12 Exciting and Easy Backyard Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Backyard Scavenger Hunt for Kids and Adults

Enjoy the simple things in life with this one-of-a-kind, fun Backyard Scavenger Hunt for kids and adults just by walking out the front door. This is the ultimate outdoor scavenger hunt for kids! It’s the perfect tool to get them outside and active. But you know how The Dating Divas roll… we also included some fun tasks for adults! There are a variety of activity cards to choose from so you can make this backyard scavenger hunt whatever YOU want it to be!

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These fun and outdoorsy Scavenger Hunt printables were designed by Messes to Memories. Go pull out your magnifying glass and get ready to explore!

I know my kids were more than thrilled to head out and discover something just for them in the backyard! Your kids will too. Check out what we put together for our Scavenger Hunt!

Scavenger Hunt Clues and Activities

We came up with 6 fun clues that are full of Dr. Seuss-like rhymes and adventure-themed stanzas. My husband is a whiz with the rhymes, so he lovingly helped me craft these fun clues for the kiddos!

We designed the clues so that hopefully they’ll work for most yards! Hopefully, your yard has a place to grill, somewhere plants grow, a tree and a patio! But if not, be creative and use your imagination… if you have to tell your kids to imagine where a fence would be so that they can figure out where you hid the scavenger hunt bag, that’s okay! It’s all about getting out and enjoying some fun in nature!

All you need to do to create your Scavenger Hunt bags is attach these printable covers to the front of the paper sack and the clues to the bottom. I wanted my clue bags to be pretty sturdy, so I used hot glue. But any adhesive will work. We’ve also provided a template so that if you want to use white paper sacks and print directly onto the bag, you can do that too!

Once your bags are created, its time to choose some of the 12 Scavenger Hunt activity cards to add to the paper sacks.

1. I – Spy
2. Jump rope
3. Tic-Tac-Toe
4. Bubbles
5. Read a Book
6. Bug Races
7. Treasure Map
8. Cloud Watching
9. Sidewalk Chalk
10. Twister
11. Kissing Tag
12. Time Capsule

Plus, any supplies to go along with the chosen activities.

Scavenger Hunt for Kids

When the Scavenger Hunt bags are ready to go, its time to hide the kids… uh! I mean send the kids away while you hide the bags! This is probably the second best part for the kids because the anticipation just builds while they wait for you to finish hiding the bags.

The BEST part is when they find the bag and pull out the goodies and are so excited to go exploring. They might be so excited that they really don’t want to pause so that you can take a picture of them…

There are 12 activities, so you can do the Scavenger Hunt a few times with different activities. That is if you can find enough hiding spots in your yard!

Nature Scavenger Hunt

One of our favorite activities was the Nature Scavenger Hunt page! My kids have taken this little printable out many times in the last couple of weeks and had races to see who can find the most stuff fastest. This printable would be great to take on hikes or to the park or anywhere out in nature! There’s always something new to discover.

Our next favorite activity was the Bug Races! My kids have all caught caterpillars before and then watched them crawl away, so I imagine you can do this activity with real bugs (of course, be careful not to squish the bugs). But we actually found these super cute bugs from the dollar section at Target and the kids had a blast racing these down the windows and walls even when they came inside. I’d say it was a win!!

But there are so many more fun activities to choose from! You’ll definitely find an activity that your kids will be excited about.

Backyard Scavenger Hunt Date

Now its time to talk about how to make it a date night! My hubby and I love to get outside and so this was the perfect way to spend an afternoon. I hid a few special surprises in his bags and he enjoyed some of the funny tasks like Kissing Tag and Twister. You might have to get a little silly with some of the tasks, but it’s easy to work in a little romance as well!

Think of it as a fun-filled, yet relaxing afternoon with your spouse! This is definitely not your normal date, but it is a date that you’ll enjoy if you love the outdoors.

Take your kids outdoors for a nature scavenger hunt or channel your inner kid and enjoy this scavenger hunt with your spouse. You could even enjoy this scavenger hunt as a whole family!! This is such a quick, easy and versatile activity for all ages.

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