15 Woodland Activities - fun for all the family

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…

We believe woods are the world's best playgrounds. They spark imaginations, inspire a love of the natural world, and help to create happy memories you'll have for a lifetime.

Woodlands are a pleasure to visit all year round, from the summer season with lush green landscapes, glorious sunshine, rainbows of wildflowers to the crunch of leaves beneath your feet and burnt orange sunsets in autumn. Every season has its unique beauty.

Not only is it magical to behold, but the woodlands are full of fun activities for children of all ages (even the grown ups will love some of these ideas). Whether you want to build dens, spot wildlife, get creative or play games, we've got plenty of ideas to help families enjoy woods and the great outdoors all year round.

Experience the magic in your local woodlands

So here’s our list of activities to enjoy some quality time outdoors with your family…

Manhunt
There’s a few different rules with this game, so we will share a few different versions - each are easily adaptable for a smaller group. Some have a base where the hunted has to get back to before being tagged and then the people switch around and there's a new hunter chosen. Another way is for there to be one hunter, anyone else playing has to hide all around and when they tag or shout the name & hiding spot of a person they find that person joins the hunters team (it's recommended that the people being hunted move around without being spotted rather than sit in one spot as otherwise the new hunters will find them easily). You can also play it at night, where the hunter has a torch and has to shine their light on the person hiding when they find them, it can be fun in a meadow on a moonlit night. Often the last person found by the hunter becomes the new hunter.

Climb a tree
Climbing trees is great for your kid physically and emotionally. Climbing trees encourages adventure, creativity, and inspiration in your kids. So why not find a tree with lots of branches and see how high you can get. Even bring a book up with you and enjoy reading up high? (Make sure you stay safe and have an adult near by).

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts are an exciting way to get children exploring the natural world. They are also a great way to add fun to family walks. The possibilities are endless. You can do seasonal scavenger hunts, searching for signs of spring or autumn treasures. How about a colour theme? Challenge younger children to look out for different colours in nature, while older children could track down different shades of one colour.

Sword fighting sticks
Find your favourite sword fighting stick by searching for the best fallen branch you can. Get rid of lumps, bumps and leaves and even add your own touches with rope to personalise it. Remember to play safe and avoid hurting the other person!

Hide and seek
An absolute classic that kids love from an early age. Choose an area of the woodlands with lots of hiding spots and get really creative with your hiding places. Remember to have a safe word to shout if anyone gets lost!

Build a den

Whether you're building a shelter to protect you from the elements or a secret hide where you can watch wildlife, den building is a fun activity the whole family can enjoy together. Why not bring along a blanket or mat and some things for inside the den like a torch - a perfect place for storytelling. And remember, only gather branches and sticks that have fallen to the ground. Please don't break them off trees - we like to look after our planet!

Build a den

Leaf and bark rubbings (Wood art)
Woods are full of natural craft materials. Keep your eyes peeled for fallen leaves, petals, sticks and pebbles, then get creative with some woodland art - this activity is perfect for the arty and creative types. You could build a tower out of twigs, make a pattern using colourful petals, or even make funny faces on the woodland floor. Maybe you could collect enough natural materials to write your name and take a picture.

Animal tracking
If you keep your eyes peeled while you’re exploring the woods, you’ll find lots of signs of animal activity, and it’s a fantastic experience for youngsters when they make an exciting discovery. Look closely at the woodland floor to see if you can find animal footprints, known as tracks. Soft mud, frost and snowy ground are good areas to explore as paw prints and hoof marks show up more clearly.

Collaborative story telling
This is a fun way of encouraging children to pay attention to details, engage in story plots, and think of possible scenarios - a great way to help with their imagination and storytelling skills. One by one, you start with a storyline and then the next person lets the story go the way they want for a paragraph or sentence. Why not gather around a campfire with blankets and roast some marshmallows at the same time?

Collaborative Storytelling

Pooh sticks
Poohsticks is a game first mentioned in The House at Pooh Corner, a Winnie-the-Pooh book by A. A. Milne. It is a simple game which may be played on any bridge over running water; each player drops a stick on the upstream side of a bridge and the one whose stick first appears on the downstream side is the winner.

Orienteering

Get them lost and test their navigation skills! Leading kids through orienteering games improves their navigational skills, builds teamwork and the ability to communicate and provides physical exercise. Most orienteering games utilise a course, which you’ll need to set out ahead of time, and the kids compete using a map to navigate their way through the course as fast as they can. Split the kids into small teams to keep the littler ones safe.

Woodland picnic
Food tastes so much better out of doors, and for kids its a real adventure. So next time you head to the woods, why not have an alfresco feast?
Many of our woods have beautiful views and stunning scenery. Leafy trees also provide plenty of sun dappled, shady spots to enjoy a picnic in the summer months. So pack up your picnic basket with some yummy food and a blanket and head out to find your perfect picnic spot.

Woodland Picnic

Hunt a tree
Blindfold the kids and get them to know a tree by feeling for branches, texture and size (within clear parameters). Step them away from the tree and remove the blindfold. Then, the aim is for them try to find it without any clues, just their findings from before. Maybe grab a little bag of treats for the winner. This exercise helps them to use not only their eyes, but their feeling / touch senses.

Obstacle course
Try and use as many natural objects as you can during this course! It improves agility, balance and coordination. Split the kids into small teams, such as three to four to a team. Each team starts behind the same line. One child from each team navigates their way through a course. The course can feature different obstacles along the way, such as a line of pine cones through which the kids must zigzag, hurdles they need to jump over, stones they need to throw into a bucket. Once this first child gets to the end, they tag their teammate, who then takes their turn through the course.

Spot wildlife
Do your kids get excited about bird watching or love getting up close to creepy crawlies? Woods are teeming with wildlife, so there's no better place for young nature lovers to explore. Why not use a nature identification book or google and identify what you've spotted with your child to learn more about our creepy crawlies and wildlife.

Spotting Wildlife

Fancy giving these ideas a whirl?

Round the Woods offers luxury family glamping in a woodland setting, with 7 acres of woods just waiting to be explored and perfect for activities and games, including den building, a woodland play space and tree swings. Visit our website to learn more about our roundhouse accommodation open all year round and perfect for cosy woodland luxury glamping in Norfolk!