The Best Outdoor Toys for Summer

We’ve tested and rated the best outdoor toys for kids so you don’t have to! These are the tried and true best summer toys for spending plenty of special hours outside.

Nothing beats a summer day spent out in the yard, getting dirty with chalk dust and bubbles. Those are some sweet days.

Over the years, our kids have definitely narrowed down their favorites, and here’s our take on the ones that are particularly great.

The Best Outdoor Toys for Kids

I love investing in outdoor toys that are actually fun for the kids — there are lots of cute toys, but they don’t all function well or get a lot of play time.

In my opinion, the best outdoor toys for kids are the ones that they come back to again and again, the ones that can withstand a lot of play time, and the ones that are colorful and cute to look at (that’s just the icing on the cake!).

Playing Outside (Without a Pool!)

Some of our list is pool-specific, but we’ve definitely been known to use pool float tools even without a pool.

There’s just something fun about hanging out in the backyard on a big blowup swan/flamingo/rainbow. So here are some of our favorites.

Read to the bottom for a few specific notes on things that have worked well (and not worked well) for our family. xoxo

Outdoor Toys for Summer

Unicorn Hopper I love having a silly bouncer or hopper around, and this unicorn one is hysterical. Hoppers like this fit our our kids well when they were about 3-5 years old.

48 Count Sidewalk Chalk The only sidewalk chalk I use any more, partially because it comes in the most amazing colors and partially because it shows up really  well on pavement.

Inflatable Rainbow Pool Float Super fun for in and out of the pool. Set it on your lawn and have a picnic on it! Or set it under the sprinklers and let the kids play.

Tree Swing We made our own tree swings (tutorial coming soon!), but if you’re not the DIY type, this one is sturdy and simple.

Ping Pong Great for older kids and game nights! (Or just for mom and dad after the little ones go to bed.)

Round Outdoor Blanket We keep one blanket as a dedicated yard blanket, so we’re never concerned if it gets dirty or worn. This one is soft and colorful!

Spray Bottles If you’re doing summer on a budget, this is the ONE TOY that I would recommend. We bought Henry a dollar store spray bottle his first summer and it’s our most used outdoor toy, ever. He sprays trees, flowers, himself, chalk drawings, sidewalks, bricks, bugs. You name it. Seriously, one of the best outdoor toys for kids.

Inflatable Ring Toss Fun for tossing with the bigger kids, or letting the little ones just stack the rings on the crab.

Pink Apple Kiddie Pool Because it’s just so cute! Our littles love splashing in a tiny pool in the summer.

Bubbles!

Bubble Gun We’ve gone through countless bubble guns, because any parent knows you can’t blow bubbles all day long without almost fainting. Get a bubble gun, y’all.

The problem is a lot of them are just super cheap and break all the time. The best one we’ve found is this one from Disneyland; it blows bunches of little bubbles and has never broken.

It’s just a little heavy, but both of our kids handle it pretty well. If you just want a bubble machine that you don’t have to hold, we like the Gazillion Bubbles Hurricane.

P.S. One of our favorite backyard activities of all time was making our own ball pit. Here’s how to make a ball pit for your kids.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. This means that I receive a small commission should you make a purchase via one of these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you as always for your support!