7 Ideas for an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Are you looking for ways to keep your kids active, busy, and engaged even when the weather is a little bit chilly? Here are seven ideas for outdoor scavenger hunts to help keep your children entertained even throughout the cooler months.

1. Nature Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of nine natural elements that you can find in your region. Consider a pine cone, a pond, or a cumulus cloud. Fold a piece of construction paper to reveal nine squares. Use a marker to bring definition to the fold marks. Once you have nine squares write the names of the items your child will be looking for. Take it a step further and have your child bring colored pencils and a clipboard with them while encouraging them to draw what they find. Or, take a different approach and print out the images of the items they will be looking for. Let them work on their cutting and gluing skills if they are younger, and let them use the pictures on their paper for reference while on their nature scavenger hunt.
2. Backyard Scavenger Hunt: Make your child’s next snow day educational and exciting by surprising them with this idea for an outdoor scavenger hunt. Create a hunt where your child needs to look for animal tracks in the snow, hidden leaves, or birds looking for a bite to eat. You might even surprise them by putting a snowman or an igloo on the list. Have dad or older siblings work on creating one of these in secret and watch your children’s eyes light up when they realize they can mark it off their lists!
   
   
3. Christmas Photo Hunt: Kids and adults of all ages will never look at Christmas lights and decorations the same after this experience! Make a list of popular Christmas decorations, from blinking light displays to an inflatable snow globe. Send teams out in the neighborhood when the sun sets and have them snap pictures when they find an item on the list. The team with the most finds wins freshly baked gingerbread or a gift card to a local restaurant.
   
   
4. Christmas Village Hunt: On a Saturday afternoon, visit a local city, village, or town infamous for its dainty shops clustered together within walking distance of one another. Bonus points if you live near one that looks like you are in a Hallmark movie! Create a scavenger hunt of items that could be found in the local shops and set up teams to go search for the Christmas-related items on the list: a Christmas ornament, a decorated streetlight, a wreath, etc.
   
   
5. Park Scavenger Hunt: Pile your kids in the car and take them to the park to implement this idea for an outdoor scavenger hunt. Make a list of items you might not see in your backyard but are bound to see at a park. Begin with the inevitable such as a park bench or a baseball diamond. Then, include some not-so-typical choices that may or may not be at the location, such as a cardinal, a mom pushing a stroller, or a bicyclist.
   
   
6. Clue-Based Outdoor Scavenger Hunt: The extra work involved in a clue-based scavenger hunt is definitely worth it—especially when prizes are included! Create clues leading to specific outdoor destinations. If you want to keep it within your backyard, go for it! If you want to go out throughout your town, get creative with your clues using your town’s landmarks such as a river, the library, bank, etc. Once the clue has led you to the correct location, reveal the next clue in line. For example, once your children realize that they are to go to the river, take a drive down there, let your kids run around a bit, and then give them the next clue. If it takes them to the library, make the clue lead them to a specific book that they need to check out. Here is a free clue-based scavenger hunt resource to help you out! Keep them busy and active and be sure to include a surprise at the end, such as a treat from the candy store or a family movie!
   
   
7. Food for the Hungry Hunt: Send your kids on a scavenger hunt with a purpose! Get a list from your local food bank stating their needs. Use this as the list your children will use. Go with them door-to-door in your neighborhood and see if your neighbors are willing to donate any of the listed items. Why not get several families involved and make it a competition? The family who checks the most things off their list wins—and so does your local food bank!

Are there any other outdoor scavenger hunt ideas that you have tried? Let us know in the comments below!