27 Fun Hiking Games for Kids to Keep Them Engaged in 2026
Discover 27 fun hiking games for kids that make every trail an adventure. From scavenger hunts to nature bingo, keep the whole family motivated and moving.
Last Updated on 29 June 2026
As parents who enjoy exploring the outdoors, being outside is important for us as a family and getting our girls to enjoy the outdoors too.
One way that helps us with two young girls is having the right hiking games for kids on hand to keep them engaged.
The “are we nearly there yet?” chorus is a rite of passage for any hiking family. But it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re looking for the best hiking games for a day trip to the Peak District or simply need some games to keep kids entertained while hiking along your local footpath, you’ve come to the right place. With a handful of clever, creative ideas tucked in your back pocket, you can transform even the most resistant little hiker into an enthusiastic trailblazer.
I’ve tested all of these hiking games for kids with my own children on trails across Exmoor, the New Forest, and Snowdonia, and there have been countless times when they’ve helped a lot.
Let’s read on to find out more!
Read more: Hiking with Children: The Complete UK Family Guide for 2026
Classic Hiking Games for Kids
Sometimes the simplest trail games for children are the best ones. No equipment, no preparation, no charged batteries required, just you, the trail, and a little imagination. These games are some of our favourite outdoor games for kids on hikes, which I’m sure you’ll enjoy playing too.
1. I Spy With a Nature Twist
You already know how to play, but instead of the usual household or outdoor objects, switch it for things you see on your trail. For instance, “I spy something rough and grey” (a lichen-covered rock), or “I spy something that’s moving without legs” (a stream).
It sounds simple, but this version sharpens your children’s observation skills. Younger kids love the colours and textures, while older ones can go deeper with shapes, patterns, even smells.
2. 20 Questions: Nature Edition
Pick an animal, plant, insect, or natural feature and let your kids fire away with yes or no questions. Is it alive? Does it have legs? Can you eat it? My girls love this game, and it’s a great addition to any list of games to play on a hike. I’ve also found this game works well on longer, flatter stretches where little legs need a distraction.
3. The Alphabet Game
Work through the alphabet by spotting something in nature for each letter. A is for acorn, B is for bramble, C is for crow. Easy at the start, trickier as you get further into the alphabet, but, I think, that’s half the fun.
4. Simon Says: Hiker Style
This is a great game that we love playing, making it the perfect option for young children, especially when their energy starts to flag mid-trail. Call out hiking-inspired commands: “Simon says tiptoe like a fox”, “Simon says jump over the puddle”, “Simon says freeze like a deer” It gets them moving, giggling, and forgetting they ever said they were tired. We’ve definitely used this game a fair few times over the years.
5. Name That Sound
Ask everyone to stop, close their eyes, and listen to what they can hear. Then go around the group and name every sound you can hear: birdsong, wind in the trees, a distant stream, leaves rustling underfoot. This games doesn’t take long, around two to three minutes, but it’s very calming, even for fidgety little ones. We like to play it when we’re sitting down for a rest stop or when we’re having something to eat.
Read more: The Best Hiking Gear for Kids of All Ages in 2026
Storytelling and Imagination Hiking Games for Kids
Not every child wants to run ahead or spot wildlife. Some little ones are dreamers, and the trail is the perfect setting to fire up their imagination. My girls enjoy doing both, and these hiking games for kids tap into creative thinking, making every walk feel like an adventure.
6. Trail Tales
This is another firm favourite trail game for our children. We start a story with a sentence, for instance, “Once upon a time, there was a tiny dragon who lived under this very bridge…”, then pass it to the next person, who adds another sentence.
Keep going until you reach a natural stopping point. The results are wonderful, and it’s always lovely to hear the imaginations of my girls come alive.
7. What Animal Lives Here?
Every hollow log, mossy bank, and dark burrow is a home for something magical. Encourage children to imagine the creatures that might live there. What do they eat? What are their names? What adventures do they have? This game works great with younger children who haven’t yet outgrown their sense of wonder. My youngest likes to make up names for them as well, which aren’t always the easiest to pronounce.
8. Map Makers
Give each child a small notebook and a pencil and ask them to draw the trail as you walk it. Bridges, streams, big trees, interesting rocks, everything goes on the map. These kinds of outdoor learning games are wonderful in disguise, as they help build spatial awareness and attention to detail in a fun way. At the end of the walk, compare maps and see what different things everyone noticed.
9. Building Fairy Houses and Dens
During rest stops, let your children collect sticks, leaves, pebbles, and bark to build tiny fairy houses or woodland dens. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what they create. It’s one of those outdoor activities for children that costs nothing, but produces a great amount of creativity. We like seeing what people have built before us and adding on to their creations or starting our own.
Active Movement Hiking Games for Kids That Burn Energy
These active hiking games for kids are the ideal games to remember for getting wiggly little bodies moving in fun, creative ways.
10. Animal Walk
Call out an animal and everyone must move like it between two trail markers. Waddle like a penguin, scuttle like a crab, bound like a kangaroo. It’s silly, it’s physical, and it covers ground quickly. Be aware of any smiling glances from other hikers who may feel inclined to join in, which has happened to us a few times.
11. Follow the Leader
Take turns being the leader and invent ridiculous nature-inspired actions for everyone to copy. Hop over every root, spin around each tree, balance on every stone. This is one of the most adaptable fun activities for kids hiking because it evolves completely depending on who’s leading. When we’re playing this game, we let our girls take the lead and follow them, which encourages them to walk further than they might have done.
12. The Floor is Lava
Another popular trail classic. Simply navigate across every puddle, muddy patch, and boggy section using stepping stones, logs, and bridges only. We also like to use shadows to help us get over the lava. And don’t forget to be a bit dramatic when the lava does get you, which always makes our girls laugh.
13. Hiking Challenges
Set mini physical challenges along the route, such as “Can you walk backwards for 20 steps without falling?”, “Balance on this log without touching the ground”, “How many times can you jump over this stream?” These challenges transform a straightforward path into an assault course, and are some of the most fun activities for kids hiking in the UK.
Read more: Hiking with Toddlers in 2026? Read These Handy Tips First
Observation and Mindfulness Games for Little Nature Lovers
These quieter hiking games for kids are wonderful for building a deeper connection with nature.
14. Sit Spot
Find a comfortable spot, sit in silence for 60 seconds, if possible, and then share everything you noticed. A robin landed nearby. The wind changed direction. There was a rustling in the undergrowth.
It sounds almost too simple, but I can tell you that my children are often amazed by how much they missed when they were busy walking and talking. I enjoy just watching my girls listen to what’s going on around them with their eyes flitting here and there when they hear something new.
15. Hiking Bingo for Kids
Hiking bingo for kids is another favourite in my household, and for good reason. When I’m making my nature scavenger hunt checklists, I’ll create a simple bingo card as well with pictures or words: a red berry, a butterfly, a crow, a fallen tree, a stream.
The first to spot all their items shouts “Bingo” and wins. For younger children, use pictures rather than words, and keep the card to six or eight items. It’s one of those nature games for kids that works at every ability level.
16. Wildlife Spotting Games
Hiking games for kids like wildlife don’t require any kit, just plenty of patience and quiet feet. Challenge the family to spot a set list of creatures before the end of the walk: a robin, a squirrel, a butterfly, a bee. Keep a running total and see how many you can find collectively. This works particularly well on trails through woodland and heathland. Throughout family hiking in the UK, we’ve been lucky enough to see some of the richest wildlife habitats in Europe.
Hiking Games for Toddlers and Young Children (Ages 2–6)
Hiking with children in their toddler years is a glorious, chaotic adventure. My youngest is 3 and her world is a constant stream of discoveries, every stone, puddle, and beetle needs a closeup investigation. The key is to lean into that curiosity rather than fight it. Here are the best hiking activities for toddlers that work with their natural instincts.
17. Keep It Simple and Sensory
The best outdoor hiking games for kids at this age are immediate, tangible, and sensory. Splashing through puddles, feeling different textures (rough bark, smooth pebbles, soft moss), and listening to sounds around them. Don’t overthink it, the trail itself is the game for a two-year-old. My youngest will quite happily run from tree to tree, hugging each one, and I love that.
18. Magic Wand Sticks
This is a popular game in our family whether we’re out walking or playing in the garden. At the start of the walk, each child finds their own special stick, their magic wand. They carry it for the whole walk, and it becomes a prop for every imaginable game: casting spells on trees, drawing in mud, tapping bridges. My girls will often end up playing games and freezing my partner and I over the course of the hike.
19. Nature Treasure Bags
Give each toddler a small bag (a zip-lock bag or a little drawstring pouch works perfectly) and let them collect their own trail treasures as they walk. Pebbles, feathers, leaves, twigs. The collecting itself is endlessly engaging, and the bag gives them a sense of ownership and purpose. Plus, it means I don’t have a pocket full of sticks and stones to take home.
20. Counting Games
Count bridges. Count stepping stones. Count trees with funny shapes. Count sheep (always popular in the UK countryside). Simple counting games keep toddler minds active, build early maths skills, and give children a sense of progress along the trail.
Read more: What to Pack for a Day Hike With Kids + Printable Checklist
Hiking Games for Older Kids and Teens (Ages 10+)
Getting older children excited about a family hike requires a different approach. Forget the silly voices and the Simon Says, (although they may want to do this as well), older kids and teens respond to challenge, independence, and technology.
Here are the best hiking games and activities for this age group.
21. Trail Photography Challenges
Give each child or teen a camera, if possible, and set a themed photography challenge for the walk. The best shadow, the most interesting texture, the widest view, the tiniest creature. Review the entries at the end and vote for a winner. It’s one of the most effective games to play on a hike for older children because it gives them creative ownership and something concrete to show for the day.
22. Nature Journaling
Pack a small notebook and some pencil crayons and encourage older children to sketch what they see: plants, insects, landscapes, interesting rocks. It’s a slow, absorbing activity that combines creativity with observation, and it produces a beautiful record of the day. Among the finest outdoor learning games you can play on the trail, and it doesn’t feel like a game at all.
23. Geocaching
If you haven’t tried geocaching yet, it’s a great way for getting reluctant teens into the outdoors. Using a GPS app (the Geocaching app is free and easy to use), families hunt for hidden containers or “caches” hidden along popular trails all across the UK. There are hundreds of geocaches hidden along UK walking routes, making it perfect for family hiking in the UK with older children.
24. Navigation Challenges
Give older children a section of the OS map and ask them to navigate using a map and compass for part of the route. It’s a great skill to learn, builds confidence, and it keeps their minds occupied. For any secondary school-age children working towards their Duke of Edinburgh or Scout badges, this ties in perfectly.
Educational Hiking Games for Kids
One of the great joys of hiking with children is that learning happens naturally, without anyone sitting at a desk. These outdoor hiking games for kids are disguised as fun, but they’re also educational.
25. Tree Identification
Download an identification app like iNaturalist or PlantNet before you set off, and challenge children to identify every tree species along the route. Oak, ash, silver birch, rowan, horse chestnut, these are some found along the UK’s woodland trails.
26. Weather Watching
Teach children to read the sky. Cumulus, cirrus, stratus, cloud types are fascinating once you know what to look for. Talk about why the weather changes, how clouds form, and what different skies might mean for the afternoon’s walk.
27. Animal Track Identification
Muddy paths are treasure troves of animal evidence. A clear fox print in soft earth, the distinctive four-toed mark of a badger, the tiny imprints of a wood mouse. Bring a pocket guide to UK animal tracks and turn the whole walk into a detective game. Wildlife spotting games don’t always require you to see the animal, finding the evidence is half the fun.
Read more: Hiking with a Two-Year-Old: What You Need to Know in 2026
Nature Scavenger Hunt Ideas for the Trail
If there’s one activity that transforms a reluctant young hiker into an eager explorer, it’s a nature scavenger hunt for kids. This is one of those fun hiking games for kids that works for almost every age group.
How to Create a Simple Scavenger Hunt
The night before your hike, write down 10–15 things to find on the trail. Keep it age-appropriate, younger children might look for a red berry, a feather, or a stone with a hole in it, while older kids can hunt for specific tree species, animal tracks, or different types of cloud formations. Print it out, or simply read the list aloud when you get there.
Scavenger Hunt Ideas to Get You Started
Here are some of our trail favourites:
- A leaf with more than five points
- Something that smells amazing (pine needles, wild garlic, damp earth)
- Evidence of an animal (tracks, nibbled leaves, feathers, droppings)
- Three different types of moss
- Something round
- A spider’s web
- A fungi or toadstool, making sure to only look and don’t touch
Seasonal Variations
One of the things I love most about scavenger hunts is that they change with the seasons.
You can do an autumn scavenger hunt, searching for conkers, red berries, and fungi. With your spring scavenger hunt checklist, look for wildflowers, frogspawn, and new leaves unfurling. In winter, search for frost patterns and animal tracks in soft ground.
There’s always something new to find on a family hike in the UK, whatever the weather.
Read more: The Best Hiking Snacks for Kids: 82 Tasty Ideas to Try in 2026
Tips for Keeping Kids Motivated on Longer Hikes
Understanding how to entertain kids while hiking is one thing, but keeping kids motivated while hiking over longer distances is something else. Here are the strategies that have worked best for our family.
Break the Route Into Mini Goals
Don’t tell children how far you’re walking. Instead, set mini milestones, for instance “Let’s get to that big tree”, “Can we reach the stream before we have lunch?”, “First one to the gate wins a biscuit.” Shorter goals feel achievable and keep momentum going. I’ve found this to be one of the most effective hiking activities for my family when we’re covering a long distance.
Involve Kids in the Planning
Let children help choose the route. Show them the map the night before, point out interesting features, a waterfall, a trig point, an ancient woodland, and let them pick which one they want to visit.
My girls love doing this as it makes it fun for them instead of just walking where we’re telling them to go. These small acts of collaboration make hiking with children a shared adventure rather than something done to them.
Pack the Right Snacks
Hungry children are unhappy children, and no one wants that. Pack more snacks than you think you need, and make some of them special treats that only appear on hikes. The novelty alone is motivating. In our family, we bring marshmallows with us, which has been a great motivator.
Give Each Child a Trail Job
On our adventures, our girls like being the map reader and the compass holder. We’ve also had a wildlife recorder (ticks off spotted creatures), a photographer (documents the route), and a timekeeper (checks progress against the plan). My girls love it and take each of their roles seriously as they navigate where we’re going.
Celebrate Every Achievement
Reach the summit? Celebrate. Complete the route? Celebrate. Spot a red kite? Celebrate. I can’t stress how important celebrating these achievements is. Acknowledging them, however small, builds positive associations with hiking that last a lifetime. Family hiking in the UK has given our children some of their best memories, and a lot of that comes down to making every milestone feel special.
Know When to Turn Back
Hiking should always feel positive and fun. If your child is struggling, cold, tried, or frightened, it’s always right to turn back. A forced march leaves a negative memory and means they’re less likely to want to repeat. A shortened walk with hot chocolate at the end leaves a positive one. The goal is to raise children who love the outdoors, and that requires us to listen to them.
Dress Children for the Weather
No amount of hiking games for kids will salvage a walk where someone is wet, cold, and miserable. Invest in decent waterproofs, good walking shoes, and warm layers. In the UK especially, the weather can change in minutes, so always carry an extra layer and a waterproof, whatever the forecast says.
Final Thoughts on Hiking Games for Kids
Hiking with kids doesn’t have to feel like a battle of wills. With a pocket full of the best hiking games for kids and a spirit of adventure, every trail becomes a playground. Whether you’re looking for trail games for children to get through a long woodland walk, hiking activities for toddlers that work with their natural curiosity, or the best hiking games to keep older kids and teens engaged, there’s something in this list for every family.
Family hiking in the UK is one of life’s great pleasures, which my family is so lucky to experience, and these hiking games for kids are your secret weapon for making sure the whole family agrees. From nature scavenger hunt for kids and hiking bingo for kids to geocaching and wildlife spotting games, every walk is an opportunity for adventure, learning, and memories that last a lifetime.
For more hiking inspiration, check out our related guides:
- A Family Spring Hike at Tyneham Village and Worbarrow Bay
- When Can Babies Go Hiking? 21 Helpful Tips You Need in 2026
- 6 Best Baby Hiking Carriers: Safety Guide & Top Picks 2026
Happy hiking!
Have you found this hiking games for kids guide helpful? What other games would you include? What’s your favourite outdoor game to use with your kids on family hikes? Share your hiking tips and experiences in the comments below, and don’t forget to share on your socials!
Rebecca is a journalist/content writer with over 15 years of experience focusing on topics ranging from cryptocurrency, outdoor sports, family adventures, and the environment. She has a strong background in camping, hiking, snowboarding, and trail running gained through years of personal experience. She holds a BA in Journalism and News Media and an MA in Environmental Journalism. She has been featured in Bitcoin Magazine, Forbes, The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI), REI, The Next Web, and The New Scientist. She is passionate about exploring more of the UK with her family and their Working Cocker Spaniel and enjoys helping readers find out the ways they can explore what’s around them together to create lasting memories.
