All ages can enjoy the great outdoors and find something to do, wherever they are. Here are 50 things to do outdoors to get you started! You can use it for ideas or try to tick off all 50. Click here for a free printable version to stick up somewhere in your home and inspire you whenever you’re short of activity ideas.

50 Things to do Outdoors

1. Go for a picnic.
2. Make an obstacle course.
3. Build a den.
4. Dam a stream.
5. Play an outdoor game (e.g. frisbee, petanque, volleyball…).
6. Make bark or leaf rubbings.
7. Build a model boat.
8. Make a bird feeder, box or table and watch to see what type of birds come to try it out.
9. Climb a tree.
10. Paint or draw a landscape from observation.
11. Watch the sunrise.
12. Make balancing rock sculptures.
13. Have a water fight.
14. Design a maze and challenge a friend. (You could use chalk on a hard surface or sticks to mark it out).
15. Look for animal tracks.
16. Plant a flower, vegetable or tree.
17. Build a sandcastle or a snowman (or another kind of natural sculpture).
18. Go stargazing.
19. Catch falling leaves.
20. Use a map and compass.
21. Visit a waterfall.
22. Do a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt (looking for ideas? See our Treasure Hunts section!).
23. Figure out which direction the wind’s coming from.
24. Climb to the highest point around to look at the view.
25. Look for different types of plant or insect and try to identify them.
26. Go for a bike ride (for a bonus point, learn how to fix a puncture in a tyre!).
27. Roll down a hill sideways like a log.
28. Whittle a stick.
29. Throw a ball as high as you can and see if you can catch it.
30. Send and receive a message using signals (you could use a torch in the dark or flags by day and make up your own code).
31. Dig a hole.
32. Play Poohsticks (Drop sticks from the upriver side of a bridge then cross over to see whose stick comes out first – A game invented by Winnie the Pooh from A.A. Milne’s book: The House at Pooh Corner).
33. Observe insects in their natural habitat.
34. Sleep in a tent.
35. Make a sundial to tell the time.
36. Take part in a litter pick.
37. Go rockpooling or pond dipping.
38. Eat a food that you’ve grown, foraged or caught.
39. Visit a farm.
40. Make your own map.
41. Go swimming outdoors (if there’s nowhere safe to swim in the sea or a river near you, you could swim in an outdoor pool instead).
42. Write a nature log (use all your senses to observe what’s around you).
43. Make stepping stones or a bridge to cross a river without getting wet.
44. Learn how to build and start a fire safely.
45. Count the rings in a tree stump to see how old it is.
46. Fly a kite.
47. Make a piece of nature artwork (you could make ‘paint’ from mud or crushed berries, or press leaves or petals for a collage).
48. Make a rope swing.
49. Use binoculars or a magnifying glass to observe wildlife more closely.
50. Go for a wet walk in welly boots – in the rain or up a stream. You could try to follow a stream to find its source.

Click to download the free printable version of 50 things to do Outdoors.

Header image by Radosław Cieśla from Pixabay.