Fall Scavenger Hunt Ideas

142 printable autumn finds: pick a group, press Pick 10 new finds until the list fits, then Print this list.

Fall Scavenger Hunt Ideas

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  1. A squirrel digging a hole or patting one downIt is burying or fetching. The acorns it never comes back for can grow into oaks.
  2. A leaf skeleton with only the veins leftCheck damp, shady spots where last year's leaves still lie.
  3. A farm stand or a roadside table with fall produceSeen from the path or the car.
  4. The last flower still blooming on the street or the trailYour team decides which one is the last.
  5. A seed ball dangling on a long thin stalkSycamore balls fall apart. Sweetgum balls stay whole after the seeds have gone.
  6. A nut still inside its green or black huskA thick husk around a hard shell. Leave it where it is for the squirrels.
  7. A leaf that is one color on top and another underneathFlip over every leaf you pick up. Many are paler below.
  8. An acorn that has started to sproutLook for a pale root poking from the pointed end.
  9. Something alive under the leaf litterLift gently, look, and cover it again.
  10. The smallest fallen leaf that has changed colorSmaller than a thumbnail is a strong entry.

Next step Next up: a Thanksgiving huntWhen the frost stays: winter hunt

All 142 finds

Leaf colors 23

  • A brown leaf that still bends without cracking Freshly fallen. Last week's leaves snap.
  • A conifer dropping all of its needles Larches, such as the tamarack, are among the few conifers that go bare for winter.
  • A fallen leaf that is still completely green On the ground, not on the tree. Wind takes some before they turn.
  • A fan-shaped ginkgo leaf No other seed plant has a fan-shaped leaf. It turns saffron yellow in fall.
  • A leaf rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green and brown All five from the ground, laid side by side. Purple earns bragging rights.
  • A leaf showing at least three colors Green, yellow and red on one leaf is the classic.
  • A leaf that is green along the veins and yellow everywhere else Hold it up to the light to check.
  • A leaf that is one color on top and another underneath Flip over every leaf you pick up. Many are paler below.
  • A leaf that is orange all over Orange is beta-carotene. Like the yellow, it shows once the green fades.
  • A leaf that is red all over Red is made fresh in fall, from sugars in the leaf on bright days. It was not there in summer.
  • A leaf that is yellow all over The yellow was in the leaf all year, hidden under the green.
  • A leaf the exact color of something you are wearing Hold it against the sleeve or the shoe to prove the match.
  • A leaf with exactly two colors on it Hold it flat and name both colors.
  • A leaf with spots or freckles Dots, blotches and tar-black spots all count.
  • A maple with more than one color on the same tree Maples show up on both lists: the yellow and orange trees and the red ones.
  • A purple or wine-dark leaf Purple comes from the same late-made pigment as red. Sweetgum and dogwood are good trees to check.
  • A tree that is already bare Early in the season this is the hard one. Late in the season it is a gift.
  • A tree that is one color at the top and another at the bottom Step back far enough to see the whole tree.
  • A tree that is still green beside one that has turned Different kinds of tree change on different schedules.
  • A vine that has turned red on a fence or a trunk Look, do not touch. Poison ivy climbs trees and turns red, orange or yellow in fall.
  • A yellow carpet of leaves under a single tree Ginkgo leaves can all fall within one to fifteen days, so check under one.
  • The brightest tree you can see from where you stand The best color follows bright, cool days and chilly nights that stay above freezing.
  • Five fallen leaves laid in a row from greenest to brownest Use leaves already on the ground and leave the row for the next walker.

Leaf shapes 21

  • A heart-shaped leaf The notch is where the stalk joins.
  • A leaf curled into a tube Look inside before you pick it up. Something may be living there.
  • A leaf longer than it is wide, and one wider than it is long Willow-thin and maple-wide make an easy pair.
  • A leaf made of many small leaflets on one stalk Count the leaflets. Botanists call the whole stalk one compound leaf.
  • A leaf skeleton with only the veins left Check damp, shady spots where last year's leaves still lie.
  • A leaf whose two halves do not match at the stalk Fold it along the middle vein. One side starts lower than the other.
  • A leaf with a hole you can look through Hold it up and look at a teammate through it.
  • A leaf with a perfectly smooth edge No teeth and no lobes, all the way around.
  • A leaf with a saw-tooth edge Run a finger gently along the edge to feel the teeth.
  • A leaf with a stalk longer than your finger Measure from the base of the blade to the end of the stalk.
  • A leaf with veins you can feel with your eyes shut Turn it over. The underside has the ridges.
  • A maple leaf with lobes spread like fingers Count the main points. Maples grow their leaves in opposite pairs along the twig.
  • A mitten-shaped leaf Sassafras grows three shapes, sometimes on one branch: an oval, a two-lobed leaf and a three-lobed one.
  • A needle, a scale and a broad leaf Three styles of leaf: a pine-style needle, a flat cedar-style scale and an ordinary flat leaf.
  • A star-shaped sweetgum leaf Usually five sharp points, glossy, and set singly along the twig rather than in pairs.
  • An oak leaf with pointed, bristle-tipped lobes A tiny bristle on each point is the mark of the red oak group.
  • An oak leaf with rounded lobes Rounded tips with no bristles point to the white oak group.
  • The biggest fallen leaf on the whole walk Measure it against a forearm. The record stands until someone beats it.
  • The smallest fallen leaf that has changed color Smaller than a thumbnail is a strong entry.
  • Two leaves from the same tree that are different shapes Both have to come from under the same tree.
  • Two leaves growing opposite each other on a twig Many trees stagger their leaves along the twig. Maples pair them.

Seeds, nuts and cones 22

  • A cone still green and sealed shut Most pine cones take 18 to 24 months to ripen, so one tree can carry young and old cones at once.
  • A cone with its scales wide open Cones open when dry and close when wet, so the seeds leave in dry, windy weather.
  • A fruit or a berry that a bird has pecked Look for beak-sized bites.
  • A glossy brown buckeye or horse chestnut Shiny and dark brown, with one pale patch. Look, do not taste: eating one makes people ill.
  • A long bean-like pod hanging from a tree Long and flat or long and thin. Leave it hanging.
  • A milkweed pod splitting open Each seed rides the wind on a tuft of white silk called a coma.
  • A nut still inside its green or black husk A thick husk around a hard shell. Leave it where it is for the squirrels.
  • A place where an animal has left a pile of shells or husks Stumps and flat rocks make good dinner tables.
  • A seed ball dangling on a long thin stalk Sycamore balls fall apart. Sweetgum balls stay whole after the seeds have gone.
  • A seed floating past on its own parachute Follow it with your eyes until it lands.
  • A seed head gone to fluff Thistle, goldenrod or cattail. Fluff is how these seeds travel.
  • A seed pod that rattles Shake it gently where it hangs, without picking it.
  • A spiky sweetgum ball Each ball is 40 to 60 seed capsules joined together, and it can hang on the tree through winter.
  • A winged maple seed: drop it and watch it spin The heavy seed sits at one end of the wing, so it spins like a rotor as it falls.
  • Acorns from two different trees: compare the caps Oaks number some 500 species. Compare how deep and how rough each cap is.
  • An acorn cap with no acorn in it The cap has a name of its own: the cupule.
  • An acorn that has started to sprout Look for a pale root poking from the pointed end.
  • An acorn with a small round hole in it Weevil and moth grubs grow inside acorns. The hole shows one has been here.
  • Red berries on a bare branch Food for birds, not for people. Photograph it and move on.
  • Small apples or rose hips still hanging after the leaves have gone Crabapples and rose hips both count.
  • Three different kinds of seed within one step of each other Wings, nuts, pods, fluff and berries are all seeds on the move.
  • Two maple seeds still joined as a pair Maples usually bear their winged seeds in pairs.

Fungi and forest floor 18

  • A drift of leaves deep enough to hide your shoes Shuffle in, then shuffle out.
  • A fallen branch with its leaves still attached Wind brings these down before the leaves can let go.
  • A gutter, a drain or a stream dammed by leaves Look where the water backs up.
  • A leaf floating in a puddle A leaf frozen into a puddle counts double for bragging.
  • A log wearing both fungus and moss Both on the same log.
  • A mushroom growing from a fallen cone, twig or leaf Get low. These are often smaller than a fingernail.
  • A mushroom with a cap and a stem Look and photograph. Nobody touches or tastes a wild mushroom.
  • A path you cannot see because leaves cover it Find where it goes by the gap in the trees.
  • A puffball A ripe one bursts on impact and lets out a cloud of dust-like spores. Look for one that has already opened.
  • A ring or a line of mushrooms in grass Lawns and playing fields after rain.
  • A stump with leaves collected in its hollow A natural bowl.
  • A tree's fallen leaves lying in a circle around its trunk Best on a still morning, before the wind spreads them.
  • The brown print a wet leaf left on a sidewalk A ghost of the leaf, shape and all.
  • Last year's leaves turning to soil under this year's Lift the top layer, look, and lay it back like a blanket.
  • Moss that is brighter green than everything around it Moss stands out once the leaves above it thin.
  • Mushrooms in three different colors White, brown and orange is a common set. Eyes only.
  • Shelf fungi stacked like steps up a trunk Three or more shelves on one tree or log.
  • Something alive under the leaf litter Lift gently, look, and cover it again.

Birds and animals 18

  • A ball of leaves high in a bare tree A drey, the nest of a tree squirrel: a hollow ball a foot or more across, easy to spot after leaf fall.
  • A bird eating berries off a branch Watch from a distance so it keeps eating.
  • A chipmunk with full cheeks Cheek pouches carry food to one big larder in the burrow.
  • A deer track in mud Two pointed toes side by side.
  • A flock of small birds that lifts off all at once A dozen birds or more.
  • A fuzzy caterpillar crossing a path or a sidewalk The woolly bear winters as a caterpillar, frozen nearly solid, and thaws in spring.
  • A hawk circling on a sunny afternoon Broad wings, slow circles, hardly a flap.
  • A jay, seen or heard Jays bury acorns for later. Acorns are too heavy for wind, so oaks rely on jays and squirrels to spread them.
  • A monarch butterfly In September and October, monarchs east of the Rockies fly up to 3,000 miles to the mountains of central Mexico.
  • A squirrel digging a hole or patting one down It is burying or fetching. The acorns it never comes back for can grow into oaks.
  • A squirrel with something in its mouth Squirrels hide acorns one at a time in many places and hold a mental map of where.
  • A thread of spider silk drifting through the air Gossamer. Small spiders let out fine silk and ride the wind on it.
  • A woolly bear caterpillar Black at both ends, rusty brown between. Folklore says the band forecasts winter, but no evidence supports it.
  • An insect sunning itself on a warm wall or a window frame South-facing walls on a cool, bright day.
  • An old bird's nest you can see now that the leaves are down Look, leave it in place.
  • Crows in a harvested field Three or more.
  • Geese flying in a V The V is thought to save energy: each bird gets lift from the air off the wings ahead.
  • The last bee or butterfly on the last flowers Check goldenrod, which blooms into early fall.

Signs of the season 24

  • A bare twig with next year's buds already on it Look at the very tip of the twig.
  • A falling leaf caught before it touches the ground Harder than it sounds. No shaking branches.
  • A leaf or a seed caught in a spider web Leave the web as you found it.
  • A rake, a leaf blower or a tarp full of leaves At work or leaning on a wall.
  • A raked leaf pile taller than your knees Ask whoever raked it before anybody jumps in.
  • A spider web strung with dew or frost Fences, hedges and railings first thing in the morning.
  • A swirl of leaves turning in a circle Corners of buildings and ends of alleys make them.
  • A trail of dark footprints across dewy grass Yours count.
  • A tree holding its brown leaves while its neighbors are bare Oaks, beeches and hornbeams often keep dead leaves all winter, young trees most of all. The word is marcescence.
  • The crunch of dry leaves under your shoes Dry day required.
  • Frost on grass, a windshield or a roof Look in the shade, where the sun has not reached yet.
  • Goldenrod in bloom It gets blamed for hay fever, but its pollen is too heavy and sticky to blow far. Ragweed is the wind-borne one.
  • The last flower still blooming on the street or the trail Your team decides which one is the last.
  • Leaves racing each other along the ground Pick one and cheer for it.
  • The mark on a twig where a leaf let go The tree seals the spot with a layer of cork, in many species before the leaf drops.
  • Morning mist over a field, a pond or a river Go early. It burns off once the sun is on it.
  • One leaf watched all the way from the branch to the ground Notice whether it spins, glides or rocks like a boat.
  • Paper leaf bags lined up at a curb Three or more.
  • The smell of wet leaves Strongest the morning after rain.
  • The smell of wood smoke Find which chimney it comes from.
  • Someone wearing a scarf, gloves or a wool hat Teammates count.
  • Streetlights or porch lights on before dinner Astronomical autumn begins at the September equinox, which can fall from September 21 to 24.
  • Your own breath showing in the air Early morning is the time to try.
  • Your shadow at lunchtime, measured in footsteps Write the number down and measure again next week.

Orchard and farm stand 16

  • A corn stalk taller than the tallest person with you Stand beside it to prove it.
  • A farm stand or a roadside table with fall produce Seen from the path or the car.
  • A field cut down to stubble Short dry stalks in rows, all that is left after harvest.
  • A gourd with warts or a crooked neck The stranger the better.
  • A hay or straw bale Square or round.
  • A potted chrysanthemum on a step Name its color.
  • A pumpkin or squash that is not orange White, green, blue-gray and striped all count.
  • A pumpkin still attached to its vine Follow the vine back to see how far it runs.
  • A scarecrow in a garden or a field On duty among the plants, not sitting on a porch.
  • A sunflower head bowed down with seeds Look for the gaps where birds have been at it.
  • A tractor pulling a wagon With or without riders.
  • A wagon, a crate or a wheelbarrow full of apples or squash Spotting it is enough. Nobody has to buy anything.
  • A windfall apple on the ground Under the tree, where it fell. Leave it there.
  • An apple still on the tree Apples ripen in late summer or autumn. Pick only where picking is what you came for.
  • An ear of dried corn with kernels in more than one color Count the colors.
  • The seed chambers inside an apple cut across the middle An adult does the cutting. There are usually five chambers, each with one or two seeds.

How it works

A leaf that is red all over, a winged maple seed, a ball of leaves high in a bare tree: these fall scavenger hunt ideas are 142 autumn-only finds. Print this list turns ten into a fall scavenger hunt printable.

Read the full guide

A leaf hunt you can print

For a leaf scavenger hunt printable, pick All leaves in the menu: it joins Leaf colors (23 finds) and Leaf shapes (23) into 44. Press Add another until the list holds 15, Swap any find your street cannot supply, then press Print this list. The other groups make an autumn scavenger hunt printable of seeds (22), fungi (19), animals (18), signs of the season (24) or the farm stand (16).

What the notes teach

Under each find sits a judging rule or a line of natural history: rounded lobes mean the white oak group, bristle tips mean red oak. For a harder fall scavenger hunt list, Hard under More filters keeps 24 finds such as a star-shaped sweetgum leaf.

  • Collect only what has already fallen. Berries, fungi and nests get a photo, never a hand.
  • Go early for frost, dew on webs and your own breath in the air. All three are gone by mid-morning.
  • A red vine on a trunk stays untouched: poison ivy climbs trees and turns red, orange or yellow in fall.

Questions and answers

Why do leaves change color in the fall?

Chlorophyll keeps a leaf green and masks the other pigments. Late in summer the tree stops replacing it, and the yellow and orange that were always there show through. Red and purple are made fresh, from sugars. Leaf colors, in the menu, has 23 finds.

Does this hunt work in a city?

Yes. Street trees, a park and one front yard cover most of the list. Leaf colors, Leaf shapes and Signs of the season need nothing wilder than a sidewalk. Leave out Orchard and farm stand unless a farm visit is planned.

What ages is a fall scavenger hunt for?

Anyone who can walk and point. For small children, press Easy under More filters, which keeps finds such as a leaf with a saw-tooth edge. An adult stays with young hunters, and nobody tastes anything.

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