In the United States summer is seen as a time for vacations, fun, and relaxation.  Children in the United States generally do not attend school during the second half of June, and all of July and August, so many families often go on vacation sometime during these months.  The weather in the United States in the summer months (June, July, and August) is also some of the warmest weather most Americans experience during the year.  This good weather makes a lot of people want to go outside and do all sorts of outdoors activities.  Because of these two reasons, more vacation time and good weather, many people in the United States participate in at least one (if not all) of the summertime activities I have listed and defined below.  This summertime vocabulary is helpful to know if you plan to vacation in the United States in the summer or if you just want to vacation and practice your English vocabulary in your own country.  Below I have defined a number of summer activities as well as common places where these activities take place.  Below the vocabulary is a quick matching exercise for you to review some of the vocabulary discussed in this post.  In this exercise you need to match the activities with the places where they take place.  I’ll give you the answers to this matching exercise in my next post.

Vocabulary

Activities:
backpacking – to go on a hike with a backpack and equipment to enable a person to stay outdoors overnight
bicycling – to ride a bicycle for fun or sport
boating – to ride a boat  (power boat, canoe, kayak, sail boat) for pleasure
camping – to go into nature and live for a time in a tent or camper while on vacation
fishing – the activity of catching fish, either for food or for sport
frisbee – a game that is played with two or more people with a plastic disk that is thrown through the air
gardening – the activity of growing plants for pleasure and/or food
hiking – walking for a long distance, usually in the woods or just in a place away from a town and many people  (Note: This is different from backpacking because a person who is hiking does not have to have equipment to stay in the woods for the night.)
road trip – a journey made in an automobile to see something specific or just to drive and see something new
sightseeing – the activity of visiting new places of interest
surfing – an activity carried out on the shore of the ocean in which a person rides waves while standing a board (a surfboard)

Places:
the amusement park – a large outdoor area with rides, shows, refreshments, games, and other entertainment
the beach – an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore
the fair – a gathering where there are rides and goods for sale; often there are also animals and food on display or for sale
the lake – a large body of water surrounded by land on all sides
the park – a piece of land in or near a city or town that has green space with a lawn and trees and play equipment that is free for everyone to use
summer camp – a place where care and activities are provided for children during the summer months; some camps take place during the day while others are overnight camps where children spend a week or month during the summer
the water park – a water park is an amusement park that has water play areas, water rides, water slides, and pools
the woods – an area of land that is covered with trees and other plants, where there are few or no houses and people, but where there are many animals
the yard – a piece of ground, usually containing plants and trees, that is next to a building or house

Places                 Activities
1. the beach        a. hiking
2. the yard          b. boating
3. the park          c. surfing
4. the lake           d. frisbee
5. the woods       e. gardening