38+ Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for All Ages

Scavenger hunts are your new best friend if you’re looking for low-prep activities to get the kids outdoors and moving. They’re terrific for last-minute planners—print them and go! These outdoor scavenger hunt ideas add exploration, observation, and sensory input to your child’s playtime.

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Use the scavenger hunts to shake up your usual family walk in the mornings or evenings. Encouraging situational awareness is an easy way to make routine things more exciting.

This list contains outdoor scavenger hunt ideas for the backyard, the beach, the campground, the forest, and so much more. You’ll even find some photo scavenger hunts thrown in the mix, which are perfect for older kids.

We hope you enjoy this list of outdoor scavenger hunts as much as we have!

affiliate links can be found on this blog at no cost to you.

Printable Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

We have a handful of outdoor scavenger hunt ideas for you right here at Natural Beach Living. From finding things to be grateful for, to seashells at the beach, you’ll love exploring your surroundings with our free printables.

Gratitude Scavenger Hunt for Kids and Adults

Focusing on the good things in your life is good for your mental health. You’ll feel more positive each day. Use our gratitude scavenger hunt to look at the world around you with grateful eyes.

These outdoor scavenger hunt ideas add exploration, observation, and sensory input to your child's playtime. outdoor scavenger hunt ideas for the backyard, the beach, the campground, the forest, and so much more. You'll even find photo scavenger hunts and Gratitude scavenger hunts too

Free Nature Scavenger Hunt

Our free nature scavenger hunt is simple and easy for kids of all ages. You’ll be able to find most items in just about any outdoor area with trees.

Beach Scavenger Hunt

Grab the sunscreen! It’s time to head to the beach with our beach scavenger hunt. Look for crabs, seashells, umbrellas, sandcastles, and other beachy things.

Life at the Pond Scavenger Hunt

Explore and observe life at the pond! Visiting the pond is a wonderful spring or summertime activity for the kids because ponds are just teeming with exciting plant and animal life. Look for caterpillars, turtles, dragonflies, and more.

Free Earth Day Scavenger Hunt and Bucket List

Earth Day is our annual reminder to take a moment to appreciate our unique and amazing planet. We can help our kids slow down and take notice of the natural world in all kinds of fun ways.

Color Scavenger Hunt

This Color Scavenger Hunt is a perfect way to reinforce colors. Add this to a rainbow theme, color week, or for a fun activity to get kids moving.

Grab yourself and your kids one of these Stanley Stainless Steel Insulated Tumblers and head outside for some fun!

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Tweens

If you want even more scavenger hunts to make your family walks fun, try this huge list of ideas. You’ll never take another “boring” walk again!

Outdoor Sensory Scavenger Hunt from thechaosandtheclutter.com: Use this outdoor scavenger hunt to get kids outside and moving and teach them about their eight sensory systems. It includes items that engage the visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and other sensory systems.

Outdoor Photo Scavenger Hunt from kcedventures.com: Summer is the perfect time to hone photography skills. This scavenger hunt encourages kids to do just that by photographing the things they find.

Camping Scavenger Hunt from rufflesandrainboots.com: Take these scavenger hunt printables on your next camping trip to keep the kids entertained! You’ll find two versions: one with pictures for preschoolers, and one with words that are a little more difficult for readers.

Scavenger Hunt at the Park from sunshinewhispers.com: Teachers and parents can both use this scavenger hunt on the playground or park. You can find most items at any outdoor play space.

Spring Backyard Scavenger Hunt from thepurposefulnest.com: With spring in full swing, it’s the perfect time to head outside. This spring scavenger hunt focuses on plants and animals that your kids are likely to encounter in spring, such as clouds, grass, puddles, and flowers.

More Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Summer Nature Scavenger Hunt from organized31.com: This 4-page printable gives you four days of scavenger hunts for your nature walks. Alternatively, you can take all four pages for a whole day of scavenger hunt fun.

Fall Scavenger Hunt from rufflesandrainboots.com: Take this fall fun printable to the pumpkin patch, a local hayride, or simply to your backyard to search for things like acorns, spiders, pinecones, and colorful trees.

Neighborhood Walk Scavenger Hunts from coffeeandcarpool.com: Walking around the neighborhood can get a little dull. Make your family walks a little more exciting with these nine scavenger hunts, including a nighttime scavenger hunt, a number hunt, a shape hunt, a color hunt, and much more.

Photo Scavenger Hunt from thechaosandtheclutter.com: Give the kids an old camera (or a phone, for the older kids), and head outdoors for a photo scavenger hunt. Write out a list that your child is likely to find in the backyard or in your area if you’re going for a nature walk. When you’re done, make a collage of the photos!

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids

Indoor/Outdoor Selfie Challenge from sunshinewhispers.com: Kids love taking selfies! Encourage them to move around a bit while they do. You don’t have to post these on social media. It would be fun to pull the images together to send to grandparents or extended family, though! What a fun way to connect!

Neighborhood Walk Scavenger Hunts from organized31.com: Here’s another 4-pack of scavenger hunts to use during your walks around the neighborhood.

Star Gazing Scavenger Hunt from reallifeathome.com: When the weather is warmer, it’s so nice to go outdoors and enjoy the night sky together. Use this star-gazing scavenger hunt to identify the phases of the moon and some of the most well-known constellations.

Ice Letter Scavenger Hunt from thimbleandtwig.com: Do your kids have letter magnets or wooden letters? Put them into ice blocks and let the kids have an ice letter scavenger hunt. It’s a fun and educational way to cool off in the summer.

Find and Draw Scavenger Hunts from projectswithkids.com: Since these scavenger hunts include drawing, it becomes a fun nature art activity. Choose from the four seasons or a color scavenger hunt that can be done inside. Each printable also includes two blank squares so kids can draw whatever catches their eye.

Children’s Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Paper Bag Nature Scavenger Hunt from temeculablogs.com: Tape this list to a paper bag, and head outdoors to collect your items. You can then use those items in a nature craft later in the week. Make sure you’re only taking items where it’s allowed. Some parks and nature preserves have rules about taking things like flowers and rocks from the area.

Campsite Scavenger Hunt from takethemoutside.com: This scavenger hunt is unique in that it encourages kids to observe their particular campsite. For example, they need to find their campsite’s number, record the color of their tent or camper, find the closest bathroom, etc.

Sound Scavenger Hunt from theladybirdsadventures.co.uk: Help develop your child’s listening skills with a fun sound hunt during your next nature walk. Listen to birds singing, dogs barking, etc.

Color Scavenger Hunt from teachbesideme.com: Help kids learn their colors and shades. Kids will use a color viewfinder to find items in nature that match specific colors. It’s a lot of fun!

Backyard Scavenger Hunt from messylittlemonster.com: Head to your own backyard to try your hand at this fun backyard scavenger hunt. A bonus hunt is included to find items that are soft, hard, smelly, etc.

Five Senses Walk from greatfamilyreads.com: Instead of looking for specific items during your family walk, encourage the kids to use their senses to record what they see, smell, touch, hear and even taste. Older children can write words if they’d like, while younger children may prefer drawing pictures of their findings.

Best Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Bug Hunt from marymarthamama.com: Use the bug hunt and bug identification cards with a sensory bin or during an outing. You never know how many bugs you’ll find in your own backyard or at the local pond.

Camp Experiences Scavenger Hunt from thecrazyoutdoormama.com: You’ll find five great scavenger hunts to play at camp here. Our favorite is the Camp Experiences list, where you can cross off all the cool things you get to do at camp. But these printables aren’t just for summer camp—families can use them too.

Hello, Spring Scavenger Hunt Pack from yearroundhomeschooling.com: Get a pack of 3 adorable printables to use this spring. One has pictures for early learners, one is for older children, and one is blank so you can create your own personalized scavenger hunt.

Super Huge Scavenger Hunt from picklebums.com: Fix the “I’m bored!” problem fast with this super colossal scavenger hunt! This can be done in one day for kids who are really gung-ho about finding all the items quickly or spread over several days to see how many things you can check off.

Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Emoji Scavenger Hunt from firefliesandmudpies.com: If you like to organize community activities, this emoji scavenger hunt is a terrific thing to do when social distancing. Neighbors can post emojis in their yards, windows, vehicles, etc. for all the neighborhood kids to find during their walks.

Camping Trip Scavenger Hunt from family-budgeting.co.uk: This super simple camping scavenger hunt is perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners. It uses simple pictures that are easily identifiable.

Nature Bingo Scavenger Hunt from firefliesandmudpies.com: This combines a scavenger hunt with Bingo for extra fun. The first to cross off 4 in a row wins. Offer prizes for the first winner and for the person who can fill their entire card!

Christmas Scavenger Hunts from yearroundhomeschooling.com: These Christmas scavenger hunts are wonderful for getting out during December. While the Christmas selfie scavenger hunt can be done indoors, the Car Ride and Christmas Lights hunts require getting out and doing some exploring. But you don’t have to hop in the car—go for a walk to find them instead.

Flashlight Scavenger Hunt from lifeissweeterbydesign.com: A flashlight scavenger hunt is fun for kids of all ages, but it’s a great way to get the tweens and teens involved in the family fun. Use your flashlights to explore your backyard!

Scavenger Hunt Ideas at Home

Forest Scavenger Hunt from kcedventures.com: Go for a family hike to cross the items off of this fun forest scavenger hunt. You’ll look for squirrels, animal tracks, mushrooms, and more.

Sensory Outdoor Scavenger Hunt from thepragmaticparaent.com: Here’s another sensory hunt to engage as many of your child’s senses as possible. They’ll listen for water, touch a pinecone, find a rock that sparkles, smell a flower, and more.

Insect Scavenger Hunt from kimandcarrie.com: Use these simple illustrations to look for insects in your area. Search out earthworms, listen for crickets, and look for fireflies.

With more than a month of outdoor scavenger hunt ideas listed here, you should have plenty of opportunities to get out and get moving with your kids!