7 Outdoor Halloween Activities

By Jeff Bogle

Oct 09, 2023

Check out these 7 fun-size outdoor Halloween activities to help you, your family, and your friends get the most out of the holiday this year.

Do you have grand plans to spend the better part of an autumn weekend installing and setting up a frightening array of outdoor motion activated Halloween decorations to scare your kids and neighbors? That’s one of the most fun outdoor Halloween activities in and of itself, but you will probably want even more outdoor activities for Halloween for your kids to enjoy, whether they are preschool-age or will be trick-or-treating with their group of teenage friends. Here are 7 fun-size outdoor Halloween party activities to help you, your family and your friends get the most out of the holiday this year.

1. Make Your Own Horror Movie

Maybe it won't end up being the next Blair Witch Project, but with nothing much more needed than a smartphone camera, some creepy lighting, a cluster of trees, spooky outdoor Halloween decorations, and ear-piercing shrieks, making a DIY horror flick is an outdoor Halloween activity that's perfect for almost any age! What’s great is that this is one of the fun outdoor activities you can do by yourself!

2. Install Outdoor Motion Activated Halloween Decorations

Make your home a house of horrors this year with scary outdoor motion activated Halloween decorations. Spending a day in your yard and around your home in the fresh air, putting motion activated outdoor Halloween decorations up, is one of the most fun outdoor Halloween activities you can do in the build-up to the spookiest season of all. Check out even more fun things to do outside with your family.

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3. Make a Spooky Treasure Hunt

When it comes to outdoor Halloween activities for toddlers, it doesn't get much better than a fun spooky treasure hunt. Scatter mini pumpkins, black cat figures, plastic spiders, some fun size candy bars, and maybe a rubber ducky dressed up like a witch around your yard or home, Easter egg hunt style, to let your littlest ghost and goblins enjoy one of the best outdoor Halloween party activities.

4. Have a Scary Sleepout

Have you ever had a scary sleepout? For some, camping outside is creepy enough, but doing so in the fall is one of the creepiest outdoor Halloween activities you can do with friends and family. Tell scary stories, pretend to hear sounds outside, and shine a flashlight under your chin to give your kids a fright! Pitch your tent near your outdoor motion activated Halloween decorations to delight your toddlers and to create spooky shadows on the inside of your camping tent.

5. Go Pumpkin Bowling!

With just a few jack-be-little pumpkins and some tall household items you already have around the house, like boxes of pasta or action figures, you can play one of the most fun outdoor Halloween activities for toddlers: pumpkin bowling! Simply set up the 'pins' and have your toddler roll the pumpkins to knock them down!

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6. Head Outside for a Halloween Photo Hunt

There's no need to search for "Halloween outdoor activities near me" because you can turn your outdoor motion activat-ed Halloween decorations, pumpkins, elaborate artificial cobwebs, and fake gravestones into one of the coolest outdoor Halloween activities. What's even better is that this hunt can be scaled up or down depending on the age of those playing. For example, if you need outdoor Halloween activities for toddlers, make a list of the spooky Halloween decorations around your home and give kids phones to seek them out and take ghoulish selfies in front of them!

To make this game one of the best outdoor Halloween activities for adults, expand the photo treasure hunt to your city. Scatter out on foot, bike, or car to photograph carved pumpkins, giant skeletons, and outdoor Halloween activities for adults. The person who finds the most items in a fixed amount of time is the winner!

7. Play Haunted Hide and Seek

Come nighttime, one of the classic outdoor activities for Halloween is to bundle up and grab a flashlight then head outside in the woods for an epic, haunted game of hide and seek!

 

Need more fun things to do to keep the kiddos busy this fall? Check out even more outdoor Halloween activity games for children!

Jeff Bogle
Jeff Bogle
Jeff is a dad of teen daughters, avid traveler, photographer, and freelance writer. He’s penned stories on family travel, outdoor recreation, the environment, parenting, and more for Fodor’s, Reader’s Digest, Parents Magazine, Good Housekeeping, PBS, and Esquire, among other publications. Find him on his blog, OWTK.com and on Instagram @OWTK. Jeff is also the publisher of the quarterly literary zine, Stanchion