Try a fun neighborhood scavenger hunt to get your kids off the couch and exploring the neighborhood! And since I know that you’re probably ready to pull your hair out and it’s only noon, I’ve even included two FREE printable scavenger hunts to use – one for younger kids and one for tweens and teens! Just print out these neighborhood scavenger hunts and get ready to go exploring with your kids!
Are your kids about to go stir-crazy being stuck at home?
They’ve played Twister about 542 times, painted enough watercolor pictures to wallpaper your entire house, and watched enough movies that you’ve inadvertently caught yourself humming “Let it Go” in line at the grocery store. More than once.
You’re scraping the bottom of your Momma bag of tricks and coming up empty-handed.
But, I got you Momma…
Get your kids outdoors with a fun neighborhood scavenger hunt… a great outdoor activity for kids, especially if you don’t want to pile them all in the car and leave the house!
Side Note – If you ARE getting cabin fever, and you need to get out of the house to have some adult interaction, then try one of these FREE (or Cheap) Fun Activities for Kids to Get Them Out of the House!
But, if buckling all your little ones into their car seats just sounds like too much work, then take them for a fun walk/expedition around the neighborhood instead.
These neighborhood scavenger hunt ideas are the perfect way to spend a morning, before the heat sets in and your energy level drops to zero.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from these links at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.
Get My FREE Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt Printables
Before you set off on your expedition, be sure to click below to sign up for my FREE email newsletter! As my gift to you, I will send you the password to my freebies library, where you can find the FREE neighborhood scavenger hunt printables filled with pictures of things to find in nature and in your “neighborhood jungle”.
To Use Your FREE Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt for Kids Printable:
This is probably pretty self-explanatory, but if the summer vibes and sunscreen fumes have turned your Mom brain to mush, then here you go…
- Print out your Scavenger Hunt Printables. They’re in PDF form, so no need to have any fancy computer program.
- Grab some pencils, markers, or crayons.
- Walk around the neighborhood with your kids as they hunt for the items on their scavenger hunt list!
- When they find a scavenger hunt item, they just cross it off their list.
*Totally optional – After your kids are tired out from a trek around the neighborhood, come home, pop some popcorn (’cause you know they’ll be “starving”), and push Play on an Amazon Prime movie! And enjoy a peaceful hour or two.
What Ages Can Use these FREE Printables?
Kids Ages 3 to 10
I’ve got two FREE neighborhood scavenger hunt printables for you!
The first neighborhood scavenger hunt is perfect for kids ages 3 to 10 years. It’s filled with easy to find items like a dog and a birdhouse, great for stroller-bound toddlers. And it also has some trickier items like sidewalk chalk drawings and a soccer ball.
My kids’ neighborhood scavenger hunt has picture and word descriptions so it’s easy for kids of all ages to identify the items by themselves.
Plus, the pictures act as visual cues to help early-readers to read the descriptions. Look at you, sneaking in an educational activity without your kids even knowing it! 🙂
Want to really up the fun factor? Throw in one or two adventure-themed toys like a magnifying glass, binoculars, or a bug catcher!
Tweens and Teens
If you have tweens or teens that need to be dragged away from the Playstation, then I’ve got that covered, too! The second neighborhood scavenger hunt is great for ages 11 to 15-ish.
Let your tweens and teens put their smartphones to good use (since you pretty much have zero chance of prying them from their grips anyway!). Plus, get your older kids to breathe in some fresh air and get a bit of exercise with a more challenging scavenger hunt.
The neighborhood scavenger hunt for teens requires them to take photos of the items on the list. Send your tweens and teens out in groups of 2-4 (assuming that you live in a safe neighborhood!).
Have them snap pictures of harder to find items like an out of season wreath, a garden gnome, or a mailbox with a last name that starts with the letter “S”.
However, you may want to warn them about camera phone etiquette. Some people won’t want their pictures taken, and you don’t want your teen snapping photos of random little kids. Hello, red flag!
This scavenger hunt is a great way to get your older kids socializing face-to-face, rather than just “Liking” someone’s photo on Facebook.
For bonus Mom points, plan to have snacks ready for when they return!
And there you have it! A super fun and easy, impromptu activity for your kids to enjoy this summer. If you want even more scavenger hunts for kids, then head to Buggy and Buddy for even more great hunt ideas.
Need even more fun activities for kids? Try this easy 2 ingredient Edible Finger Paint!
Or sneak in a little math practice with a fun and FREE Roll and Cover Dice Game:
Still looking for fun and easy activities for kids? Then check out these posts:
- Fun Outdoor Summer Activities for Kids to Get Them Off the Couch
- 12 Places to Take Your Kids for FREE (or Cheap) Summer Fun
And be sure to PIN this post, so you can print the FREE scavenger hunts when you need them:
Comments & Reviews
amazing ideas. I work as a para professional with children that have different needs. Always looking for great ideas to keep them engaged and learning!
I do not see the link or how to print the two scavenger hunts…help please? Thanks, looks like fun.
Hi Deanna! Did you see the box in the post to sign up for my free email newsletter? As a gift for signing up for my newsletter you get access to my entire freebies library… there are over 60 free printables in there. 🙂
I would love the free scavenger hunts and the math dice games! Thank you!
teens scavenger hunt
I can’t find the neighborhood Scavenger Hunt link to click on.
Hi Janet! Did you see the box in the post where you sign up for the free email newsletter? All of my free printables (there’s over 60 of them) are in my freebies library, and you get access as a gift for signing up for my newsletter. If you need help, just send me an email to [email protected] 🙂
I signed up but cant find the scavenger hunt link too!
Hi Melisa! Sorry about that… I’ll email you the link right now. Thanks for reaching out! 🙂
Looks incredible 😉
Thanks so much Sandy! My kids LOVE this neighborhood scavenger hunt, and it’s a great activity for a family walk… and it’s FREE, so that’s a bonus! 🙂
Can you send me the link. I signed up but haven’t received the link.
Hi Jacqueline! Sure thing, I’m sending it right now. Enjoy! 🙂
I signed up but did not receive a password to print the scavenger hunts. Looking for something to do with my grandchildren this afternoon. I received the welcome email and have checked my spam. Still nothing.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Theresa! Sorry about that… I will go ahead and email you the scavenger hunt and the password. 🙂
i gave my deatils and havent received the link to the scavengerhunt!
Hi Lisa! I will go ahead and email you the scavenger hunt… sorry about that! 🙂
hello Amy….I can not see the link to print the Scavenger hunt printables. I have subscribed to the email group…help…😁
Hi Angele! Did you get the email with the password to the freebies library? I will email you the printable scavenger hunt right now, just in case you didn’t get it! 🙂
Hey! I’ve confirmed my email, and I haven’t received the Welcome Email. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Lucinda! My email service shows that the email was sent at 9:29am… maybe check your spam/junk folder? I will go ahead and send you the Freebies library password and the scavenger hunt PDFs just in case! 🙂
I also haven’t received my welcome email
Hi Cassie! Can you check your “Promotions” and “Spam” folder? Sometimes Gmail accounts don’t like me. 🙂 If you still can’t find it, I’ll just email you the password to the FREEBIES library so you can grab whatever PDFs you want.
I put my email in to subscribe and haven’t gotten anything yet. I see from other comments that I should get an intial email, but I haven’t gotten that yet? Thanks!
Hi Amber! Maybe the email to confirm went to a spam/junk folder? I went ahead and moved you over to the Confirmed subscribers list, so you should be seeing the Welcome Email soon. Let me know if you still don’t get it. 🙂
Hello!
I subscribed, received the welcome email, followed the link in the email and typed in the provided password – tried all forms of upper/lower case and every time I clicked submit it just took me back to the password entry page. No error message or anything so I’m not sure if the password is invalid or what. My daughter really enjoys scavenger hunts and this one looks really fun! Any suggestions for getting the password to work? Thanks!
Hi Sara! Yes, a few people have been having that same problem… here’s the fix… After you’ve typed in the password, just click “Freebies” from the main menu and it should open right up for you. Let me know if you still can’t get it and I’ll just email you the PDFs. 🙂
Hi, I love these ideas! I signed up for the email, but cannot find the downloadable PDF.
Hi Mary! You should have received an email to confirm your subscription to my email list… You just need to click the button in that email to confirm, and then you’ll get the Welcome Email with all of the info/PDF/Freebies password that you need… Maybe check your spam or junk folder for that initial email. Let me know if you still can’t find it. 🙂
No e-mail received
Hi Angela! My email service shows that you haven’t confirmed your subscription… You should have received an initial email to do that, and then you’ll get the Welcome Email with the Freebies. 🙂 Maybe check your spam folder? Let me know if you still didn’t get it, and I’ll email them out to you manually. Thanks for the heads up!
I signed up for the email list and got the first email, but never got one that allows me to print the scavenger hunt
Could you please send it to me?
Hi Brianne! Just emailed you the scavenger hunts and the FREEBIES library password! 🙂 Did you get the big Welcome Email after you confirmed your subscription? The directions for how to access the freebies should have been in there. Let me know if you still didn’t get it. 🙂
Hello,
I also did not get an email for scavenger hunts after subscribing.
Please email.
Thank you!
Hi Kathi! Your email address is not showing up on my list of subscribers… so I’m thinking that maybe you haven’t confirmed your subscription yet? You should have gotten an email to just confirm that you wanted to be on my list, and then after that you will be sent a Welcome Email. I went ahead and sent the scavenger hunts to you, but be sure to confirm your subscription so that you don’t miss when I put new freebies up. 🙂
I also just signed up for the newsletter but never got an email with the scavenger hunt. Please resend – thank you!
Hi Jessica! I went ahead and sent the scavenger hunts to your email… And my email service shows that you were sent the Welcome Email (with the link to the PDFs and the freebies library password), but it shows the email was never opened… So maybe check your spam folder? Thanks for reaching out! Enjoy the scavenger hunts! 🙂
I can’t find the link to the pdf. I signed up for the emails
Hi! I will email it right over, just in case you’re still having a hard time finding the link for the Scavenger Hunts. 🙂
I can’t find the actual link to the printable scavenger hunt. I’ve joined the email list but I don’t see the way to actually print the list.
Hi Melanie! Sorry, I missed your comment somehow! Did you figure out how to print the scavenger hunt? If not, I’d be happy to email it to you! 🙂