birds a music spin, mind that was weary is at ease, new rhythms in the soul begin.” ― William Kean Seymour

You will also enjoy our article on summer camp quotes.

Camping quotes on slowing down

14. “Money Can’t Buy Happiness, But It Can Buy a Camper, Which Is Kind of the Same Thing.” ― Patrick Wilde

15. “The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

16. “The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

17. “Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach of us more than we can ever learn from books.” ― John Lubbock

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of nature quotes about reconnecting with mother earth.

Camping quotes about nature

18. “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

19. “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” ― Albert Einstein

20. “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” ― William Shakespeare

21. “The earth laughs in flowers.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

22. “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” ― Henry David Thoreau

23. “The wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned to ask.” ― Nancy Newhall

24. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep…” ― Robert Frost

25. “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” ― Alice Walker

26. “A grove of giant redwood or sequoias should be kept just as we keep a great and beautiful cathedral.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

27. “We can never have enough of nature.” ― Henry David Thoreau

28. “Nature has been for me, for as long as I remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion.” ― Lorraine Anderson

Camping quotes to inspire your next trip

29. “A bad day camping is still better than a good day working.” ― Unknown

30. “I go camping with my boyfriend having nothing other than ourselves and the birds to talk with is most relaxing.” ― Jamie Luner

31. “Camping is the answer who cares what the question is.”― Unknown

32. “A perfect day would be to get into the car, drive out to Yosemite and go camping.” ― Michael Steger

33. “What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb into riotous gladness!” ― Helen Keller

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of Earth Day quotes that inspire an eco-friendly lifestyle.

34. Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization.” ― Charles Lindbergh

35. “A great many people, and more all the time, live their entire lives without ever once sleeping out under the stars.” ― Alan S. Kesselheim

36. “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

37. “If you can survive camping with someone, you should marry them on the way home.” ― Yvonne Prinz

38. “The outside is the only place we can truly be inside the world.” ― Daniel J. Rice

39. “Without the intense touch of nature, you can never fully freshen yourself! Go for a camping and there both your weary mind and your exhausted body will rise like a morning sun!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

40. “Light a campfire and everyone’s a storyteller.” ― John Geddes

You might also like these motivational hunting quotes that will make you want to head outdoors.

Other motivational camping quotes

41. “Sleep under a blanket of stars, and your heart will forever be kept warm by your love of life.” ― Anthony T. Hincks

42. “The stars were better company anyway. They were very beautiful, and they almost never snored.” ― David Eddings

43. “I just want to live in a world of mountains, coffee, campfires, cabins, and golden trees, and run around with a camera and notebook, learning the inner workings of everything real.” ― Victoria Erickson

44. “Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.” ― George Carlin

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of George Carlin quotes from the iconic comedian.

45. “The rite of passage of learning to build a fire that will burn all night with one match is not an insignificant one in my husband’s family, and I grew up camping and backpacking. I love to camp.” ― Sarah Wayne Callies

46. “The ultimate camping trip was the Lewis and Clark expedition.” ― Dave Barry

47. “I went camping in the Maasai Mara and we moved site every night. I had no idea how spectacular it would be, how removed from ordinary life, or how many animals we would see.” ― Georgina Chapman

48. “Leave the road, take the trails.” ― Pythagoras

49. “Camping: The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet.” ― Unknown

50. “Another thing I like to do is sit back and take in nature. To look at the birds, listen to their singing, go hiking, camping and jogging and running, walking along the beach, playing games and sometimes being alone with the great outdoors. It’s very special to me.” ― Larry Wilcox

Don’t forget to also read these John Muir quotes about the mountains.

More camping quotes

51. “You don’t have to say everything to be a light. Sometimes a fire built on a hill will bring interested people to your campfire.” – Shannon L. Alder

52. “My dreams are tangled in images of stars and clouds and firelight – we go camping at night – it’s my lucid dream of being with you.” – John Geddes

53. “Some of us are drawn to mountains the way the moon draws the tide. Both the great forests and the mountains live in my bones. They have taught me, humbled me, purified me and changed me.” – Joan Halifax

54. “Be healthy by being outdoors in the natural daylight with nature!” – Steven Magee

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of outdoor quotes for adventurous nature lovers.

55. “We both loved the birds and animals and plants. We both felt far happier out of doors. I felt a peace in nature that I could never find in the human world, as you know.” – Tracy Rees

56. “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” – John Muir

57. “I walked slowly to enjoy this freedom, and when I came out of the mountains, I saw the sky over the prairie, and I thought that if heaven was real, I hoped it was a place I never had to go, for this earth was greater than any paradise.” – Daniel J. Rice

58. “Looking out over the lake, I felt enveloped in the most peaceful, loving utopia.” – Laurie Kahn

59. “If you have not touched the rocky wall of a canyon. If you have not heard a rushing river pound over cobblestones. If you have not seen a native trout rise in a crystalline pool beneath a shattering riffle, or a golden eagle spread its wings and cover you in shadow. If you have not seen the tree line recede to the top of a bare crested mountain. If you have not looked into a pair of wild eyes and seen your own reflection. Please, for the good of your soul, travel west.” – Daniel J. Rice

60. “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” – Gary Snyder

Camping quotes for when you’re missing the outdoors

61. “The fire is the main comfort of camp, whether in summer or winter.” ― Henry David Thoreau

62. “Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing every year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared.” ― Jack Handey

63. “It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.” ― Dave Barry

64. “The camp is the space that is opened when the state of exception begins to become the rule.” ― Giorgio Agamben

65. “The glories of a mountain campfire are far greater than may be guessed.” ― John Muir

66. “I like to be outdoors as much as possible.” ― Sean McVay

67. My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.” ― Claude Monet

68. “The mountains are calling and I must go.” ― John Muir

69. “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” ― John Muir

70. “Wherever you camp in the world, the campfire will be one of the things that sticks in your memory the most!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

Which of these camping quotes is your favorite?

Camping is a wonderful activity that’s great for anyone.

Whether you go by yourself or in a group, it’s always a special time when you can get back into nature.

If you’re living a fast-paced life or looking to get a break from technology, going camping is the way to go!

The thing is, camping is not always for everyone.

Some people need more of a push to get outdoors than others.

But, hike that mountain, trek those trails, and sleep under those stars.

Life is great when you’re in nature and these motivational camping quotes are a sign of that.