Summer is the time to spend time together, try new things and get out of your comfort zone, which is why we have gathered all the best summer bucket list ideas for you to share. And if you’re looking for fun summer bucket list ideas for families, we also have you covered.
Now go ahead and browse through to find your favorite.
Summer Bucket List Ideas
Make a homemade volcano in your backyard.
Play a recreational game of soccer at a park, and recruit the other kids/families to join in
Play freeze tag
Track the moon cycle and the lengths of days.
Be a tourist in your own city.
Learn to fish, then go fishing.
Kick around a soccer ball, play catch, or hit a volleyball around for 30 minutes.
Go a whole day without using technology—make it fun!
Build a recycled water wall.
Blow up an inflatable pool and fill it with blankets for movie-night seating.
Learn to play a new board game as a family.
Set up a blanket or tent in your backyard on a clear night and stare at the stars together.
Play Capture the Flag.
Learn a new skill, even something simple and fun.
Cut the lawn of a local friend, but don’t get found out about it
Build a birdhouse with materials found around the house.
Make a treat for a grandparent or another loved one.
Have a water balloon fight
Make paper or nature boats to race down a stream.
Go for a walk in nature and sit still somewhere for 15 minutes to listen and watch.
Experiment with colors: Make purple, green, and orange from red, blue, and yellow paints.
Plan an ice-block treasure hunt.
Collect flowers and press them.
Graph the number of times you see various birds.
Organize a family game day—at the beach or lakeside.
Listen to an audiobook together.
Build a micro-city with stones, sticks, and other materials.
Build an obstacle course.
Build a fort together, then play games inside.
Search for geocaching in your area
Find a strawberry farm and go strawberry picking as a family.
Set up a disc-golf course and play.
Plan a neighborhood water-balloon fight.
Enjoy a fireworks show.
Fly a kite
Make homemade ice cream
Attend a sporting event
Find a mini-golf course that everyone can do well on and play a round
Write and mail letters together.
Plant a seed in a cup and track its growth.
Take a family hike together.
Visit a local animal shelter.
Make dinner with recipes from another country.
Learn about baby farm animals.
Listen to old songs and new ones to decide which one is “the song of this summer”
Learn about constellations.
Watch a movie outside.
Make cards for a local nursing home, then visit with the residents.
Have a picnic in the backyard.
Make a bird feeder and then keep a record of the food consumption.
Plant a new tree (for you or someone else).
Play a giant game of Pick-Up Sticks.
Have a family drawing lesson.
Hike into the woods for a couple hours
Hang a bird feeder
Learn about a plant, then go on a walk and try to spot it.
Supply the neighborhood kids with some homemade popsicles
Draw shapes you find in the clouds.
Paint rocks and hide them around the neighborhood.
Burn a hole in a leaf using a magnifying glass and the sun
Make foil dinners over a campfire.
Do a random act of kindness.
Organize a family painting night.
Pick fresh fruit and make homemade shakes.
Buy a cup of lemonade at a kid’s stand
Invite a neighbor to join your family for game night.
Make a person or group of people using sticks, rocks, leaves, and other items found during a nature walk.
Play yard Twister.
Drive out to visit a new zoo
Shop at a farmer’s market together to buy food to make an entire meal out of
Make art using rocks.
Meet up with friends at a splash pad
Read every book your local library has from a favorite author
Visit one or more of your state parks to learn about your state’s history.
Have a tea party or themed meal.
Make a stick fort.
Have three-legged races in the yard.
Have lunch at the park.
Create a memory box to open next summer.
Bake brownies or cookies for your church or a community group
Turn an old toy kitchen or a workbench into a mud-pie station.
Ride on a jet ski
Set up a scavenger hunt for your kids and their friends, including offering some cool prizes
Host a neighborhood science fair.
Make lemonade from scratch.
Pick berries at a farm
Create puppets from old/worn socks.
Make breakfast for dinner.
Paint a sunset.
Consume a whole water melon together in one sitting
Collect sea shells
Camp out in the living room to play board games on a rainy day
Play baseball with water balloons.
Make DIY wind chimes.
Pick an animal, state, flower, etc., to learn about.
Play a music concert for friends and family, using only homemade instruments.
Go to a drive-in theater
Try fishing, even if you don’t know how to fish
Visit a cemetery and make a rubbing of a family headstone.
Light sparklers and watch fireworks
Make wooden stick bracelets.
Dress up and film your own movie
Visit someplace local that’s free and beautiful, like a state park or nature preserve
Learn about the history of the Fourth of July.
Create a rock garden and set it up in the yard.
Learn a new stretching routine.
Have a tie-dye shirt party with your family, friends, or neighbors.
Borrow a video projector and host an outdoor movie night on the side of your house
Make puppets from paper lunch bags and put on a show.
Make crystal stars while studying the night sky.
Make and fly a kite.
Volunteer to serve with a ministry or organization that serves the poor
Run in the sprinklers or visit a splash pad.
Spend the day at a nearby amusement park
Make ice pops with fruit juice.
Sail on a boat
Make homemade bubbles.
Take a camping trip, camp out in your backyard, or set up a tent in the living room.
Create your own snow cones
Plant a garden and create meals with the food you grow.
Grow a sunflower, and then roast its seeds.
Volunteer to read good and beautiful books at your local nursing home.
Catch fireflies in a jar
Go on a scavenger hunt around your neighborhood.
Turn off all your electronics for one whole day as a family
Ride horses together
Stay in your pajamas all day and eat breakfast food for dinner
Do a show-and-tell of your favorite things.
Refurbish a household item to make it new.
Do crafts with an elderly neighbor.
Sit in the shade and read a book.
Learn summer words in a new language.
Go for a family bike ride down a local trail
Hang up an old white sheet and make a painting as a family.
Hit a deli on the way to the beach to order monster sandwiches for lunch
Host a neighborhood campfire in your driveway and make s’mores
Sample every pizza place in your town
Brew sun tea
Sketch out a family portrait on your driveway using sidewalk chalk
Make sidewalk chalk paint.
Run through a sprinkler
Organize a glow-stick ring-toss game.
Help neighbors weed their garden.
Chase down an ice cream truck and buy something sweet.
So that is it for our list of Summer Bucket List Ideas. We hope you found the perfect one for you!
If you like these, you can also check out our other lists of Teacher Appreciation Messages, Happy Graduation Messages and Short Summer Letter Board Quotes.
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About the Author
Laynni Locke
I am Laynni Locke, a Canadian writer, reader and traveller with a passion for sharing life’s moments on social media. Keeping friends and family in the loop of our lives though photos and videos has become an essential activity for most.
And it doesn’t matter if you are travelling, celebrating a special occasion or just appreciating day-to-day life, when you take that perfect photo you are going to need the perfect caption or quote before you share it. Which is why we started Routinely Shares, providing comprehensive lists of quotes and captions to cover every occasion, adventure or loved one.
With extensive experience as a travel writer, social media specialist and grant writer, I have made it my mission to curate the best and easiest to use lists for your next post.