11 Kids Obstacle Course Ideas

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Kids love obstacle courses for so many reasons – they are fun, physically challenging (in a good way), and can be arranged in million different manners. But before you go to the basement to take out your old cones and balance beam, check out these awesome kids obstacle course ideas and kick up the fun to the next level.

The thing I love the most about obstacle courses is that they are suitable for all age groups – from toddlers to teenagers – and promote a huge range of developmental skills.

I’ve been looking for some low-prep but fun obstacle courses for my kids and have decided to share these amazing ideas with you. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Outdoor Obstacle Course Ideas For Kids

Outdoor obstacle courses are a great way to lure your kids outside and get them burning some energy in a fun and entertaining way. Furthermore, you can always pack and store them when they aren’t in use or if you need the extra room for a playhouse.

Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course

This warrior course has five obstacles including wooden stepping stones, sloped stepping stones, balance beams, tree stumps, and PVC pipe hurdles, which can also be used to crawl under. The beauty of this course is that you can customize the hurdles according to your child’s age and pack the entire course for easy storage.

Pool Noodle Backyard Course

For this obstacle course, you will need pool noodles, a beach ball, chairs, and domes, or anything else that can serve as a marker. Use the domes to create a path, then use the chairs to hold the pool noodles in a way that creates hurdles, and place a ball at the end of the course.

The idea is that your children push a smaller ball through a dome path using a pool noodle without kicking the domes in the process. Then they need to jump or crawl under the hurdles, and at the end, kick the beach ball as much as they can.

Tire Obstacle Course

For this project, you will need colored spray paint and four old tires, but you can use more and create a bigger course if you have enough space. You can use zip lock to attach the two tires to a rail or something else or just dig them into the ground so that they are standing up. Slide the remaining tires in front of the other tires and let your kids play.

Depending on your child’s age, you can ask them to climb or jump over the standing tires or crawl inside them.

Indoor Kids Obstacle Courses

Trying out some indoor fun obstacle course ideas for kids during the winter months can mean a world of difference for active youngsters. Here are a few you should try out before summer comes!

Learning Indoor Obstacle Course

This learning obstacle course is ideal when even your kid’s favorite robot toys can’t keep them entertained and active. All you need to do is label a bunch of sticky notes with letters or other facts depending on your kid’s age.

Place the stickers on the floor, chairs, table, sofa, or anything else your kid can climb on and let the fun begin. Give your kid a chance to pick the stickers and every time they guess the letter or solve the math problem, they can stomp on it.

String Obstacle Course

Image Credit: parenting.com

To create this course, you will need to weave string back and forth between two rows of chairs and let your kids go through it. To make things even more fun, you can also use cards from a deck and clip them to the string.

Then, ask your kids to find cards of the matching color or a number, or to match the card you are holding while they are figuring how to go through the course.

Gross Motor Play Obstacle Course

This obstacle course is designed to sneak in fine motor skills into gross motor play and improve your child’s skill and attention in a fun way. To create it, you will need a plyo soft box, trampoline, tunnel, hippity-hop ball, kiddy chopsticks, small balls, and a bucket.

The idea is that your kid climbs on the soft box, jumps on the trampoline, crawls through the tunnel, and then sits on a hippity-hop ball. But while your kid is sitting, they have to use the chopsticks to place all the same colored balls into the bucket.

Tell your child to repeat the course until all the colors of the balls are placed in the bucket.

Creative Obstacle Courses For Kids

While all kids obstacle course ideas are creative, some are more original than others and will be a real hit with your children. The most exciting ones are:

Spy Laser Obstacle Course

If your kids are into spies and action, you can use crepe paper and tape to create a laser field inside your living room. Just tape the crepe paper on the walls from one end of the room to the other, taking care that there are a lot of highs and lows.

Once the laser is set, place a reward outside the laser and tell your kid to go and get it without setting the alarm, or in this case tearing the paper!

Alphabet Relay Obstacle Course

For this outdoor obstacle course, you will need pool noodles, a water table, hula hoops, foam letter puzzle, and eight pens. To make the course, stick the pens into the ground and slide the pool noodles, creating hoop arches.

Then lay the hula hoops in the row that leads to the water table that will contain foam letters for the puzzle. Your child should grab one letter and place it in the puzzle and repeat the course until they solve the puzzle.

Obligatory Obstacle Course

This DIY obstacle course for kids is fun and challenging enough to keep your kids active and entertained at the same time. To build it, you will need wooden stakes, rope, hula hoop, a slide, foam mat, balance beam, bucket, ball, and tube.

Hammer the stakes into the ground and wrap the rope around them to create a hurdle, then set the hula hoop and the slide. Tell your kid to do a forward roll on the mat, walk over the balance beam, and throw a ball into a bucket before crawling through the tube.

Obstacle Course Ideas For Toddlers

By setting out an indoor or outdoor obstacle, you are creating a perfect environment for your busy toddler to move and develop motor skills. The following kids obstacle courses are easy to recreate and you probably already have everything that you need at home.

Simple Obstacle Course For Crawlers

To set up this course, you will need couch cushions, balls, and a blanket. Use the cushions to create steps for your toddler to crawl over. To make your child interested in crawling, set up two balls onto the cushions for them to play with.

As a safety measure, use the blanket to line the floor and place pillows around the course in case of any roll-offs.

Mini Mountain Range

Choose a few soft items, stuffed toys, pillows, or soft balls and line them on the floor. Use blankets, towels, or table cloths to cover all the items and to increase the learning experience with different textures.

Now that the mini-course is ready, let your toddler climb and crawl over mini obstacles. Don’t be discouraged if your kid is more interested in uncovering what is under the blankets; this is also a way to learn.

Conclusion

Obstacle courses are great for kids of all ages! They encourage thinking and problem-solving, but also require physical movement and motivate kids to exercise and stay active.

Hopefully, you got inspired by some of these kids obstacle course ideas and will try to set up one of them right away!