100+ Outdoor Family Activities

Getting Outside as a Family

Getting outside as a family doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. Outdoor family activities can be simple activities that you do together, right from the comfort of your own home or in nearby areas. Here are over 100 ideas to get your family outside for more quality family time outdoors. These outdoor activities are fun for all ages, and I encourage you to interact with your kids as you’re outside together. Even if it means that you may get a little dirty too!

At Home

1. Play imagination games in the backyard together

2. Have a snack or lunch outside

3. Do yoga as a family in the grass

4. Create a fort or play structure from nature elements

5. Search for at least 5 different types of bugs in your backyard

6. Play hide and seek in the backyard

7. Create a mud kitchen

8. Grow a garden

9. Make a flower crown from dandelions in your yard

10. Start a rock collection

11. Have a family paper airplane contest

Around the Neighborhood

1. Visit your local park

2. Go for an afternoon walk

3. Bike to a local restaurant

4. Play in your front yard with neighbors

5. Go on a flashlight walk at night

6. Try a new sport in a local field

7. Create a neighborhood scavenger hunt

8. Walk to your local library

9. Explore a nearby waterway

10. Have popsicles on the front porch

11. Fly a kite on a windy day

Wet and Watery Fun

1. Splash in rain puddles

2. Run through a sprinkler

3. Play dribble, dribble, drop

4. Visit a nearby waterfront

5. Ride in a boat (any type!)

6. Swim at a local pool

7. Water the plants

8. Build a sandcastle on the beach

9. Play wompers with noodles

10. Hike to a waterfall

11. Watch a thunderstorm approach (make sure to get inside before the storm hits!)

12. My favorite – go to a hot springs!

Cold Weather Activities

1. Build a snow family

2. Have a snowball fight

3. Go for a winter hike

4. Try a new winter sport

5. Drink hot chocolate outside

6. Have a campfire in the cold weather

7. Visit a local sledding hill

8. Create a snowskate park in your backyard

9. Make a snow fort

10. Go ice skating together

Hiking Adventures

1. Take a nature walk in your own neighborhood. How many different species of plants and animals can you identify?

2. Go to the nearest trailhead to your house! Even better if you’ve never visited before.

3. Let the kids set the pace. Stop and play along the way. Make this hike more about the journey than the destination! Read more about toddler-led hikes here!

4. Go on a historical tour near you

5. Walk along a lake or ocean

6. Try your longest hike as a family

7. Hike to a perfect destination for a family picnic

8. Take a hike at a state or national park

9. Return to your favorite family hike over each season to see the seasonal changes in a familiar location.

10. Go on a night hikes! Choose a night with a full moon and try to use as little artificial light as possible. This is all about using your other sense, not going a long distance!

Food and the Outdoors

1. Pack up dinner and eat at a local or state park

2. Have breakfast on the back porch

3. Make homemade ice cream outside!

4. Have a boat picnic! This is one of our favorite things to do on an evening.

5. Make a new recipe outside

6. Make s’mores over the grill in the backyard

7. Try using a dutch oven on your next camping trip

8. Bring a special treat on your next hike

9. Eat all your meals outside for the day

10. Make a special trail mix with the kids for your next hike

Bigger Adventures

1. Plan your next epic road trip to an outdoor destination you haven’t been to before!

2. Bike a trail together

3. Camp at a nearby state park

4. Let your kids choose a new activity for the family to try

5. Go stargazing in an International Dark Sky park

6. Visit your state’s National Parks Service sites. Not all sites operated by the National Parks are designated as parks! You’d be surprised to see how many sites are in your state!

7. Go on a cave tour (Is this really outside?!)

8. Paddle a river near your home. Canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding are such fun actvities with kids!

9. Take a spontaneous weekend trip

10. Try dispersed camping

11. Go to an outdoor, kid-friendly concert

Getting Messy

1. Jump in a big pile of fall leaves

2. “Paint” using mud and pine needles

3. Create a beaver lodge at a waterfront

4. Search for frogs

5. Use toy trucks to dig in the dirt

6. Have a splash contest in rain puddles

7. Create an obstacle course in the backyard

8. Set up an egg drop contest

9. Use food coloring to “paint” the snow

10. Play with toy animals in the mud or snow. Then get them cleaned up with a bubble bath inside

Seasonal Activities

1. Winter – go on a sleigh ride

2. Winter – visit an outdoor winter market

3. Winter – Take a walk through the woods to get a Christmas tree (make sure you get a proper permit to do this!)

4. Spring – play hopscotch

5. Spring – plant flowers

6. Spring – take a nature walk for signs of spring

7. Summer – have a family water balloon fight

8. Summer – get wet everyday of the week

9. Summer- wash the car in the driveway

10. Fall – go to a pumpkin patch

11. Fall – pick apples and bake an apple cobbler in a dutch oven outside

12. Fall – see the changing colors on a fall hike

Some More Great Ideas

1. Make leaf prints

2. Play badmitton in the backyard

3. Learn letters and counting with sticks

4. Visit a farmer’s market

5. Relax in a hammock

6. Read books under a tree

7. Practice plein air artwork with your favorite artistic medium (sure, even crayons!)

8. Visit a drive in movie

9. Camp near a stream or river and listen to the natural white noise

10. Look for animal tracks and identify them

This list of family outdoor activities will get your family outside in so many fun ways! What is your family’s next outdoor play session going to be?