20 Nature and Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Mission Ideas

Exploration has always been at the heart of great nature scavenger hunts. Concrete and tarmac environments are the common sight for many people living in urban environments, which means it’s never a bad idea to take the adventure to the outdoors. Whether you’re on a hike, a camping weekend, or just exploring some green space in your home city, these outdoor scavenger hunt ideas are some of our favorites to add to your list!

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Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Idea Set 1: Take a Hike!

Stretch your legs and get back in touch with the natural world! This set of scavenger hunt mission ideas require your participants to venture out on the trails in order to complete the challenges.

• Monumental - Find a statue, a monument, or just an everyday object that has been dedicated with a plaque. Photograph your team next to your find!
• Monkey Business - Take a photo of a teammate climbing up and hanging from a tree.
• Skipping Stones - Find a body of water, take a video of a team member skipping a rock into the body of water. Bonus points for most skips!
• Marching Beat - It’s important to keep your morale up when on a long hike! Take a video of your team of hikers singing a song together!
• No Filter - No specific rules to this one, simply take the most stunning photo of the outdoors view as you can.

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Idea Set 2: Seek Out Some Animals and Wildlife

Channel your inner Steve Irwin and challenge your friends to head outdoors to search of creatures and fauna. Some of these require some knowledge of the wilderness, and will be a worthwhile challenge to your scavenger hunt participants!

• Fetch - Find someone playing fetch with their dog, take a photo of your team with the dog holding a stick in their mouth. Bonus points for the biggest stick!
• Bird Watching - Take the best photo you can of a bird in the wilderness. Can’t find one? Better get somebody on your team to do their best impersonation!
• Scat - Find and photograph some animal droppings. Do not get anyone on your team to create their own if you cannot find any...
• Animal Tracker - Spot any tracks on the ground that an animal might have left behind? Take a photo of your find. Make sure a teammate’s hand is next to the imprint for scale!
• Bugging Out - Find an exotic-looking insect and take a photo of one brave member of your team getting as close as they can to it.

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Idea Set 3: Include Some Eco-Friendly Missions

In a world abound with climate issues, it’s never a bad ideas to include a few eco-friendly scavenger hunt missions in your game. These mission ideas help remind your participants to respect the rules of the trail when out the wilderness so that our natural environment can be enjoyed by generations to come!

• Cleanup Crew - Take a photo of each member of your team holding a piece of litter they found in the wild, properly dispose of the litter when you encounter a trash can.
• Leave it be - Find the most exotic looking flower, plant, or other flora. Take a photo of your find still attached to where it was growing from.
• Pedal Power - Bicycles are one of the most environmentally-friendly vehicles around. Find somebody who is out for a spin and stop them for a photo with your team.
• Recharge - Solar power is paving the way to a green future. Take a photo of a team member holding a solar-powered device to the sky to harness the power of the sun.
• Fresh Air - Don’t take nature’s air quality for granted. Take a photo of your team with contented looks on their faces as they take in a big breath of fresh nature air together.

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Idea Set 4: Creativity in the Outdoors

This last set contains mission ideas are a few that we’ve found suitable for participants looking to flex their creative might. Inspired from nature documentaries and wilderness survival movies of years past, submissions to challenges in this section will be top contenders for scoring bonus points!

• National Geographic - Take a video of your team members roaming the great wilderness. Have the cameraperson narrate the team’s movements and interactions David Attenborough style.
• Circle of Life - Find a large rock, take a photo of a team member holding another team member on the rock like Simba in The Lion King. (Be careful not to lose your balance or drop anyone from a high place!)
• Wilson! I’m sorry! - Find a ball. Film a clip of a team member shouting the famous Cast Away “Wilson! I’m sorry!” line to the object. Bonus points for costumes and best performance.
• Rain/Sun Dance - How’s the weather? If it’s sunny, create a video of your team performing a rain dance asking mother nature to bring rain upon the land. If it’s cloudy or dark out, perform one asking for sun instead.
• I name this land… - Follow in the footsteps of history’s great explorers. Create a makeshift flag and take an epic photo of a team member planting it somewhere!

Check out our other scavenger hunt mission idea posts or our Edu specific Mission Library for classrooms!

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