Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Clues

Sixteen riddles for the backyard, front yard and garden: the mailbox, the hose, the swing, the shed and more, each with its answer.

Make printable cards from these clues

Opens the card maker with all 16 clues filled in (, 26 points in all). Edit any card, choose a find-it list or a clue trail, set the number of teams and print the cards and answer key.

The answers are places most yards have, but not every yard has all of them: before the party, cross out the clues for things you do not have (a rain barrel, a fire pit, a birdhouse). The rest still make a working trail, because the card maker rebuilds the hiding order from whatever clues you keep.

The 16 clues and answers

#	Clue	Answer	Points
1	We sit outside in summer, all around one table. Look under the chair nearest the house.	Patio chairs	1
2	I am long and green and coiled like a snake. Turn my tap and a puddle you make.	Garden hose	1
3	One wheel at the front, two handles at the back: I carry soil and leaves.	Wheelbarrow	2
4	I am a tiny house with a round front door. No people live here, only birds. Look below me, not inside.	Birdhouse	2
5	Pump your legs and you fly, but you never leave the yard.	Swing	1
6	Grass clippings and fallen leaves wait in me until collection day. Look behind me.	Yard waste bin	1
7	I am the oldest thing in the yard and my shade is the widest. Look around my roots.	Biggest tree	2
8	A ring of stones where marshmallows toast. Look only when I am cold and unlit.	Fire pit	2
9	Herbs and vegetables grow here in neat rows.	Vegetable bed	2
10	I swing open to let visitors in. Look by my latch.	Garden gate	1
11	People stand on me while they wait for the doorbell to be answered.	Front porch	1
12	Flat stones in a line across the grass: follow us to the last one.	Stepping stones	2
13	I catch the rain from the roof and keep it for the plants. Look beside me, never inside.	Rain barrel	3
14	Buckets, shovels and sand castles: little hands dig in me.	Sandbox	2
15	A seat for two that never comes indoors, even in winter.	Garden bench	1
16	Rakes, shovels and flower pots are stored inside me.	Garden shed	2

Setting up an outdoor hunt

Set the boundaries out loud. Say which parts of the yard are in play and that the street is not.
Weigh the cards down. A stone or a clothespin stops a card blowing away; a clear plastic sleeve keeps it dry.
Check each stop. Look for sharp tools by the shed, open water in a rain barrel and stinging plants by the fence before anyone starts. Hide cards beside the rain barrel and below the birdhouse, never inside them, and use the fire pit only when it is cold.
Mix in a park. For a hunt in a public park, the card maker's Park starter clues use benches, signs and play equipment instead of a garden.

How the printable cards work

Loading this set gives you one numbered player card per clue and a separate answer key. Played as a clue trail, the key adds a hiding list for the places; played as a find-it list, each team can print a tick-box checklist instead. Nothing is uploaded: the hunt is saved in your browser.

Planning the hunt

Rhyming Scavenger Hunt Clues: 20 Riddles With Answers, and the Rule That Stops a Rhyme Giving the Answer Away: 12 indoor and 8 outdoor rhyming clues, the four mistakes that make rhyming clues too easy or unsolvable, and a printable trail for two teams.

Questions

What are good outdoor scavenger hunt clues?

Clues about things that stay in one place, such as the mailbox, the gate or the biggest tree, so a card hidden there is still there when players arrive.

How do I stop clue cards blowing away?

Tuck them under a stone or clip them with a clothespin, and use a clear plastic sleeve if rain is possible.

Can I use these clues for a park?

Some of them, such as the biggest tree. For a park, start from the card maker's Park starter clues and add your own.

How do teams avoid running into each other?

In a clue trail the card maker gives every team a different starting stop on the same loop.

More clue sets

Indoor Scavenger Hunt Clues16 clues · I am cold inside and bright when you peek. I keep the milk fresh for most of the week.Scavenger Hunt Clues for Kids16 clues · Time for bed! Look under the pillow where you rest your head.Scavenger Hunt Clues for Adults and Teens16 clues · I decide whether the house is warm or cold, yet I never feel a thing.Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues32 clues · I stand in the corner every December and hold up the shiny things. Look at the back of my stand, on the floor, away from the lights.Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt24 clues · Coats pile up on me when the guests arrive. Look under the top jacket.

All sets on one page: scavenger hunt clues with answers.