Our top activities to get outdoors this summer with Scouts
Summer is a great time to get outside, whether it's by the beach, in the woods or in the school playground.
Wherever your group can get to this summer, even your own meeting place, it's great to be outdoors.
We've lots of games and fun activities to fill those longer nights and create inexpensive, action-packed adventures.
There are lots of badges to celebrate Scouts taking part in outdoor activities. You'll find this within your Challenge Awards or top awards, too. Take a look at some of the badges you can earn outdoors.
Perhaps you want to get outside on a chilly evening, wrap up in jumpers and give everyone involved in a well-loved Scouts tradition?
- Learn how to build and light a campfire
- Make tasty s'mores
- Know how to stay safe around a campfire
- Sing some campfire songs
- Take a look at our campfire recipes
Remember to stay safe while cooking. Take a look at our guidance on food safety, carbon monoxide safety and camp stove safety.
Sports Day might also be on your group’s summer bucket list, but why not ditch the egg and spoon for a Sports Day with a twist?
- Have a space themed sports day
- Host your own mini olympics
- Run a Highland Games event
- Try some tennis activities
- Play some footgolf
Remember to take time to warm up and cool down before and after playing.
Being outdoors can not only allow us to be active and connect with nature, it can also offer us lots of tools to create some fantastic art!
- Play nature noughts and crosses
- Make your own magical tree trolls
- Create some natural sculptures.
- Go on a nature treasure hunt
- Make nature's orchestra. You could even invite The Beetles!
- Learn about different trees and know how to tell leaves apart
- Make a leafy picture
Summer is a fantastic time to get outside and get green-fingered.
- Make homemade seed balls
- Create some upcycled planters
- Build a wild community garden
- Grow a green caterpillar
- Put together a plastic bottle greenhouse
- Plant trees in your local area
- Grow a sunflower
It’s not just people who love the sunny weather, insects, birds and wildlife can be seen buzzing, crawling and flying throughout the summer months!
- Become a nature detective
- Get to know your mini-beasts
- Make a bug hotel for your neighbourhood wildlife to live in.
- Build a bird house
- Put together a butterfly feeder
- Create a toilet-roll bird feeder
- Go on a litter pick
When the weather’s nice, why not get everyone outside for some fun, active games? Try one of our creative games to mix up your programme.
- Escape dragons in this Desert Island Dash
- Play Smuggler's Treasure?
- Take part in Water Dodgeball
- Try Hide and Seek with 40:40
- Play the classic Capture The Flag
- Enjoy a game of Escape the Jail
- Play to steal tokens in Nest Raiders
- Try Pushball, a high-energy game
- Avoid the foxes in Foxes and Rabbits
- Play Duck Duck Goose
Take a look at our advice on running active games safely, including wide games.
For playing games in hot weather, such as summer, take a look at our advice on hot weather and summer activity safety.
You can have lots of adventures in Scouts, even without leaving your meeting place.
- Experiment with reaction rockets
- Try den building
- Test your senses on a rope walk
- Go on a coastal alphabet hunt
- Learn tracking symbols
- Have fun stargazing
The outdoors can be great for getting active, but it can also help everyone to relax, take a moment and become more mindful.
- Have a stretch and do animal yoga
- Learn a basic meditation technique
- Go on a mindfulness walk
- Build a wellbeing box
- Try different mindfulness techniques
On a hot day, it’s always nice to cool off in a pool – whether it’s at camp, your local leisure centre or even a school pool!
- Play easy water polo.
- Try a game of Electric Eels to practice treading water
- Play Dive, Dive, Dive! to hunt for treasure
- Try not to laugh playing Funny Floating
- Have a game of Sea Stacks with floats
- Play Escape, Me Hearties! with this pirate-themed game
Take a look at more kayak, canoe and raft games, as well as more games for a swimming pool.
Remember, be careful when doing activities with, in, or near water. You need to check surfaces and reduce the risk of slipping, where possible, and make sure you have appropriate supervision for this activity. Find out more about our rules in our Swimming safety guidance.
Get ready to ride this summer with some brilliant bike activities.
So put on your helmet, get your bike ready to ride, and make yourself seen with high-visibility clothes, reflectors and lights.
- Play a game of i-Spy cycle
- Give scooting a go in this fun taster session
- Test yourself in bike balance gymnastics
- Learn how to remove a wheel
- Make art with your GPS tracking
- Practice turning in a cycle slalom
- Why not create your own Le Tour de Scouts?
- Learn about punctures and how to fix them
- Get to know the Countryside Code
Unlike walking, cycling has a multitude of extra hazards when looking after a group.
Take a look at our Cycling guidance.
Staying safe in Scouts
Keeping everyone safe in Scouts is everyone’s responsibility.
All activities must be safely managed. You can use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity.
Always complete a risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. You can use the safety guidance on each activity’s page to help you.
Remember to get approval for your activities, have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
Make sure you know what to do in an emergency with the Purple Card, and every adult should have a copy of the Yellow Code, which is our code of conduct.
Although the UK is not known for its high temperatures, we do experience heat waves from time to time, so summer activities needs to be safely managed. Find our more on how to Stay safe in hot weather.
