Are you searching for some natural backyard play area ideas? Well, look no further.
There are all sorts of benefits of having a natural play area in your backyard and they are becoming increasingly popular with parents.
Creating a natural play area in your backyard can be a lot of fun, and there are ideas to suit any budget and skill.
One of the fun things about the creation of a backyard like this is that your children can get involved – often times kids are much more creative than we are in coming up with ideas.
What is a natural backyard playground?
For those of you who are new to natural playgrounds, the concept is straightforward.
A natural backyard playground is made up of natural resources like:
- earth
- wood
- water
- rocks
- and rope
Natural playgrounds are built with little or no metal or plastic, and they are incredibly sustainable.
When non-natural resources are used, they are repurposed materials.
Let’s review several of the tens of thousands of natural playground backyard ideas available.
Stumps
Stumps from trees are perfect for any kind of natural backyard play area. If you have an old tree stump still in the ground you don’t have to dig it up to use it. So many ways to use it as is.
Surround it with an obstacle course, cut it down to a seat, or even create a fairy house out of it! The possibilities are endless!
If you’ve dug out a tree stump and want to create something out of it, there are lots of options to use it for. You could cut the tree stump into large circular pieces (approx. 6″ thick, or less) and lay them flat on the ground to create a walking path or game of hopscotch.
Larger thicker stumps (12″) would be perfect for sitting on to create a picnic area or fire pit area.
Using a variety of tree stumps as a play structure for climbing is a great idea and looks impressive as well. Stack the larger stumps in the middle of the climbing structure and build a pyramid with them or whatever you think your children would enjoy playing on.
Lastly, tree stumps are perfect for any kind of obstacle course. You can even put notches in the tall ones for hand or foot holds to encourage climbing and creative, continued uses for the children while they play.
Logs
Now that we’ve discussed stumps, let’s move on to logs.
Logs are just about as versatile as stumps!
You may want to smooth them out a little and not leave them as rough, which likely depends on what you’re going to use them for.
Logs can be used for seating, but why not take it a step above and use them as balance beams?
The beauty of logs is that you can place them anywhere, and kids will just use their imaginations.
One minute it will be a train, and the next it will become walking the plank off a pirate ship.
If you’re really up for a challenge, see if you can make a seesaw out of logs!
Hollow logs
If you happen to stumble across a large log that has been carved-out or hollowed out on the inside, that makes a great play tunnel for kids!
If it’s not big enough to climb inside or it is short, then you could be creative with it and make a shoot or slide for pinecones to roll down or pebbles.
Rocks
Definitely include rocks in any natural backyard playground. They are so much fun.
Place really big rocks in an obstacle course, or by themselves for climbing and jumping.
With smaller, smooth rocks, create a construction area.
Add a couple of buckets or a wagon and invite your kiddos to unleash their inner engineer.
How about a rope pulley system to really get them thinking?
Or a balance beam to play with weight outside?
Using the landscape
If your backyard does not happen to be flat, which is to say, it has natural movements in elevation, this should be taken advantage of!
When you create your own natural backyard, the natural landscape should be exploited to create a unique and original playspace.
You could convert the mounds into climbing spaces or forts and turn the troughs into a watercourse, for instance.
If you can make opportunities for a large hill, then tie a rope to the top so kiddos can scale it!
Trees
We previously touched on tree stumps and logs, but another thing you’ll need to use are any established living trees you might have in your yard.
As long as they’re 1.5 feet to 2 feet wide at their base, they will function especially well as a climbing structure for your little climbers.
If their branches don’t lend themselves to climbing, you might consider attaching:
- a rope ladder
- climbing ropes
- a rope swing
- or hammock
Create a creative zone
If you have read any literature surrounding the harnessing children’s developing brains you will be aware of why this style of activity is so great.
Dedicate an area in the backyard for creating, engineering and general tinkering.
It does not take much other than to provide them with resources found in nature such as acorns, leaves, twigs, pinecones, bark, vines, dried out bamboo, or what have you and let them do their creative thing!
Build a mud kitchen
Many children have an affinity for mud, and a mud kitchen is a great way for children to explore their creativity and develop roleplay.
While there are beautiful and creative inspiration available on Pinterest for mud kitchens, all you really need is:
- a small bench
- wooden bowls
- wooden utensils
In the winter, it’s easy to take down the mud kitchen and share in a kitchen of snow!
A sandbox
There are plenty of ways to incorporate a sandbox into a natural backyard play space, and you can definitely be creative with how you incorporate it into the backyard.
You don’t have to go the traditional sandbox route, as there are many great ideas out there, as some people are using old wooden boats filled with play sand to create that desert island feel.
One thing is for sure, regardless of how you add the sand box or sand pit, kids will want tools to rake, dig and move around the sand.
A space to swing
Is a playground truly a playground without something to swing on?
There are a myriad of ideas for swings to have in a natural playground.
The most basic idea would be to have a knotted rope hanging down from a sturdy branch of a tree.
You could also use a plank of wood and some rope to have a standard swing seat; depending on what else you’d like to hang or tie up, you could tie off the end of the swing seat instead of using a hanging branch!
If you have the space (and the creativity!), you could create a whole “swing bridge” by joining lots of wooden planks with chains or rope swings!
Create a mark-making area
Mark-making is really essential for developing children.
While it’s always fun to drag the paints out from time to time, you might want something a bit cleaner.
In a natural play space, there are endless ways to ‘mark-make.’
You could also make a mark-making wall with incorporate framed spaces for ‘painting’ with brushes and water.
You could also integrate chalkboard paint into some of those frames for children to have different ways to represent images.
Water – good clean fun
Water play is so simple to create and kids love it!
You don’t need fancy water features or playground toys either. Often times a trough and some sticks and leaves will keep them busy making boats out of the leaves at hours!
These are just a few ideas for using water in your garden:
- Install gutters on a wall or fence, so the water pours from the top and floats boats down the bottom. You can just as easily use balls and marbles too!
- Use scrap bottles to create a water wall
- Use a halved and hollowed-out log to create a watercourse
- Use cement to creatively create shallow natural pools with quick-filling ripples when it rains
Create a construction area
Usually, as long as children have enough resources, they can come up with some amazing ideas!
A natural playground build area is an ideal setting for children to practice to develop their engineering skills.
You just have provide them building materials, like wood planks, blocks of wood, stones, bricks to position about and they can see what they will come up with all by themselves.
A few moveable objects and the children’s imagination is all they need. These areas also lend well to teaching children practice about risk.
Create a sensory garden
Even though a backyard play area that is natural should still be a living garden with plants and flowers.
One way to include plants in your natural playscape is with a sensory garden.
A sensory garden is a garden area that provides varying sensory experiences.
It will engage the senses individually, or in combination.
Here are some ideas of what to include in a sensory garden:
- A water feature to see, hear, and touch
- Natural, textured surfaces to touch
- Natural musical instruments like hollowed wood and hammers or chimes
- Plants with vivid colors
- Herbs and fragrant plants for smelling
- Things to taste
- A barefoot walkway
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Water features for sensory gardens
Water features make a wonderful addition to a sensory garden or natural backyard playground.
A peaceful pond that ripples when touched or a gently flowing water feature can provide a sense of calmness and relaxation.
They are fun to touch and to listen to as well.
Natural, textured surfaces
Children are naturally curious and they enjoy using their hands to explore and a sensory garden is a fun place to facilitate this.
Create a sensory wall for children. Use natural items to help enhance children’s sense of touch.
Items include bark, bamboo poles, pebbles, sand, pine cones, grass or any other natural items you can think of.
You could also incorporate bamboo or decorative grasses that sway or “whisper” when the children touch them.
Natural musical instruments
For outdoor music for natural playground backyards, there are some great musical instruments online.
But you don’t have to purchase anything!
You can use hanging sticks, logs of tree trunk, and a mallet, and it’ll make great sounds!
Plants with vivid colors
It can be easy to forget about the visual component when discussing sensory gardens.
An area with lots of colorful flowers (reds, yellows, and oranges) brings about energy, and good eyeshot.
This would be a good example of an area where you want to promote energy or activity.
On the opposite end, cool colors like blue and purple make for a great space for quiet reflection.
Reds, oranges, and yellows
Here are some ideas for bright, warm plants:
- Marigolds
- Sunflowers
- Zinnia
- Calendula
- Snapdragons
- Swiss Chard
Blues and purples
- Irises
- Lavender
- Clematis
- Foxgloves
- Dwarf purple rhododendrons
- Lily of the valley
Herbs and fragrant plants
Here are some great ideas for a full sensory experience in your backyard playground:
- Basil – this is simple to grow and just brushing against the leaves will release their great scent.
- Sage – pick a couple of leaves, crush them in your hand, and rub them lightly to smell.
- Curry plant – Unlike most herbs that give off a sweet smell, the curry plant smells like your typical curry spices!
- Mints- There are so many variations of mint, and it smells wonderful!
- Scented geraniums!
- Lavender!
- Chocolate cosmos – is delightfully sweet chocolate scented!
Things to taste
You can create an awesome space where kids can experience tasting things depending on season and where you are!
Here are some things to grow:
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber (bush varieties are best as they can grow on a trellis)
- Swiss chard
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Peppers
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Edible flowers (marigolds, nasturtiums)
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Apples
- Pears
- Cherries
A barefoot walkway
A barefoot pathway is a wonderful way for children to have a variety of surfaces to interact with through their feet.
It’s a really good idea to offer a mixture of solid and unstable surfaces.
Here are some elements that you could add to your pathway:
- Smooth, large pebbles
- Pea gravel
- Bark
- Cement
- Bare earth
- Wood
- Grass
Other natural playground backyard ideas
We have too many other ideas for it to be possible to share them all with you.
If you don’t have enough ideas yet, here are some more to think about:
- A garden archway
- A willow den
- A concrete waterway
- A pea gravel and digger pit
- A tree house and pulley basket
- A bean tepee
- A meadow garden.
Final thoughts on natural backyard playgrounds
A big back yard is not required to have a wonderful natural playspace for children – nor do you have to be very creative or good at DIY.
Most children will be able to make their own fun if you simply provide the right materials!
Design your natural playspace in a way that it will include endless possibilities for learning and play for your child.
All you really need is some things to build or create with and the rest they will do themselves!