What do you do when the sun is shining and the weather is amazing? Head out on a neighborhood scavenger hunt!
When you’re at home all weekend, indoor activities like playing cards or board games can be entertaining. But there’s nothing like stepping outside for some sunshine and fun. A scavenger hunt makes things even more interesting—you’ll be able to complete with your family, look for clues, and discover new things at every turn. You don’t need to go all the way to a national park or a garden to go on a scavenger hunt; a family walk around your neighborhood will do!
From distinct driveways and fabulous flower walkways, it’s easy to turn your neighborhood into a place of adventure. We’ll show you how you can create an easy neighborhood scavenger hunt with minimal supplies. With our helpful guide, you’ll be able to turn your family’s evening into something epic!
Explore a City Near You
When it comes to making scavenger hunts, nobody does it like the pros at ScavengerHunt.com. We pride ourselves on making the most exciting hunts for explorers of all ages. These adventures are completely app-led, so you can pause and resume whenever you need to. Keep track of the high score with a live leaderboard as you race to the finish line and score some bragging rights!
What is a neighborhood scavenger hunt?
Simply put, a neighborhood scavenger hunt is a hunt around the neighborhood, preferably within walking distance of your house. These hunts are perfect for children. Going on a neighborhood hunt is a wonderful way of introducing the concept of scavenger hunts to children.
Besides, the learning possibilities are endless. From colors and shapes to landmarks, locations, and vocations, these hunts will help your children learn about their community. You can even do them while social distancing!
You’ll be able to walk around the neighborhood and explore your surroundings safely. These educational hunts can be easily incorporated into outdoor play, helping the little ones interact with their environment. Free printable scavenger hunts are usually available online.
Neighborhood scavenger hunts are best done with more kiddos. Get together with other parents in your area and plan a hunt so that your kids can enjoy the fresh air together. This way, you’ll also be able to make new friends and help your kids bond with each other. These activities are hands-on learning experiences, too. These hunts are easy to organize when you have someone helping you; there’s a hunt for every day, every weather, and every location!
How to Host a Fun Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
Now that you know what a neighborhood hunt is, here’s how you can easily plan one.
1. Get people on board.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. A scavenger hunt is best planned with other people. Scouting out locations and writing clues may get a tad overwhelming if you’re doing it alone. This is where a few extra brains can help. In fact, you can set up a scavenger hunt planning party, where the adults get together and brainstorm new ideas for the kids. Not only will you be able to bond with the neighbors, but you’ll be able to create a unique hunt that the children will enjoy.
When you get more parents on board, you’ll also be able to get a fresh, new perspective on planning the hunts. You’ll also be able to create better hunts that keep kids of all ages in mind, be it in terms of learning level and cultural factors. Besides, they might know a location that you haven’t discovered yet.
2. Set aside planning time.
While planning a scavenger hunt yourself is easy, it will take some time to get the basics right. Be it finding the right clues, making a scavenger hunt list, or scouting the perfect location, it might take an hour or two to plan all the steps. We recommend setting aside an evening to get the template right.
In case you’d like some experts to help you out, ScavengerHunt can help you create an awesome scavenger hunt at the click of a button. All our outdoor hunts come with kid-friendly options so the little ones will don’t feel left out. All you need to do is get our outdoor hunt voucher. You can redeem it wherever you want!
3. Decide on a theme.
Once you’ve got the planning gang together, decide upon a theme for the hunt. The theme will depend on the age of the children, your neighborhood, and the fun activities you’d like the kids to do. Younger kids will love themes based on colors, shapes, and numbers. Older children may enjoy themes related to movies or TV shows, like Disney, Pokémon, or Harry Potter.
4. Survey the area.
Once you’ve put together a team, it’s time to scout your neighborhood for locations. Go on a walk and find interesting spots around the area, from trees and backyards to parks and even sidewalks. Once you find something interesting, take some photos so you can come back home to write clues. While you’re there, make sure to monitor how safe the location is. This way, you’ll be able to make sure the kids stay safe and protected at all times. You don’t want the children to go too far either, so stick to the blocks around your neighborhood.
Here are a few landmarks you can keep an eye out for:
- A basketball hoop
- A fruit tree
- A fenced yard
- A birdfeeder
- A swimming pool
- A flag
- A bike
- A dog
- A driveway with a distinct car
- A mailbox
- A front door of a particular color
- A neighborhood café
- A fire hydrant
- A stop sign
- A leaf
- A twig
- An insect
- A swing
- A police car
- A squirrel
- A bumper sticker
5. Make a list of clues.
Now, for the best part! Make a list of riddles, puzzles, and trivia questions that your kids can answer. Depending on the clue you see, you can create giggle-worthy riddles and questions that the children will love.
You can DIY them by hand or create free printable neighborhood scavenger hunt sheets that you can distribute to the rest of the neighborhood. Assign points to each clue so you can keep track of scores. Make a list of hints so that you can help the kids out in case they’re stuck. You can also create a map of the neighborhood and list places—this will add to the intrigue!
Kid-Friendly Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt Ideas
When it comes to neighborhood scavenger hunts, it is important to hit the sweet spot and find something that the whole family will enjoy. Our list of family-friendly scavenger hunt ideas will bring the entire family closer together.
- Alphabet scavenger hunt: If you want your kids to learn their ABCs, take the adventure outside with an alphabet hunt. Each child must write down a name of an item for each letter of the alphabet.
- Nature scavenger hunt: This hunt is a great tactile example for children. Give the kids tasks like painting a rock, finding a brown leaf, building a house with twigs, and picking flowers. This is a fun way to connect with nature.
- Vehicle hunt: Ask the kids to spot vehicles of different colors. Older kids can note down the model of the vehicles as well.
- Color scavenger hunt: Preschoolers will love this color hunt; give each child a color and ask them to collect things around the neighborhood that match it. You can give them matching crayons too.
- Number hunt: Like the color hunt, give each child a number and ask them to note down items that match their number.
- Disney hunt: For this hunt, ask the children to note down things that remind them of Disney princesses. Let their imagination do the talking. For instance, a snowman might remind your child about Olaf, Elsa, and Anna!
Closing Thoughts
Hosting a neighborhood scavenger hunt is a great bonding exercise for the whole family. You’ll be able to laugh and come together in new ways as you explore your community together. Scavenger hunts offer brilliant ways to get over at-home blues. Your kids will love stepping out and discovering something new!
Do you have more neighborhood scavenger hunt ideas? Shout them out in the comments section!
Frequently Asked Questions
Planning a neighborhood scavenger hunt involves scouting locations, finding landmarks, and writing clues. These outdoor activities are a blast! Get your neighbors on board and let the adventure begin.
Alphabet and number-themed neighborhood scavenger hunts are great for younger kids. Older children will enjoy nature, vehicle, and photo scavenger hunts.
ScavengerHunt.com offers ready-to-go city scavenger hunts, as well as indoor scavenger hunts you can do from home. They’re great activities to get kids moving and engaged in some friendly competition.
ScavengerHunt.com offers outdoor scavenger hunts in hundreds of cities, guided by a highly-rated and easy-to-use adventure app. You can pause and resume the hunt at will, and monitor scores on a leaderboard!