I love the beauty and magic autumn brings— the dark, starry skies, the golden leaves, and warm, comforting foods. The cool air feels like a relief after a hot, bright (or overcast, if you live in the UK like me!) summer. However, this season often feels brief, as many of us get caught up in other commitments at this time of year in school or at work. It can be helpful to plan some activities to make memories during the shift in seasons— in this post, we’ll explore over 120 ideas for your autumn bucket list!
120+ Autumn Bucket List Ideas
1. Outdoorsy things to do
Autumn is the perfect season for outdoor activities. The temperatures have dropped slightly, making it comfortable to spend time outside without it being too hot or cold. There are plenty of organized activities you can do with friends, such as visiting a corn maze or going pumpkin picking at a local farm. Alternatively, you could opt for non-commercial activities like hiking or building outdoor forts if you’d like to keep costs low!
Adventurous Activities
- Go on an autumn hike: This is always at the top of my autumn bucket list! In my opinion, it’s one of the best (and cheapest!) ways to enjoy the new season and all the beautiful sights it brings in nature. Another bonus is that most walking trails in the UK tend to quieten down after the summer months.
- Go pumpkin picking
- Stay overnight in a woodland cottage/ cabin
- Go camping
- Take a guided cave tour
- Go on a woodland bike ride
- Have a bonfire
- Go to a maize maze
- Go on a woodland ziplining course
- Visit an allotment
- Go geocaching: Autumn can sometimes be quite wet in the UK, and you might not want to travel far from home. Geocaching (a GPS-based treasure hunting game) is a great way to make local walks more interesting!
- Go on a road trip
- Have a car picnic
- Do some gardening: Although the chores to do in the garden tend wind down a little in the autumn, there are still a few things you could do to make it easier to manage in the spring, such as aerating your lawn, planting bulbs, cleaning your greenhouse, and chopping back/ digging up weeds.
- Build an outdoor fort
- Watch hot air balloons: In my experience, there tend to be a lot of hot air balloons from September through to early October. Finding a local launch site and walking along public footpaths where you can see them take off in the morning or sunset is such a cosy and beautiful activity.
- Visit a sunflower field
Outdoor games
If you’re looking to make your autumn walks more exciting, there are many games you can play using natural objects. Lots of these games are seasonal (conkers and sycamore seeds are generally at their best in September or October) so it’s the best time of year to take advantage of them.
- Play pooh sticks: This game from the Winnie-the-Pooh series involves tossing sticks into a flowing stream and seeing whose stick emerges from under the bridge first.
- Have a conkers contest
- Play helicopters with sycamore seeds: Sycamore seeds have an incredible winged structure that allows them to spin as they fall to the ground. To play “helicopters” with them, challenge a friend to see whose seed stays in the air the longest after you both toss them into the air.
- Catch falling leaves: This is one of my favourite things to do on hikes. Look for autumn leaves falling from the treetops and try to catch them before they hit the ground. It’s harder than it sounds!
- Build an outdoor fort
2) Restful things to do
Planning some cosy indoor activities for rainy days or when you’re feeling under the weather can be a great way to combat seasonal blues. For example, reading a seasonal books or shopping for warm clothing can be calming, slow-paced ways to start feeling more autumnal.
I also notice that my hair and skin look a little duller as the temperatures change; it can be helpful to take time for self-care activities at this time of year, like taking a warm bath, moisturising your skin, and treating your hair.
Cosy autumn activities
- Watch some autumnal films
- Change your bedding to seasonal bedding
- Thrift some jumpers: As the temperatures drop, it’s important to stay warm. Thrifting for jumpers can be a more sustainable and affordable way to get the layers you need for the new season. You could visit a local charity or vintage shop, or shop online using a secondhand clothing website like Preworn.
- Light some candles
- Read a seasonal book
- String up fairy lights: The evenings quickly get darker in autumn. Having lots of light sources to choose from can help make this transition easier and make your home feel more cosy.
- Decorate your home in autumn décor
- Listen to autumnal music
- Do a puzzle
- Play some fantasy or nature-themed games: I’ve been playing the cosiest free game recently, called postmouse! It’s a calming, low-stakes game where you play as a tiny mouse delivering mail across an autumnal landscape.
- Create autumn vision boards
- Make autumn-themed potpourri
- Listen to audiobooks
- Give extra care to your hair and skin
- Take a warm bath
- Take extra time to rest: Shorter days and less sunlight can make us feel more exhausted than usual. I find it’s helpful to set aside extra time to rest and recover on autumn days where I don’t feel my best.
3) Artistic and Crafty things to do
Autumn scenes and motifs are usually very striking and lend themselves beautifully to creativity. They can be an excellent source of inspiration for your artistic hobbies at this time of year. You could incorporate seasonal themes (like mushrooms, leaves, deer, etc.) into your artwork, music, writing, and more. Since the weather is cooling down, it’s also the perfect time to knit or crochet something new for your home or wardrobe, like a cosy pair of gloves or a warm quilt.
- Knit or crochet seasonal clothing/ décor
- Paint some autumn scenery
- Do Eco-printing with leaves
- Do autumnal photography
- Make baskets from pine needles
- Create an autumn book nook
- Sew a patchwork quilt
- Paint pumpkins
- Press autumn leaves
- Paint a pot mugs
- Make dried flower arrangements
- Make your own broom
- Create nature art with fallen leaves
- Learn some folk music
- Write poetry inspired by autumn
4) Festive & Seasonal Traditions
Autumn has long been filled with festivities, ranging from spooky celebrations to community gatherings, like Halloween and harvest festivals. These traditions help bring communities together and contribute to the season’s crisp, cosy, and sometimes eerie character. Participating in or taking inspiration from these activities and themes can help you feel fully immersed in the season.
Spooky/ Halloween-themed Activities
- Learn about local folklore: This time of year provides the perfect opportunity to research local folklore and legends and learn more about the history and culture of your area.
- Visit a haunted house attraction
- Pumpkin carving
- Look at local Halloween decorations
- Visit a historic castle
- Look for spiderwebs: A fun way to make a short walk feel spookier is to search for spiderwebs! Most of the spiders that hatched in spring have matured by the autumn, so there are often lots of webs at this time of year.
- Host a Halloween party
- Take a ghost walk
Social Activities
- Go to Guy Fawke’s night
- Celebrate apple day
- Host a potluck
- Join a book club
- Throw a costume party
- Go to a farmer’s market
- Go to a harvest festival
- Visit a national trust property
- Visit a cosy pub or café
- Attend a local gig
- Go to a cider festival
- Visit a local sweet store
- Do apple bobbing with friends
- Visit your local library
- Visit a local museum
Charitable things to do
- Donate to a food bank
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen
- Donate clothes or blankets
- Host a fundraising event: There are many themes you can lean on during this time of year, such as apple day, to help guide a fundraising event and encourage people to get festive for charity. You could host a pumpkin-themed bake sale, a costume party, or something else in order to raise money for a cause you’re passionate about.
- Go litter picking: With many plants dying back, there’s a lot of litter from the summer months that becomes visible at this time of year. It can be a great time to help clean up your local area using litterpicking equipment.
5) Nature Observation & Wildlife Activities
Nature tends to be very lively during the autumn months. When you take a walk in your local park or the countryside, you might see squirrels busily gathering acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts, etc from the trees. The fallen leaves also create a rich bed on the forest floor, mushrooms and mosses flourish and spread rapidly.
- Observe Vis-mig (visible migration): Autumn brings many noticeable changes in bird activity, and you might be able to observe migratory patterns or spot shifts in your local species.
- Go apple or pear picking
- Look for blackberries
- Watch the sunrise
- Make fat balls or put seeds out for the birds and squirrels
- Go stargazing: The night sky tends to be darker in the autumn, as the earth tilts away from the sun, providing better conditions for stargazing.
- Contribute to wildlife research programs like the Woodland Trust’s Nature Calendar
- Set up a hedgehog den
- Go wildlife spotting
- Go mushroom spotting
- Look for the Harvest and Hunter’s moon
- Go litter picking
- Look for animal tracks: The ground is often muddy during this time of year, creating ideal conditions for spotting animal tracks.
- Go bat spotting
- Collect conkers
- Take a foraging course
- Learn about local trees
- Celebrate the autumn equinox
- Set up a wildlife camera
- Put up birdhouses
- Learn about moss
6) Seasonal Cooking
Autumn arrives during the peak of the harvest season and is filled with rich, hearty foods and flavors. As the weather begins to cool, it’s the perfect time for warm drinks and cozy meals like soups, stews, and cinnamon-spiced baked goods.
- Bake an apple or pumpkin pie
- Roast chestnuts
- Cook a stew or soup
- Make toffee apples
- Celebrate apple day
- Bake cinnamon or cardamom pastries
- Brew seasonal hot drinks
- Make your own trail mix
This post was all about 110+ autumn bucket list ideas!
