30 Ways to Gamify Your Walk

See below for a link to download a free printable with these ideas, or read on for details and links I didn’t have space to include on the printable.

Pick a color and find as many examples of it as you can on your walk.
Flip a coin every time you come to a corner to determine if you go left or right. You could also make dice like artist Keri Smith to help determine your direction.
Invite a friend to go for a walk with you. (Bonus points if it’s someone you haven’t seen in a while.)
Explore a neighborhood you haven’t been to before.
Take a public art walk. If there’s no official public art where you are, look for art in people’s yards or things that could be considered art and imagine you’re a docent leading a tour.
Walk in a botanical garden or public park. Notice the plants.
Download a birding app or check out a bird book and try to ID birds you see on your walk. Variation: Make a list of common birds where you are and see how many you can spot during your walk.
If you have access to a small child, take them with you and let their pace and attention guide your walk.
Walk somewhere you can see a sunrise or sunset.
Walk through a museum. (Remember many museums have free days or passes you can check out from your library!)
Walk near a body of water. Observe the light on the water or the wildlife you see there.
Walk while listening to a podcast. Look for something related to the area you’re walking in, or check out 99% Invisible.
Notice plants growing in unusual places while you walk.
Pick a theme (like one of Rob Walker’s Savors of the Month) and look for things that fit the theme while you walk
When you get home, draw a map of your walk from memory. Include points of interest along the way. (They don’t have to be famous or important things, just things that caught your attention.) It also doesn’t have to be a fancy map – you could even draw it on a banana.
Bring a bag and some gloves and pick up trash while you walk. You might be amazed at how much you can collect. (In Sweden it’s known as plogging.)
Pick up interesting ephemera and found objects (aka trash) along your walk and turn it into assemblage art a la Kurt Schwitters.
Look for interesting textures while you walk. You could remember them, or take photos, or even use a pencil and paper to make a rubbing.
Try to find the whole alphabet on signs as you walk. You could photograph them and assemble them into an alphabet, or just keep track of the letters you found.
Make a list of things you see on your walk that bring you joy.
Pick a poem to memorize while you walk. Let the rhythm of your walk help you find the rhythm of the poem.
Make a small piece of art (a tiny painting, a painted stone, etc.) and leave it somewhere along your walk for someone to find. (March 12 is International Art & Found Day)
Find a labyrinth to walk.
Pick an item (red cars, dogs, mushrooms) and count how many you see on your walk.
Look for faces in the environment – either ones purposely carved onto buildings, or things like trees, fire hydrants or other features that look like faces.
Carry a tiny sketchbook (a Post-it Note pad also works well) and a pen and make a tiny sketch of one thing you see on your walk each day. At the end of the month you can have a tiny art show.
Find an unusual place to walk, like a cemetery.
Turn your walk into a treasure hunt by looking for geocaches along the way.
Take a mindfulness walk. Pay attention to all your senses and the things you’re seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling. (Maybe skip tasting.)
Listen to an audiobook while you walk.

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