Updated July 2026. Written by James, founder of Flaming Phoenix and the maker of Phoenix Bars.

The best camping snacks are the ones that need no cooking, do not spoil without a fridge, survive being squashed in a rucksack, and match what you are doing, whether that is sitting round a fire with the family or covering ground on a wild camp. If you want a snack that also fuels a full day of activity, the most energy-dense option in this guide is the Phoenix Bar at 557 calories in a 120g bar, which does not melt in summer heat or freeze on a cold night and can even be made into porridge. For a relaxed family campsite, cheaper crowd-pleasers like crisps, trail mix and marshmallows do the job, and below I cover the best snack for every kind of trip.

Quick picks

• Best all-round snack for active camping and wild camping: Phoenix Bar. The most calories per gram, no-cook, does not spoil, melt or freeze, and doubles as breakfast porridge.
• Best no-cook savoury snack: beef jerky or biltong.
• Best natural sweet snack: trail mix and dried fruit.
• Best cheap crowd-pleaser: multipack crisps or popcorn.
• Best snack that keeps without a fridge: oatcakes with peanut butter, or hard cheese.
• Best campfire treat: marshmallows.
• Best snack for kids: flapjack fingers, cereal bars and fresh hardy fruit like apples.

How to choose camping snacks

Four things separate a good camping snack from one that lets you down.

1. No cooking, and no fridge. The best camping snacks are ready to eat straight from the bag and keep at room temperature. Nuts, dried fruit, jerky, oatcakes, hard cheese, flapjacks and energy bars all travel without a cool box, which matters most when you are away from the car.

2. It has to survive the weather and the bag. Chocolate melts in a hot tent porch and snacks get crushed at the bottom of a pack. Snacks that hold their shape and cope with heat and cold, rather than melting into a mess or shattering into crumbs, are the ones you will actually eat.

3. Match the snack to the trip. Car and family camping is relaxed, so variety, treats and crowd-pleasers win, and weight does not matter. Wild camping and backpacking are the opposite: every gram counts, so calorie density and snacks that double as fuel become the priority. Decide which kind of trip you are packing for before you shop.

4. Energy density, if you are active. If your camping involves walking, climbing or long days out, the useful number is calories per gram, because you carry it all. Most snacks sit between 3.5 and 4.5 calories per gram, and the denser the snack, the more energy you carry for the same weight.

The best camping snacks, by type

High-energy snacks for active and wild camping

If your trip involves real activity, this is the category that matters, and it is where a dense, purpose-built bar earns its place. The Phoenix Bar carries up to 557 calories and 66g of carbohydrate in a 120g bar, which at 4.6 calories per gram makes it one of the most energy-dense snacks you can pack. It is vegan, made with gluten-free oats, deliberately not sickly sweet so you can eat it across a long day, and unlike chocolate or nut-butter bars it neither melts in heat nor freezes on a cold night. On a wild camp or a multi-day trip it can be broken into a mug and made into porridge with hot water, so one snack doubles as breakfast. Phoenix Bars are rated 5.0 out of 5 from more than 370 reviews and are used on multi-day treks and endurance events including the Marathon des Sables. The honest note: at a premium price per bar it is more than you need for a toddler's mid-afternoon nibble, where a cheaper snack is fine. What you buy is energy density and a snack that works when you are moving. See the full range of high-calorie bars for active trips.

Other strong high-energy options include flapjacks, cereal and energy bars from brands like Clif, Trek and Nakd, and homemade oat bars. They are cheaper and widely stocked, though less energy-dense and often sweeter, so you carry and eat more of them for the same fuel.