Whether you are hiking with your own children or grandchildren, or with scouts, students, or campers, these games can add some variety to a nature walk. If the group walks at different speeds, several of these activities can burn extra energy. Other games engage observation skills.
High Energy Hiking Games
Go There – Tell the children to run ahead to a point you can clearly see. Once they reach the spot, they can either run back to you or remain in that location until you catch up to them.
Footsteps – How far is that tree up ahead? Walking normally, have participants count how many steps it takes to reach a visible destination.
Stick Pass – Best played if there are five or more participants. Walk in straight file. The leader passes a stick to the person behind him or her and so on. The last person in line runs to the front to become the new leader who passes the stick back.
Crazy Walk – Every so often, call out for the children to take giant steps, tiny steps, walk backwards or sideways, hop, skip, etc. as they continue on their nature walk.
Rocks and Roots – Children travel along the trail trying to step only on rocks or roots instead of the ground.
Nature Observation Activities
Snake, Deer, Hawk Walk – Announce that when you call out, “Snake” everyone must walk along looking at the ground for 15–30 seconds. When they hear you say, “Deer” they look straight ahead and when you call, “Hawk” everyone should look up.
Little, Big, Biggest – Ask each child to locate an object that is his or her height. Can children find something half their height? Can they locate an object twice their height?
20 Questions – During a break, one player notices something in the area. The other players then ask twenty questions that can be answered either “yes” or “no” as they try to guess the identity of the object.
Quiet Camouflage – Everyone in the group pretends to be animals trying to avoid detection from people and other animals. The group walks as quietly as possible – no talking while moving as softly as possible. Select a time limit of 30 seconds to three minutes (for older children).
Nature Challenges
Leaf Balancing – Set a leaf on the bare head of each participant. Establish a finish line and see who reaches it with the leaf still on their head. This activity slows kids down while keeping them active.
Timed Walk – You need a stopwatch or a watch with a second hand. Secretly give each child or small group a time to count down to (4 minutes; 3 minutes 45 seconds; 3 minutes 30 seconds). Each child (or group) must walk to where you are standing in their exact amount of time without any cues from you.
When walking with a group of children, don’t feel obligated to run through one activity after the other. Sometime you won’t need to introduce any activities. Other times, one active game or challenge for the beginning of the walk when energy is highest and one observation activity to help kids unwind toward the end of the walk is sufficient. The ultimate goal of these games is to create an enjoyable experience in nature.
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