The following was produced with my friends at L.L.Bean, who believe that, on the inside, we’re all outsiders.
There are so many things to do outdoors as a family, and there are plenty of chances for our girls to learn and grow. We find places to hike that are easy enough for our kids to manage, and we always make up our own fun along the way.
This summer we’re really trying to spend more time connecting with our children. As our oldest has gotten older we’ve started to realize how fast it all goes by. We have so few summers with our children being little, so it’s all about creating meaningful moments with our daughters
5 Simple Activities Families Can Do Outdoors
- Get outside and take a hike. There are parks and trails all over this country so get outside and explore. Visit your local state parks website to find a trailhead near you.
- Make a simple craft. We love to pack crayons and paper for drawing and making leaf art. These are simple and fun ways for our kids to explore the forest and have a little fun. Your kiddos can also draw the things they see along the trail.
- Find a sand pit. Nature provides so many chances to learn and explore. We often find dried up streams in the summer and they provide the perfect sandbox for stopping to play. Also allow your kids to take off their shoes. We’ve found everything from streams to grassy fields along the trail.
- Play a word game. We love to play nature ABC’s. Each person takes turns finding something in the forest that correlates with a letter of the alphabet. You can also sing a song or play a simple math game. My husband always seems to find entertaining games to play that keep our girls busy.
- Play hide and seek! We only allow our girls to stay on the trail but they often run ahead and step behind a tree to try to surprise us. This allows us to explore the forest and have fun. My girls always love to play hide and seek and what better place to play than outside?
Of course whenever we are outdoors we want our girls to stay safe and be comfortable. What I like about L.L.Bean is that the clothing is meant for the outdoors. When we hike it’s always a safe bet to put my kiddos in long pants, especially during mosquito season. What I like about the denim from L.L.Bean is the reflective piece it has along the hem of their pants. If we’re walking to a trail head, or in a campground, I like that it’s an additional thing that helps to keep our family safe. 
We pack a backpack with everything we need to stay hydrated. We also pack healthy snacks, and we always carry basic first aid products in our first aid kit. L.L.Bean has stylish clothing for kids and the entire family. Our oldest even has a pair of boots that are not only perfect for the trail but also keep her feet dry when we come to a stream.
This summer it’s all about making meaningful moments happen with our girls. Whether it’s singing our favorite song on a trail or stopping to play in the sand of a dried up riverbed. There are adventures to have, and we want to spend more moments this summer making them happen! If you ask our girls about their favorite trips it’s not always about fancy hotels and swimming at the pool. Sometimes the best moments happen when you’re hot and tired and having an adventure.
You can find out more about the products seen in this post at L.L.Bean.com.
We sometimes go on a photo shoot, trying to find beautiful things to take pictures of.
slehan at juno dot com
These are great activities.
We love getting outside as much as possible. These are great ideas.
I love everything about LL Bean! I used to go to Maine and hit up their outlet all the time.
I agree, you never know where you’re going to find that awesome moment that makes a great memory. A lot of times like you said, it’s when you’re hot, tired and doing something just together. 🙂
We used to love hiking as a family. Definitely agree on long pants for hiking!
There is so much to do with zero investment. And I absolutely love LL Bean quality clothes. Anything I have from them less a long time – perfect outdoor clothes!
L.L. Bean is a great brand, love their stuff! Those boots you have are awesome! We love to go outside and take walks in the open woods behind our house. We find a new animal or creature to talk about each day, along with plants and, flowers, and trees!
We love to get outdoors! These are some great ideas on how to do that.
These really are great activities that families can do outside. I Love it. We enjoy taking walks, and we head out on our old railroad tracks trail that I used to walk as a kid. SO much fun. We are thinking about taking crayons and paper to the cemetery and doing rubbings of some of the cool super old stones there too, some have beautiful sayings! I used to do grave stone rubbings as a kid.
These are great ideas! With the kids home this summer, I am always looking for fun ideas for us!
One of our favorite activities is playing with chalk. It’s cheap and the bag of chalk can go many places, plus it washes away with the next rain.
I haven’t played hide and seek with the kids for years now. That would be fun to do even if they are older now.
What fun activities to do outdoors. Nature ABC’s would be a great way to use your mind while being active.
Great way to have quality time. Thanks for sharing
We love LL Bean stuff! We have many stores here and my kids love to visit to take a pic with the giant boot.
Your kiddos are so cute. I loved being outside with my parents when I was younger, some of my most fond memories! Right now in Phoenix it’s too hot so we’ll save these ideas come fall 🙂
I love nature rubbings! They are so fun to make….finding leaves, small uneven rocks, fossils, etc and then turning them into art is so much fun. I love checking out nature trails and wildlife preserves outdoors as well.
I really like that you just took some time in your day to go explore outside. Where I live it is a little too warm right now to do it but in the spring and fall we go explore all the time. It’s a great way to get some family time in without any screens.
I love this! Too many people these days think you have to spend a lot of money on gadgets or trips to have a good time. All you really need is each other and some imagination.