Top 5 Fun Fall Backyard Activities

fall activities | backyard activities
October 14, 2021

The fall is a fun time to get outdoors and have a great time with the people you love hanging out with. But your fall fun doesn't have to be limited to festivals, fairs, and fishing holes: there are plenty of ways to entertain right in your own backyard.

Whether you want to have an intimate gathering with the family or a blowout party with your neighbors and friends, we have some ideas in mind. Here are our top 5 fun fall backyard activities, which can also be adapted for gatherings of any size.

backyard movie nightbackyard movie night

Backyard Movie Night

Grab the popcorn, drinks, candy, some outdoor portable chairs, and some blankets, and turn your backyard into a movie theater! If you have a laptop and a projector, you can stream one of the latest movies onto a portable screen, a sheet, or the side of a shed. Better yet, if you have a Sojag gazebo in your backyard, you can enjoy the open air, have a roof over your head, and attach a screen to the posts or the eave of the structure. 

While a backyard movie night is a great family activity, there's no reason you can't make it a larger gathering for friends and neighbors (always invite the neighbors so that even if they decline, they'll know where the crazy sounds are coming from).

Better yet, you don’t even have to stream a movie. Since it's the fall, you can make it college football, playoff baseball, or pro hockey, basketball, or soccer-themed party, or make the night about binge-watching a current or past television show.

And if TV is not your thing, there's you can base this fun fall backyard activity around gaming or karaoke. After all, what's more fun that interacting with your family and neighbors?

backyard bonfire | patio firepitbackyard bonfire | patio firepit

Backyard Bonfire

Okay, if you have a large backyard and a lot of wood to burn (especially after you trim back dead tree limbs for the winter), then a backyard bonfire is in order. However, if you have a smaller backyard or want something that's more contained, then a firepit night is in order.

As a fun fall backyard activity for the family, you could enjoy dinner around the firepit, and enjoy an evening of conversations. Alternatively, you can have the neighbors or a few friends over and entertain by the fire.

And if you want to have a bonfire, you could always tell your guests to BYOW: bring your own wood! It may not be as ready to burn as the wood you've prepped in a seasoning shed and stored neatly on a firewood rack, but a good time should be had by all!

Backyard Cookout | Pig RoastBackyard Cookout | Pig Roast

Backyard Cookout

Got a grill? Got a smoker? Got an appetite and/or a love of cooking outdoors? A backyard cookout is a fun fall backyard activity that everyone can enjoy.

This could be simple (burgers and dogs on the grill for the family) or complex (a pig roast for everybody you know), depending on what you want to celebrate. You can combine a backyard cookout with a backyard movie night. If you're planning to watch a game, it's just like having a backyard tailgate party.

Regardless of the size of your backyard cookout, you should have either pop-up canopies or a canopy tent on hand or a carport or permanent gazebo installed in your yard so your guests can stay out of the sun. A grill gazebo is great for keeping your grill or smoker out of the elements. Camping chairs and camping tables make eating and serving food a whole lot easier.  

backyard campout | fun fall activitiesbackyard campout | fun fall activities

Backyard Campout

Why go to the campground or into the woods for a campout when you can camp out under the stars right in your own backyard. A backyard campout gives you the best of both worlds: You get to rough it outdoors, but indoor plumbing just steps away!

A backyard campout can be combined with other fun fall backyard activities, such as movie night, a firepit, or a cookout. Maybe you start these other events earlier in the evening and kick off the campout after most of your guests go home for the night. That also means more S'mores for you and your family!

In addition to camping chairs and camping tables, you'll want a pop-up canopy or a canopy tent in case the weather unexpectedly turns bad and camping cots so you can sleep in comfort (and not on a rock).

Backyard haunted houseBackyard haunted house

Backyard Haunted House

Got a portable shed or garage, a pop-up canopy with wall panels, a gazebo with winter covers, or a party tent with sidewalls? Then you're on your way to creating an awesome DIY backyard haunted house!

Make it a spooktacular haunted house for adults and teenagers or make it a goofy kid-friendly space. How you decorate it is up to you. But certainly, you'll want strobe lights and a blacklight to set the scene, eerie music to set the mood, and maybe dry ice or a fog machine to add to the mystique.

Don't let all the hard work you put into setting up a backyard haunted house go to waste. You can use it for multiple purposes: It can be the centerpiece for a backyard party, or it can be a fun candy station on Trick-or-Treat night.

More Fun Fall Backyard Activities for Family and Friends

These are our top 5 fun fall backyard activities that you can enjoy as a family, with your friends, or as a neighborhood.

Do you agree or disagree with our list? Leave a comment and let us know what fun fall backyard activities you've planned or partook in, and how you'd make our list even better.

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