I've spent a bit of time camping with 14 year old girls and I have to agree with wandering_daisy, plan a trip just for your daughter and her friends. Set them up and then let them play and explore like your not even there. Ignore them as much as possible. I used to bring books that I wanted to read and a lounge chair.

I almost always asked my girls to invite some friends when I took them camping. The more the merrier. I made sure they set up their campsite far enough away from me so they had privacy and I could ignore the giggling, yet close enough so both they and I felt safe with the situation. I had only one extraordinary rule... No music except what they made on their own.

I'd help when asked but for the most part they set up their own tents, gathered their own wood, started their fire, cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows to make smores. They always stayed up way too late, and made lots of noise, and I always nearly perfectly ignored them unless they came to me for something. After I made breakfast, we'd head out on a hiking trail, bushwhack around a bit, or go swimming. I made them pick blackberries a few times and we even made a pie once when we got home, which BTW, I never even got a piece of...

Being out there with their friends, they all made great discoveries together and they couldn't wait to show me what they had found. Sometimes I shared what I knew, and other times I was simply amazed with them at what they had found. I think that knowing they were discovering things and places that I knew nothing about made it more fun for all of us.

Now my youngest girls are in their early 20's, and they all still go camping, floating (canoeing) and hiking with those same girlfriends. Sometimes they even want to come with me when I'm going and now we even sit at the same fire and talk and laugh together.

I got to read some of Twain's best stuff, some great Steinbeck, and one of my all time favorites camping books, The Lost World during those trips and, best of all, I got to know my girls and their friends, and they got to know me.

Kindest Regards,

Bill