Best Summer Activities For Boys: Building Skills, Confidence, and Lasting Memories

Summer break stretches ahead with endless possibilities. For boys ages 6–16, how those months get spent can significantly impact their development, confidence, and readiness for the school year ahead. The best summer activities balance fun with genuine skill building, physical challenge with social connection, and freedom with appropriate structure.

Why Summer Activities Matter More Than Ever

Boys today face unique developmental challenges. Screen time averages over 20 hours weekly for those under 13, displacing physical activity and face-to-face interaction. By high school, 40% report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. The right summer activities can counteract these trends by providing what the school year often lacks: unstructured play, physical challenges, and authentic peer connection.

Here’s what I’ve seen after nearly 20 years of working with boys at camp: these kids are being asked to grow up in a world where they can go an entire day without a real face-to-face conversation.

They text, they DM, they game online — but they’re not looking someone in the eye and learning how to navigate a disagreement or ask someone to pass the ball.

Summer is the chance to change that. Research shows that boys who engage in diverse summer activities return to school with better focus, stronger social skills, and improved emotional regulation. The key is choosing activities that genuinely engage them rather than simply filling time.

Outdoor Adventure Activities

Water Sports and Aquatics

Kayaking, canoeing, swimming, and white-water rafting combine physical fitness with genuine thrills. Water activities are particularly valuable because they’re inherently social — most require partners or teams — and they build practical life skills while providing natural temperature regulation during hot months.

One of my favorite stories to tell: we had a camper who tried kayaking for the first time, and fell in love with it. He went home, asked his parents for a kayak for Christmas, got one, kept doing it at home, kept doing it at camp, and eventually became our kayaking instructor when he was old enough.

That’s what the right summer activity can do — it opens a door your kid didn’t even know existed. Not every boy is going to become the next Olympic kayaker, but he might discover a passion that stays with him for life.

Climbing Walls and Ropes Courses

Climbing walls teach problem-solving, build upper body strength, and provide immediate feedback on progress. Unlike team sports where boys might feel overshadowed by more athletic peers, climbing allows each person to work at their own level while still being part of a group. There’s something about standing at the bottom of a wall, figuring out where to put your hands, and pulling yourself up that builds a kind of quiet confidence you can’t get anywhere else.

Ropes courses and zip lines offer similar benefits. The thrill factor is real, and boys learn to manage that racing heart and adrenaline rush in a controlled setting — which actually helps them handle anxiety in everyday life.

Hiking and Trail Adventures

Getting boys out on the trail strips away digital distractions and modern conveniences, teaching them to navigate terrain, carry what they need, and work together. The physical challenge builds endurance while the simplicity creates space for conversations that might never happen at home.

For younger boys (6–10), start with day hikes that include fun destinations like waterfalls or swimming holes. Older teens can handle more challenging trail adventures that provide a genuine sense of accomplishment.

At Camp Highlander, our camp experience offers the thrill of leaping into a cold mountain lake at dawn, the quiet satisfaction of building a fire from scratch, and a whole lot more. It’s a place where boys unplug from screens and plug into something far more powerful: the natural world, a band of brothers, and their own growing confidence.

“Camp Highlander gave him a place to go and truly be himself, with not a worry in the world.” Read more on our Testimonials page.

Contact us today to learn more or give us a call at (828) 891-7721.

Survival and Bushcraft Skills

There’s renewed interest in teaching boys practical outdoor skills that previous generations took for granted. Bushcraft focuses on thriving (not just surviving) in nature through skills like:

• Fire Building: Learning to start fires without matches teaches patience, preparation, and respect for natural forces. It’s harder than it looks and incredibly satisfying when successful.
• Shelter Construction: Building temporary shelters from natural materials requires spatial reasoning and creativity. Boys discover they’re more capable than they realized.
• Navigation: Map reading, compass use, and natural navigation (using sun, stars, and landscape features) develop spatial awareness and confidence in unfamiliar environments.

These skills work best in multi-day camp settings where boys have time to practice repeatedly and see real applications.

Team-Based Sports and Games

Traditional summer sports leagues serve an important role, but be cautious about overcommitting to competitive athletics. Research shows that 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by age 13, often citing pressure and lack of fun.

I’ll be honest — this one gets me fired up. I played college football, and even I think the pressure we put on kids today with year-round travel teams and “don’t miss a single practice” mentality is over the top.

Let them have experiences that make them better people in the long run, not just better at one sport.

The best summer sports experiences emphasize trying new things over perfecting one. Boys should leave the summer better at something than when they arrived — but they should also leave having tried things they never would have touched otherwise. That’s what being well-rounded looks like.

At Camp Highlander, one of our proudest traditions is the Highlander Basketball Association — the HBA. It’s been running for over 30 summers. Every kid, boy or girl, ages 6 to 16, can play. We hold a combine, there’s a draft, coaches pick teams, and then they play. The best part? I’ve watched a six-foot-four basketball player — a kid who could dominate every game — pass the ball to an eight-year-old on the same court.

Nobody told him to do it.

He just recognized that this younger kid deserved his moment too. That’s the kind of thing that happens when you create an environment where it’s not all about winning. Those blinders get pulled back and boys start seeing the bigger picture.

Non-traditional sports often engage boys who feel left out of mainstream athletics. Ultimate frisbee, lacrosse, mountain biking, and similar activities attract kids looking for alternatives to the same old football and basketball routine.

Creative and Maker Activities

Physical activities get most of the attention, but creative pursuits serve essential developmental purposes — especially for boys who don’t identify as athletes.

• Woodworking: Using hand tools to create functional objects appeals to boys’ desire to make things that matter. The focus and precision required develops patience and attention to detail.
• Art and Sculpture: Working with clay, paint, or mixed media allows for emotional expression that boys may struggle to put into words. Group art projects build collaboration without the pressure of competitive sports.
• Music and Performance: Summer is ideal for boys to explore instruments or theater without school-year time pressure. Jam sessions and informal performances build confidence in front of audiences.

Unstructured Free Play

This might be the most important “activity” of all. Boys need time that isn’t scheduled, supervised, or structured by adults. Free play allows them to create their own games and modify rules, negotiate conflicts without adult intervention, take risks they choose rather than risks adults deem appropriate, and follow their curiosity wherever it leads.

The challenge is creating environments where free play can happen safely. Urban neighborhoods often lack safe outdoor spaces, and cultural pressure makes parents nervous about unsupervised children.

This is where residential summer camps shine. With large natural spaces, trained staff providing distant supervision, and a community of peers, camps offer what suburban neighborhoods no longer can: the freedom to roam, explore, and play without constant adult direction. When I started at camp back in 2006, we didn’t even have cell service. There were two phones and one computer on the entire property. And you know what? We hung out, we played games, we told stories, and we built bonds that I still have to this day. That’s the kind of environment boys need — they just don’t know it yet.

Service and Leadership Projects

Boys in their early and mid-teens particularly benefit from activities where they make visible impact on their community. At camp, this happens naturally. Our older cabins — the 13 to 16-year-old range — get real responsibilities. On Sundays, there are no activity counselors to help clean the dining hall, so an older boys’ cabin and girls’ cabin take it on. They change the trash, sweep the floors, handle all of it. Sometimes it’s hard to watch a kid not know how to use a broom — but that’s the point. You’re teaching them these things, and they’re rising to the occasion because someone is counting on them.

The key is ensuring the work feels real and meaningful rather than performative. Boys are remarkably good at detecting when adults create “make work” to keep them busy versus genuinely needing their contribution.

Why Residential Summer Camps Check Multiple Boxes

While individual activities have value, residential summer camps offer something unique: comprehensive experiences that combine multiple beneficial activities within a supportive community.

Here’s what I tell parents when they ask me what makes camp different from sports leagues or day programs — it’s the cabin. It’s those 8 to 10 boys from all different walks of life who come together and become a unit. They’ve got two counselors walking them through the day, and they’re going to have disagreements, they’re going to have great days, and they’re going to have hard days. But they do all of it together. I’ve seen the athletic kid start helping the shy kid, not because someone told him to, but because he realizes, “I can only succeed if he succeeds.” That’s not something you can teach in a classroom.

Quality camps provide:

• Diverse Activity Exposure: Boys try a wide range of different activities over a session, discovering hidden interests they’d never encounter otherwise. The kid who thinks he hates sports might discover he loves kayaking. The shy artist might surprise himself on a ropes course.
• Technology-Free Immersion: Complete separation from screens allows boys to reset their attention spans and remember how to be fully present. They’re forced to talk to each other, to interact in a way that the real world doesn’t ask of them anymore. Initial resistance typically gives way to relief within 48 hours.
• Peer Community: Living with a small cabin group creates friendships that form faster and deeper than school relationships. Shared challenges and daily proximity build bonds that often last for years.
• Graduated Challenge: Well-designed camps match activities to developmental stages. Younger boys focus on fun and confidence building. Older teens get leadership opportunities and genuine responsibility.
• Learning Respect: At a co-ed camp, boys learn to interact respectfully with everyone around them. We live in a co-ed world, and camp is where boys practice navigating that — from asking a girl to dance at the square dance to working together on shared projects. It’s integrated into everything.

Programs like Camp Highlander in western North Carolina exemplify this approach. Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the camp combines traditional outdoor activities — kayaking, canoeing, archery, ropes courses — with creative programs and a strong emphasis on character development. Our cabin-based structure means boys aren’t just doing activities; they’re doing life together with a group of guys who become like brothers.

Contact us today or give us a call at (828) 891-7721 to learn more!

Activities to Limit

Not all summer activities serve boys equally well. Be cautious of:

• Passive Screen-Based Programs: Online camps or video game tournaments might teach some skills but reinforce the sedentary habits boys already practice all year.
• Overly Academic Intensives: Unless your son is passionate about the subject, forcing summer school or SAT prep creates resentment and burnout. Learning should happen, but through doing rather than sitting in classrooms.
• Year-Round Single-Sport Training: This is a big one. When I see boys who are baseball-baseball-baseball twelve months a year, I think about how much they’re missing. There’s so much more out there. You can be well-rounded in a lot of things and have common interests with a lot of different people — and that makes you a better teammate, a better friend, and ultimately a better man.
• Activities Chosen Solely by Parents: By age 11–12, boys need input into how they spend their summer. Activities they choose themselves generate far more engagement than those imposed on them.

How to Choose the Right Mix

The ideal summer combines structured activities with unstructured time, physical challenges with creative pursuits, and social experiences with solo interests. A rough framework:

• 40–50% structured activities (camps, lessons, sports)
• 30–40% unstructured free time (hanging with friends, reading, building things)
• 10–20% family time (vacations, outings, projects together)

This varies by age. Younger boys need more structure. Older teens can handle more independence but still benefit from committed time with family and peers.

Making It Financially Feasible

Quality summer programs cost money, but several strategies help:

• Look for Financial Aid: Most established camps provide need-based assistance. Don’t assume you won’t qualify.
• Consider Shorter Sessions: A one-week intensive experience often provides more value than months of half-day programs that lack immersion.
• Mix Paid and Free: Combine a week or two of structured camp with free activities like hiking, library programs, and neighborhood play.
• Sibling Discounts: If you have multiple boys, many programs offer reduced rates for siblings attending simultaneously.

The Long-Term Impact

The benefits of quality summer activities extend well beyond August. Boys who spend summers engaged in physical challenges, creative pursuits, and genuine social connection come home different. Parents tell me all the time: “Who is this kid?” They’re more confident, more sure of themselves, more respectful. They’ve learned that it’s not all about them — that they have responsibilities, that other people are counting on them.

Perhaps most importantly, they develop positive associations with being active, trying hard things, and spending time outdoors. These patterns often persist into adulthood, shaping the men they become.

Taking Action

Start planning your son’s summer by asking three questions:

1. What does my son need most right now: physical challenge, social connection, creative expression, leadership opportunity, or simply time to be a kid?
2. What experiences from my own childhood do I wish for him?
3. What will he remember in 20 years?

The answers to these questions matter more than finding the “best” program or most prestigious option. Summer is short. Choose activities that genuinely serve your son’s development, honor his interests, and genuinely create meaningful memories.

Searching for a comprehensive summer experience that combines outdoor adventure, skill development, and character building? Camp Highlander offers boys ages 6–16 the chance to unplug, challenge themselves, and build lasting friendships in the mountains of western North Carolina. Explore options at camphighlander.com.