12 Creative Outdoor Team Building Activities For Your Company

Looking for outdoor team building activities to delight your coworkers? Companies have long since acknowledged the array of benefits associated with team building activities – these include improved collaboration, greater productivity, and higher morale among employees, among many others.

Sure, you can conduct your team building exercises in the office, but getting outside your regular work environment and immersing yourself in the great outdoors (or even just a pleasant outdoor space like a roof or patio) can be a seriously refreshing departure from the daily monotony of cubicles and conference rooms.

In this blog post, we’ll outline some creative outdoor team building activities that could be a great fit for your company, creating space for members of your organization to explore new avenues of professional growth, strengthen their bonds with coworkers, and unleash their potential both individually and as a group. Keep reading to discover 12 ways your company can take advantage of the unique benefits of outdoor team building activities and transform your team into an unstoppable force.

1. Go for a group hike

Hiking is a classic choice for a reason! A group hike offers a combination of natural beauty and shared adventure, which makes it a pretty ideal example of effective outdoor team building activities. Traversing rugged terrain on challenging trails and conquering obstacles together not only improves team members’ physical fitness – it also helps them communication skills in addition to fostering an overall sense of unity. Find a beautiful hiking trail near you (or at least within a reasonable distance via public transport/car) and spend a day enjoying the fresh air together.

2. Or go camping

Looking for an overnight outdoor team building activity? A group camping trip could be just the ticket! You can even incorporate a hike into this one, followed by a practically universal bonding experience: sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and maybe even telling a few scary stories.

3. Gather for a picnic

One of our absolute favorite outdoor team building activities is a picnic! On a sunny spring or summer day, find a lovely location like a park or a garden and spend a few hours eating a delicious meal of barbecue, charcuterie, or other favorites for al fresco dining. After the meal, you can also incorporate some classic team building exercises, using the laid-back, casual atmosphere as an opportunity to cultivate closer relationships among coworkers.

To really take things to the next level, you could even rent a private outdoor space for a few hours through Peerspace, the largest online marketplace for hourly space rentals. With tens of thousands of listings on the site, you’re sure to find at least a few excellent options – including gardens, backyards, rooftops, and more – if you search Peerspace for outdoor team building venues near you.

Love this suggestion? Then take it to a new level using our elegant picnic brunch ideas!

4. Geocaching adventure

Ever heard of “geocaching”? It’s a unique activity akin to modern treasure hunting, where participants use GPS coordinates to explore new locations and find hidden containers called “geocaches.” It’s an awesome activity for team building because the sometimes challenging task of searching for a geocache together is a super effective way to promote collaborative problem-solving and teamwork.

5. Outdoor escape room

Speaking of collaborative problem-solving and teamwork – how about an outdoor escape room? Set up puzzles, riddles, and other challenges in an outdoor setting, then divide your team into smaller groups and assign them different sections of the “escape room” you’ve created. They’ll have to work together to solve the puzzles and unlock the final objective!

6. Survival skills workshop

If you and your team are on the more adventurous side, you might just love attending a workshop led by a wilderness survival expert. You’ll learn valuable skills like shelter construction, fire building, navigation, and foraging. All while improving your collective resilience and adaptability!

7. Environmental cleanup day

Choose a local park, beach, or other outdoor area that’s overrun by litter and in need of cleaning, then gather your team there for a cleanup initiative. Improving even one small corner of the world is sure to give you all a refreshing sense of satisfaction. We’d say this is an especially ideal choice of activity for non-profits and companies that are focused on green/eco-friendly endeavors.

8. Collaborative outdoor art project

Encourage your team’s creativity and artistic expression by giving them a chance to do an outdoor art project! Provide them with the necessary art supplies and an area where they can work together on a project like a mural, sculpture, or other installation (the location and medium is up to you!).

9. Outdoor movie night

For a more relaxing activity, getting together to watch a movie under the stars is a super fun choice. With blankets, popcorn, a projector, and a choice of film that you know everyone loves, you’ll have everything you need for a successful movie night.

Not sure where to host your outdoor movie night? Consider renting a suitable venue through Peerspace – the platform’s intuitive yet detailed search tool makes it easy to find outdoor spaces for screenings near you.

Learn more with our outdoor movie night ideas to enjoy the big screen experience in Mother Nature!

10. Scavenger hunt

A scavenger hunt is a dynamic, often exhilarating challenge that combines adventure, problem-solving, and cooperation. Give teams a list of items/clues and have them work together to uncover and solve them. Competition, a ticking clock, and prizes can help add further excitement to the experience.

11. Visit a ropes course

A ropes course provides a combination of physical and mental challenges as participants navigate rope elements like suspended bridges, zip lines, ladders, and tightrope walks. Completing a course together encourages trust-building and teamwork, creating lasting memories as coworkers support and guide each other through obstacles.

12. Egg drop challenge

You might have participated in an egg drop as a kid, but even for adults, it’s a pretty challenging task to keep an egg from cracking from a long drop! Divide your team into smaller groups, provide them with building materials like cardboard, tape, string, and so forth, and give them an hour or so to protect their eggs from a fall. To motivate them even more, you might want to offer prizes to the winner(s)!

Find unique team building venues on Peerspace