10 Fun Nature Games & Activities for Kids 🌳
Discover 10 fun, family-friendly nature games and activities for kids to enjoy on walks. Perfect for the young at heart too!
Looking for ways to make family walks more exciting? Whether you’re heading to your local park, countryside paths, or city streets, adding nature-based games and outdoor activities can turn a simple walk into a fun and memorable adventure.
Getting kids engaged in nature helps them develop a love for the outdoors and an appreciation for the world around them. Nature can lift your mood and fill you with a sense of wonder. These simple, free nature connection activities are perfect for family walks, weekend outings, or even your daily stroll around the block. Nature games are great fun for adults too!
👇 Read on for some of our favourite outdoor games and nature-inspired activities you can try on your next walk.
Top 10 Nature Games for Families
Kids will love these hands on games, helping you all to connect with the nature around you. Which will you choose first?
1. Nature Bowling 🎳🍂
Nature Bowling is a fun game you can play outside!
Collect pinecones, conkers, acorns or stones to use as bowling balls.
You can set up “pins” using sticks or go French and use a marker stone like you would in Pétanque.
Take turns rolling the pinecones, conkers or acorns and see how many pins you can knock over or how close you can get to marker stone.
Feel free to make up your own rules, keep score, or just play for fun!
🔎 Best for: Forest walks, parks, and garden trails.
2. Nature Scavenger Hunt 🌿🔎
A scavenger hunt in nature is like a treasure hunt where the treasures are all around you and everything counts!
Make a list of things to spot before you go.
Or just act like a magpie and pick up anything you like the look of, like a yellow leaf, a smooth stone, or a feather.
Keep your eyes peeled and see how many items you can find.
You can play alone or with friends, and the fun part is noticing things you might normally miss.
🔎 Top Tip: Take some of the objects home and create nature art by drawing a picture of them or writing a story or poem about your nature finds.
3. Colour Walk 👀🌈
A colour walk is like a little treasure hunt for your eyes!
Pick a colour!
As you walk, try to spot as many things in nature as you can that match your chosen colour.
It could be leaves, flowers, berries, or even the sky.
You can change colours along the way or challenge someone else to see who finds the most!
A colour walk can be done on any walk, anywhere and it could help you spot a new favourite thing in nature. All you need to do is pick a colour and off you go.
🔎 Great for: Toddlers and visual learners.
4. Texture Hunt 🌱🪵
Nature is full of different textures if you just stop and touch what’s around you. On a texture hunt simply see how many different feelings you can find with your hands. Here are some tips for exploring nature with your fingertips:
Tree bark can be rough or bulbous.
Moss can feel soft and moist.
Some stones (and leaves) are smooth, shiny, rough or prickly.
Different types of walks offer different textures. From sand and shells on a seaside walk to petals and leaves on a park and garden walk.
🔎 Best on: Woodland walks, urban parks and beach outings.
5. Acorn Target Toss 🌰 🥳
This simple game is all about aim and fun!
Collect some acorns (or pinecones, conkers or stones if there aren’t any around).
Choose a target such as a tree stump, a big stone, a chalk circle, or even just a spot on the ground.
Take turns tossing the acorns and see who gets closest.
It makes being outdoors extra playful and keeps small ones entertained.
🔎 Top tip: Use a bench as a throwing base and take a rest.
6. Hide & Seek in Nature 🌳🙈
Hide and seek gets even better outdoors - especially if you’re in an enclosed garden or park. Playing in nature makes you notice your surroundings in a whole new way and gives you plenty of chances to run, laugh, and explore!
Set the rules for the kids (like staying in a certain area).
Take turns hiding and seeking, and see who can find the sneakiest place.
Trees, bushes, and big rocks all make brilliant hiding spots.
🔎 Great for: short rest stops or picnic breaks.
7. Cloud Watching Game ☁️🐉
A cloud-watching adventure is good for adults and kids alike and can be done anywhere. You don’t even need to be on a walk for this one. All you need is the sky and your imagination.
Lie back or sit on a bench, log or just perch somewhere,
Look up, and see what shapes the clouds are making.
One moment it could be a giant whale, the next a dragon breathing smoke or even something you’d see more often like a tree.
Why not share your ideas with a friend, take a picture or just enjoy letting the clouds tell you their own stories?
🔎 Great for: a spot of grounding and mindfulness.
8. Silent Sit Spot 🌳👂✨
This one is perfect when you need a bit of quiet or a little rest whilst on a walk. It’s like tuning your ears to the secret music of nature.
Find a comfy place to sit outdoors or stop while you’re on a walk. Stay as quiet and still as you can.
Close your eyes if you like and listen carefully. What can you hear?
You might hear birds singing, leaves rustling, or even tiny insects buzzing nearby.
The longer you sit, the more sounds you’ll notice.
🔎 Great for: Calming overstimulated kids or winding down.
9. Nature Charades 🌿🦉🌦️
Get ready to throw some shapes in nature charades! It’s a great way to bring nature to life and get moving.
Take turns and act out animals, trees, or even weather patterns while others try to guess what you’re mimicking. Sounds fun? You bet!
You can be a squirrel hopping around, a tree swaying in the wind, or even a thunderstorm rumbling. The more creative, the better!
Ready to give it a go? Who’s first?
🔎 Top tip: This is great for an outdoor party.
10. Pooh Sticks 💦
Pooh sticks is a simple but thrilling game:
You'll need two or more players plus sticks!
Stand on a bridge over moving water and check which way the water is flowing.
On the count of three drop your Pooh sticks into the water below.
Wait to spot your sticks on the other side.
Don’t forget to cheer on your Pooh stick - the stick that floats underneath the bridge fastest, wins!
🔎 Literary tip: Great opportunity to introduce kids to A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie the Pooh stories.
Discover your Naturehood 🕷️🌱🐞✨
Want more ideas to keep kids active and curious outdoors? Why not join the Naturehood challenge in collaboration with the National Trust or step onto our hand-picked Naturehood trails and get to know your wild neighbours. Read on for more information.
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🌱 1. The Naturehood challenge is a fun, family-friendly activity nature connection challenge with 25 nature activities you can complete anytime, anywhere. From spotting stars to making a flower crown, you’ll earn badges while discovering the big characters of nature right on your doorstep. Here’s how to get involved:
💚 Download the Go Jauntly app for free
✨ Sign up to the Naturehood challenge
✅ Pick your first activity from the badges
📲 Tap a badge to see what to do
🌳 Step outside and explore your local Naturehood
👀 Keep your senses peeled for nature
🏆 Hit “Add Activity” to unlock your first badge
🐝 Feel the buzz as you collect them all!
🚶 2. Naturehood walks – three specially curated Naturehood trails are available in London, Birmingham, and Manchester now. Each one blends history, heritage, and green spaces with fun facts and audio prompts. These step-free routes are designed to spark curiosity and give you a fun new way to see the city.
Notes Notes nature journal 📓🌿
Did you know that noticing and writing down something beautiful you see in nature every day can help improve your mental wellbeing? Use our free Nature Notes feature available on the Go Jauntly app to get started.
Remember, you can explore nature whenever and wherever you like. We hope these games and tips will help you to better connect to the natural world around you on your next walking adventure. We’d love to see your nature adventures so tag us over on our socials @gojauntly. We can’t wait to see your pics. Now go wild!
