The Ultimate Summer Bucket List

Make this the best summer ever with these fun summer bucket list ideas. There are tons of fun ideas to add to your summer bucket list whether you just want to have a better time this summer or you want to keep kids entertained during the hot summer days!

What Is A Bucket List?

If you’ve never made a bucket list before, they’re so much fun!

A lot of people have bucket lists full of items they want to do sometime in their life. Maybe a travel bucket list of places they want to travel or a seasonal bucket list (like this Christmas bucket list) of things they want to do during a specific season. It’s basically a list of things you want to accomplish within a set amount of time.

While some people like to put together say a lifetime bucket list, I prefer to make bucket lists for short periods of time such as the summer.

With summer being such a short time, it’s a great way to really dive in and try to enjoy as many of these summer bucket list ideas as possible! It’s really the perfect time to make a bucket list!

And if you get through all of these, you can always move onto my fall bucket list!

120 Summer Bucket List Ideas

Everyone’s bucket list can be a little different, but these summer bucket list ideas should hopefully be enough to get you started with creating your own! There are tons of fun things to choose from!

I tried to make them generic enough that they were things everyone can do, not just people who live in Kansas City like we do. If you want to use the one I made, you can get a free printable summer bucket list at the bottom of this post!

This bucket list is full of fun summer activities you can do during the free time that summer brings! There are tons of creative ways to enjoy the extra time we have off including outdoor activities, rainy day activities, and more!

It’s also full of ideas that work for the entire family so that the whole family can have the best time together during summer break!

1. Go on a bike ride
2. Build a fort
3. Do a cartwheel
4. Roll down a hill. Even better if you do it with new friends!
5. Bury your toes in the sand (preferably somewhere like Daytona Beach). If you can’t get to the actual sand, you could always make this beach cake too!
6. Fly a kite
7. Jump over the waves
8. Build a sandcastle
9. Go to a drive-in movie theater
10. Eat a hot dog straight from the grill
11. Have a water fight
12. Play one of these outdoor water games (best on a warm weather day) and all you need is water and water balloons!
13. Have a watermelon seed spitting contest
14. Have a family board game tournament
15. Go to a carnival
16. Listen to an outdoor concert (there are normally tons of musical festivals during the summer)
17. Go to a water park and try out a new water slide on a hot day
18. Do a cannonball
19. Play in the sprinklers
20. Watch a fireworks show
21. Sit in a hammock
22. Buy something at a garage sale (aka a yard sale)
23. Create your own lemonade stand (guests will love this strawberry lemonade).
24. Eat a snow cone
25. Go to some sort of festival
26. Bake cookies and give them to someone else with these treat tags
27. Make root beer floats
28. Watch a movie on the big screen or if your bank account allows, rent an inflatable movie screen!
29. Go to a local farmer’s market (it’s a great time to try out some fresh fruit)
30. Get a temporary tattoo
31. Make homemade popsicles like these ocean blue ones with gummy sharks inside
32. Watch early morning cartoons
33. Snuggle in bed during a summer thunderstorm
34. Have an indoor campout or if the  weather cooperates, go camping and play these camping games
35. Get books to read at the local library. You could even do a book club!
36. Play kickball
37. Swim in a lake
38. Make homemade pizza
39. Catch fireflies
40. Watch a sunset
41. Go on a picnic and a picnic scavenger hunt
42. Go on a road trip (and take these roadtrip games with you!)
43. Build a sand castle or an entire city of sand castles
44. Learn something new
45. Make something explode
46. Go to an amusement park
47. Dance it out
48. Eat a funnel cake
49. Volunteer somewhere like a local charity or do random acts of kindness at home
50. Paint something
51. Make one of these easy summer crafts – there are tons of summer craft projects to choose from!
52. Jump in puddles
53. Make and play a backyard game
54. Eat breakfast for dinner. These egg muffins with a hash brown crust are a family favorite!
55. Go on a staycation
56. Collect seashells
57. Go ice blocking
58. Stay up past midnight
59. Pick berries (then use them for this strawberry poke cake!)
60. Eat ice cream before it melts
61. Make s’mores or s’mores bars if you don’t have access to a fire. Don’t forget the graham crackers!
62. Have a water balloon fight
63. Play beach ball volleyball
64. Plant flowers
65. Get a mosquito bite
66. Eat corn on the cob
67. Travel somewhere you’ve never been
68. Go to a local museum
69. Find a dinosaur (maybe on this dinosaur hunt)
70. Spend a day barefoot
71. Lay on grass and look at the stars
72. Drink ice cold lemonade
73. Have a family slumber party (this is one of my favorite things)
74. Swing on the swings
75. Go to a baseball game
76. Send a postcard
77. Go to a fair
78. Go to summer camp or go camping (and play these camping games)
79. Hike a mountain, even better if it’s a new trail
80. Run a race
81. Take a picture by a colored wall
82. Make homemade ice cream
83. Relax in a lazy river
84. Ride a roller coaster
85. Order pizza at the pool (or make a summer charcuterie board, still at the pool)
86. Buy a new pair of sandals (these Sanuks are my favorite)
87. Go fishing
88. Play frisbee
89. Drink a tropical drink
90. Go to a splash pad
91. Sleep in
92. Find a sunflower
93. Float in a pool (then play one of these fun pool games)
94. Wave a flag
95. Try 12 flavors of ice cream (this sweet and salty ice cream is one of our favorites)
96. Have a backyard BBQ
97. Go see a show (any of these Disney movies coming out this summer would be perfect). Or you could even do a movie marathon at home or an outdoor movie night!
98. Find a double rainbow
99. Play until the daylight is gone
100. Play hopscotch outside
101. Celebrate Christmas in July (I recommend these Christmas games!)
102. Make something tie-dye
103. Eat fresh pineapple (or turn it into pineapple bread)
104. Read a book by the pool, even if it’s just an inflatable pool in your backyard
105. Do a service project or random acts of kindness
106. Send letters to friends
107. Go geocaching
108. Blow bubbles
109. Explore the great outdoors
110. Make paper airplanes and have a flying competition
111. Create a time capsule
112. Create pictures out of sidewalk chalk
113. Try new foods to see which one’s the best
114. Paint a rock collection
115. Go to a science center or just do a science experiment at home
116. Eat something from a food truck (I love food trucks!)
117. Go to a zoo or wildlife sanctuary to see animals you’ve never seen before
118. Pick out new places to try each week (so skip the nearby park and try out a new one instead)
119. Visit a National or State Park
120. Stay up late playing night games like Ghosts in the Graveyard or Flashlight Tag

How to Make Your Own Summer Bucket List

The best part about a bucket list is that it should be all your own. I’ve given you 100+ ideas of things to do this summer. This is the perfect opportunity pick and choose from this list of summer bucket list ideas and create one that’s perfect for your own family!

And unlike my list, feel free to get specific. If there’s a place you want to eat, add that specific restaurant to your list. If there’s a mini golf course (or three) nearby you want to try, add it! Want to make paper airplanes and setup a paper airplane course in your backyard, add it!

There’s a blank printable included in the PDF below that you can use to create your own summer bucket list!

Summer Bucket List FAQs

More Fun Summer Ideas

If you need some more fun things to do this summer, try out these fun activities!

• Summer bingo – free printable summer themed bingo game, great for any summer party!
• Outdoor games – the best collection of backyard games, yard games, and outdoor games!
• Summer party ideas – tons of great ideas to beat the heat while entertaining this summer!
• Summer chore chart – printable chore charts for the summer that includes chores and reward ideas!
• Games with balls – fun games to play with balls, perfect for outdoor fun this summer!

Get the Free Summer Bucket List Printable

Enter your first name and email address below to get the free printable.

You’ll receive a copy to your email shortly after that includes a 4-page PDF:

• The regular summer bucket list
• A summer bucket list of things to do at home
• Two blank summer bucket lists

If you can’t see the form below, click here to get to the form to enter your info.