20 Winter Outdoor Activities for Kids (Even When It's Freezing)

The best winter outdoor activities for kids include snow painting, ice excavation, frozen bubble blowing, winter scavenger hunts, puddle stomping, bird watching, and building snow forts — and many of these work whether you have snow on the ground or not. Cold weather is not a reason to stay inside. In fact, children who play outdoors in winter develop stronger immune systems, sleep better, and maintain the physical activity levels that often drop during colder months. The key is dressing properly, keeping sessions age-appropriate in length, and having a plan that makes the cold feel like an adventure rather than an obstacle. These 20 activities cover every winter scenario, from deep snow days to grey, snowless afternoons.

Why Winter Outdoor Play Matters

It is tempting to hibernate once temperatures drop. But research from the National Wildlife Federation shows that children who play outside in winter are less likely to get sick, maintain better moods, and avoid the restlessness and behavioral challenges that come from being cooped up indoors for months.

Scandinavian cultures have a saying: "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing." Norwegian kindergartens keep children outside for hours in below-freezing temperatures, and studies consistently show these children have fewer sick days, stronger gross motor skills, and greater resilience than their indoor peers.

Winter also offers sensory experiences no other season can match — the crunch of snow underfoot, the sting of cold air on cheeks, the stillness of a frozen morning, the way sound travels differently when everything is covered in white. These experiences build what Richard Louv calls "nature confidence," and they are worth bundling up for.

If you already enjoy outdoor nature activities with your kids, winter is simply the next chapter — not a pause.

The Layering System: Dressing for Success

Before we get to activities, let's solve the biggest barrier to winter outdoor play: clothing. Cold, wet children are miserable children. Here is the system that works.

Base Layer

A moisture-wicking layer against the skin. Merino wool or synthetic athletic fabric works best. Cotton is the worst choice — it absorbs sweat and holds it against the skin, making children colder.

Middle Layer

An insulating layer like fleece or a puffy vest. This traps warm air close to the body.

Outer Layer

A waterproof, windproof jacket and snow pants. These do not need to be expensive — secondhand gear works perfectly well.

Extremities

Waterproof mittens (not gloves for children under six — mittens keep fingers together and warmer), a hat that covers ears, wool or synthetic socks (never cotton), and waterproof boots with room for thick socks.

Pack spare dry socks and mittens in a bag. When these get wet, the fun ends quickly.

Snow Activities (Ages 2-10)

1. Snow Painting

Fill squeeze bottles with water and a few drops of food coloring. Hand them to children and let them paint the snow. Red, blue, and yellow allow them to discover color mixing on a giant white canvas. This is one of the simplest winter activities and one that keeps kids engaged the longest.

2. Snow Fort Building

Move beyond the basic snowman. Help children build walls, rooms, and tunnels. Pack snow into storage bins to create uniform blocks. Older children can design and engineer increasingly complex structures. This is collaborative, physical, and deeply satisfying.

3. Snow Kitchen

If your kids love pretend play, a snow kitchen is irresistible. Bring out old pots, pans, spoons, and muffin tins. Children make snow pies, snow soup, snow cakes — decorating with pinecones, berries, and sticks. This is the winter version of a mud kitchen.

4. Animal Track Detective

After a fresh snowfall, head out to find animal tracks. Squirrels, rabbits, birds, and deer all leave distinctive prints. Bring a field guide or simply photograph the tracks and identify them later. This turns a walk into an investigation.

5. Snow Angels and Body Art

Lie down and make snow angels, then decorate them with natural materials — stick crowns, pinecone buttons, leaf wings. Photograph the gallery before it melts.

6. Snowball Target Practice

Set up targets — buckets, hula hoops hung from branches, or simply draw targets on a fence with spray bottles of colored water. This builds throwing accuracy and is more fun than an aimless snowball fight.

7. Maple Snow Candy

If you have access to real maple syrup, boil it to 235°F, then drizzle it over packed snow. It hardens into chewy maple candy in seconds. This is a traditional Canadian treat and a genuinely magical winter experience.

No-Snow Winter Activities (Ages 2-10)

8. Winter Nature Scavenger Hunt

Create a list of winter-specific items to find: an evergreen branch, a frozen puddle, a bird's nest (visible now that leaves are gone), animal tracks in mud, a pinecone, red berries, frost on a leaf, a spider web. If your family enjoys nature scavenger hunts, this seasonal version adds a fresh challenge.

9. Puddle Stomping

Freezing rain and thawing cycles create the best puddles of the year. Put children in rain boots and let them stomp. Frozen puddles add an extra element — the crack and shatter of thin ice is endlessly fascinating to young children.

10. Bird Watching and Feeding

Winter is the best season for bird watching because bare branches make birds easy to spot. Set up a simple bird feeder (a pinecone rolled in peanut butter and birdseed works) and sit quietly with binoculars. Keep a tally of species. Many children who show no interest in birds during summer become genuinely engaged when feeders bring birds up close in winter.

11. Frost and Ice Observation

On cold mornings, go outside with a magnifying glass and study frost patterns on leaves, car windshields, and fences. Each frost crystal is unique. This is science and art combined, and it melts away by mid-morning, giving it a fleeting urgency that children respond to.

12. Stick Fort Building

Collect fallen branches and build a shelter. Lean large sticks against a tree trunk to create a lean-to, then fill in gaps with smaller branches and leaves. This works in any weather and any season, but winter's bare forest floor makes building materials easy to find.

13. Cloud Watching

Winter clouds are dramatic — dark and fast-moving one day, high and wispy the next. Lie on a blanket (or stand, if the ground is wet) and watch. Name the shapes. Talk about weather. This is a slow, contemplative activity that balances out the high-energy ones.

14. Outdoor Obstacle Course

Set up a winter obstacle course in the backyard: jump over sticks, crawl under a rope, balance on a log, run between cones, toss a ball into a bucket. Time each run. This keeps bodies warm and works regardless of temperature or snow cover. For more obstacle course ideas, see our guide to indoor obstacle courses — many of those ideas adapt easily to the backyard.

Ice Play and Science (Ages 3-10)

15. Ice Excavation

Freeze small toys, natural objects, or plastic animals in large containers of water (muffin tins, cake pans, and storage bins all work). Let children chip them out using squirt bottles of warm water, salt, and small tools. This is a science experiment and a rescue mission in one.

16. Frozen Bubble Blowing

When temperatures drop below 25°F (-4°C), bubbles freeze in mid-air, creating crystalline spheres that shatter like glass. Use a standard bubble solution and blow slowly. This is genuinely awe-inspiring — adults are just as captivated as children.

17. Ice Sun Catchers

Fill shallow dishes with water, add natural materials — berries, leaves, evergreen sprigs, flower petals — and freeze overnight. Loop a string in before it freezes. Hang the finished sun catchers from tree branches. They catch the light beautifully and melt slowly over the day.

18. Icicle Collection

After a freeze, hunt for icicles. Collect them in a bucket and bring them to a sunny spot. Measure them, compare sizes, predict which will melt first. This is casual science — observation, prediction, and measurement — wrapped in play.

Active Winter Games (Ages 4-10)

19. Winter Capture the Flag

Play capture the flag in a winter landscape. Use bright-colored scarves or bandanas as flags (they show up well against grey and white backgrounds). The cold means everyone runs harder and plays faster.

20. Flashlight Tag at 5 PM

One of winter's hidden gifts is early darkness. When the sun sets at 4:30 or 5:00, grab flashlights and play tag in the backyard. The person who is "it" uses a flashlight beam to tag others. This transforms the early darkness from a limitation into an adventure.

Tips for Successful Winter Outdoor Play

Start Short

If your family is not accustomed to winter outdoor play, start with 15 to 20 minutes. Build up over time. Forcing long sessions in the cold will backfire.

Warm-Up Station

Have a thermos of hot cocoa or warm cider ready for when children come inside. This creates a positive association with winter outdoor time — the play is fun, and the warm-up afterward is cozy.

Follow Their Lead

Some children want to run and throw snowballs. Others want to sit quietly and study ice crystals. Both are valid. Winter outdoor play does not have to look like summer outdoor play.

Pair With Indoor Cozy Time

After outdoor play, transition to something warm and calm indoors — reading by a fire, drawing pictures of what they found outside, or a warm bath. This rhythm of active outdoor time followed by quiet indoor time mirrors natural energy cycles and helps children regulate. If you need ideas for the indoor portion, our screen-free rainy day activities work beautifully as post-outdoor-play wind-downs.

A Winter Outdoor Play Schedule

Here is a simple weekly rhythm for families who want to build a winter outdoor habit:

• Monday: A 20-minute walk with a scavenger hunt focus
• Wednesday: An active game — obstacle course, capture the flag, or snowball targets
• Friday: A creative outdoor session — snow painting, ice sun catchers, or fort building
• Weekend: A longer adventure — a hike, a frozen lake visit, or a nature center trip

Three to four outdoor sessions per week, even short ones, keep the winter blues at bay for the entire family.

Winter Is Not a Season to Survive

The families who enjoy winter most are not the ones with the most gear or the biggest backyard. They are the ones who decided that cold weather is not a barrier. Children are remarkably adaptable. Given proper clothing and an invitation to play, most children will choose outside over inside — even in January.

Winter outdoor play builds a kind of toughness and joy that indoor play simply cannot replicate. The pride a child feels after building a snow fort, the wonder of a frozen bubble, the warmth of coming inside with red cheeks and cold fingers — these are childhood memories worth making.

Bundle up. Step outside. The cold is not the enemy. Boredom is.