10 Free Outdoor Activities to Encourage Kids Outside

We all know that we should be encouraging children to spend as much time outside as possible. Here are ten free outdoor activities that will appeal to kids of all ages.

1. Campfire Cooking

Fire building and campfire cooking are hands down our favourite free outdoor activities. Everyone loves cooking on a fire, and making bread on a stick couldn’t be simpler.

Measure out the dry ingredients into bags before you leave the house then mix in the water when you are ready to cook.

Roll the dough into a sausage shape about as thick as an adult thumb. Twist around the end of a freshly cut stick where you have removed the bark, leaving space between the coils for the bread to expand as it cooks.

Cook over the embers of a fire, frequently turning until golden brown and the bread has a hollow sound when you tap it.

Once cooked, it should be easy to remove from the stick by twisting it and pulling it off.

To make one portion of bread.

• 1/2 Cup Self-Raising Flour
• 1 Tbsp Dried Milk
• 1 Tsp Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Water (Approx)

Optional Extras

• Dried Fruit and Nuts
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Herbs

Creating and following track signs is a brilliant free outdoor activity and a great way to entice kids outside. I can’t think of one child who doesn’t love following clues, and since it’s a visual activity that works with symbols, even the youngest members of your family will be able to join in.

You can find our printable version of the common track signs here.

As well as being fun, learning to lay and follow a trail is a useful survival skill. It is particularly helpful in woodland where it is harder to get your bearings, and easy to get lost. Leaving a sign where footpaths intersect makes it so much easier to retrace your steps.

Maps are so much more than just tools for navigation and they are a brilliant way to find free outdoor activities. They contain a wealth of information alongside the public rights of way and topography. Some show us where railways and canals once ran, and where castles once stood. Many contain clues to ancient farming practices and where battles were fought. Maps offer a visual history to an area, and once you start looking you’ll be amazed by what you can find.

Get the kids to pick a site that sparks their curiosity then get out and explore.

Den building is another fab free outdoor activity that will keep kids occupied for hours. Remember, you are never too old to make a den, and there is no right or wrong way to make one.

Try using natural materials such as fallen branches, sticks and leaves that you forage from the woodland floor. The more foliage you use, the more waterproof it will be.

Alternatively, carry a tarp and cord out with you as a ready to go kit. Den building encourages teamwork and problem solving and really is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Even routes you know really well will seem like an adventure in the dark. Night hikes give you the opportunity for star-gazing, storytelling and spotting some of our precious nocturnal wildlife.

When night falls, there is a reduction in man-made noise, so it’s an excellent opportunity to hear the outdoors. A star-gazing app will help you identify our constellations – why not download one before you head out.

To help kids understand how maps work, try getting them out in the local community to create their own.

Select an area near you with several roads and facilities such as Police Station, Railway Station, Churches, Post Office etc. Armed with paper and pencils work as a team to draw the layout of the area selected. Mark as accurately as possible the location of the various facilities. There is no need for tape measures, just get them to pace the distances and make a note of this on the drawings.

Back at home use, the information gathered to create a map of your local area.

To test the quality of the map give it to someone who does not know the area well, and ask them to navigate their way to one of the features.

For a more comprehensive look at learning to read a map please visit our introduction to basic map reading.