12 Magical Autumn Nature Activities While Camping in 2025

Last Updated on 27 September 2025

For me, autumn is a lovely time of the year for camping. The weather is cooler, there are fewer crowds when we’re exploring, the colours are changing to vibrant reds, oranges, and golds, and it’s a great time to reconnect with nature.

We never really need an excuse to be outside, but there’s something magical about autumn. I love stepping on crunchy leaves and seeing the Rowan trees with their red berries, and waking up to crisp mornings.

Whether you’re navigating muddy woodland paths with your toddlers or seeking adventure with older children, autumn nature activities provide the perfect blend of education, exercise, and joy. And if you’re camping, that’s even better as you’ll have plenty to see and do.

What’s great about this list is that you can do them with your kids or without. Ready to find out what family outdoor adventures you can do on your next camping trip?

Let’s read on to find out more!

Two sunflowers, one with orange petals and the other with yellow petals, and a pumpkin. Autumn nature activities. Photo by Eric Tompkins on Unsplash — Photo by Eric Tompkins on Unsplash

Autumn Nature Activities to Do While Camping

1. Go On a Scavenger Hunt

Who doesn’t enjoy an autumn scavenger hunt now and then? My kids love doing these when we’re out exploring.

Not only are scavenger hunts fun, but they also provide great autumn nature activities for kids, helping them develop their observational skills while spending quality time outside. What’s great about these is that they don’t require too much to make them fun. For us, they help our kids stay interested in being outside that bit longer and finding different things in nature.

Fun Game: For a bit of extra fun, why not try this autumn camping activities quiz to see how well you know the great outdoors?

2. Leaf Collecting

Leaf collecting is another enjoyable autumn nature activity that you and your kids can do. I love the colours of the leaves at this time of the year, the reds, golds, and oranges. They made great additions to your seasonal autumn crafts as well. This is something we enjoy doing when we’re camping, especially if the weather isn’t the best and we need some rainy day camping activities for the kids.

Or if you wanted to turn it into a game, collect as many different leaves as you can find and see if you know which trees they come from, perfect for those autumn woodland activities.

3. Do Some Stargazing

As long as you’ve got plenty of visibility and a clear night sky, camping offers some great opportunities to stargaze. Once it turns dark and with limited light pollution, the stars and planets put on an amazing show. With the nights getting darker earlier in the autumn, our kids love staying up to see which constellations they can point out. We’ve even been lucky a few times and seen some shooting stars.

4. Build a Den

A young child building a den. Photo by Maël BALLAND on Unsplash — Photo by Maël BALLAND on Unsplash

This is one of those autumn nature activities that is a firm favourite in our household. We don’t even have to be camping and exploring to make dens.

There’s something about making your own den that’s not only great for outdoor autumn adventures, but because you’re so focused on what you’re doing, your mind and body just relax instead of worrying about the daily stresses of life…well, mine does anyway.

It’s lovely seeing my kids working together and being creative when they’re making their dens. We sometimes bring sandwiches with us and sit down after we’ve finished to enjoy what we’ve achieved.

5. Climb a Tree

If you’re wondering what autumn adventure activities to try this season, climbing a tree should be on your list that your children or even you will enjoy (just make sure you stay safe while doing so). When you’re doing some woodland exploration, find a suitable tree and do some climbing. This is a great activity that will help develop physical strength and self-confidence, boost problem-solving skills, and give children the attitude that they can do anything.

6. Campfire Cooking

When you’re ready for dinner at your campsite, there’s nothing better than cooking your own meal over a campfire or a camping stove. This is one of our favourite things to do after we’ve had a busy day exploring and need some food before settling down for the evening.

These autumn camping recipes have been used countless times when we’ve been camping, as they’re easy to make and often only require one pot or some pre-prep at home first. Perfect, if you’re cooking for yourself or if you’re camping with kids.

Check out our best camping stoves on a budget to help make your delicious autumn meals a reality!

7. Go Birdwatching

We’ve got a few birdwatchers in our family, so this is a delightful and educational autumn outdoor learning activity we enjoy doing. We do this where we’re camping or if we’re walking in a forest, exploring our surroundings. My kids love taking their binoculars with them to see if they can spot birds in the trees. We try to go somewhere quiet where we can sit and listen to the different birdsongs. It’s amazing how many you can hear when you focus on what’s going on in nature.

8. Go for a Nature Walk

A nature walk in the woods. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash — Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Whenever we go camping in autumn, one of our autumn nature activities includes a walk. We love finding out what’s around us and discovering new gems in places we haven’t been before. Unlike summer, autumn temperatures are a lot cooler, so there are fewer complaints from our children who are too hot to walk.

Outdoor autumn adventures involving woodland exploration are also great for family bonding and spending quality time together on your camping trip. Just make sure you take enough hiking snacks with you!

9. Take Nature Photos

This one might be better suited to older children, but there’s nothing wrong with young ones having a go as well. My eldest loves taking photos when we’re out and enjoys this autumn nature activity when we’re camping. She’s come back with great photos of leaves showing their different colours, landscapes of a forest walk, and our campsite with farm animals in the shot.

When we’re back home, I enjoy looking at the photos they’ve captured as they create great memories and reminders of the fun they had.

10. Storytelling Night

What better way to unwind after a busy day than with a story before bed? After everyone has had dinner and is ready for sleep, get cosy and tell a story. You can either bring one with you or, like we do, make your own one up based on what you did that day.

Sometimes, we like to make it into a game by taking a turn with the story, saying a few sentences before someone else has a go. Leave the last word you say open-ended, so the next person can carry on, taking the story in a different direction. We’ve had some outlandish stories doing this, but it’s great for using your imagination!

11. Pick Apples

If you’re lucky enough to have an apple orchard next to your campsite, why not see if you can do some apple picking? It’s great fun and our kids loved it when we found one because it was so different to what we normally do on camping trips. We even got a few apples out of it as well.

12. Play Pooh Sticks

A river in a forest. Photo by Davide Dalfovo on Unsplash — Photo by Davide Dalfovo on Unsplash

Known by the loveable bear in Winnie the Pooh, Pooh sticks is a game that involves throwing sticks into a river to see who’ll be the first to cross the finish line. All you need to do is find a river (making sure to stay safe near it at all times), some suitable sticks, and throw them in. The one that crosses the line first is the winner.

Final Thoughts on Autumn Nature Activities

Autumn truly offers some of the most spectacular opportunities for family nature activities in the UK. From the simple joy of crunching through fallen leaves with your children to challenging hikes, this season provides endless possibilities for creating unforgettable memories.

The key to successful autumn nature activities lies in having fun and enjoying the time you’re spending together. So grab your waterproofs, pack some sandwiches, and head out to explore autumn camping activities while enjoying the wonderful autumn scenery around you.

What autumn nature activities will you try with your family?

For more outdoor inspiration, check out our related guides:

Happy camping!

Have you found this autumn nature activities guide useful? What other activities should we include on our list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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12 Magical Autumn Nature Activities While Camping in 2025