The reds and yellows of changing leaves. Bright green moss. Wet soil, rich and dark. The colors of autumn are raw and gritty, with more street cred than the sweet naivety of spring or the brazen arrogance of summer. I’ve been obsessed with the beauty outside, so I decided to do a fall rainbow scavenger hunt on my run today.

Fall rainbow scavenger hunt

The goal:

To find examples in nature of as many colors as possible, while appreciating the variety, extravagance, and general awesomeness outside.

The fun:

Each neighborhood, region, and weather condition will yield a variety of things to see. This game is full of possibilities.  You can visit a park or nature reserve, or walk the streets outside your door.

Bring your phone or camera to document your finds. These pics may come in handy later, to cheer you up when it’s dark outside and you’re feeling dark inside.  You can also use a magnifying glass or binoculars to get perspective.

If you’re with your family or a group you can split up and compare notes, or make a friendly competition out of it.  Although I did this by myself, I plan to take my kids to try it too. Scroll to the end of the post for a free print out for kids to use (and a playlist to get them hyped-up about finding rainbows).

The benefits:

Combine this fun with some fall exercise in the cool, fresh air.  Focusing on color will open your eyes to the wonder and abundance around you, making this is a bonus win to whatever activity you choose. It can be combined with walking, hiking, running, and cycling—as long as you are okay with stopping to smell the rainbows.

Finding rainbows outside

Reds and pinks

Red comes in like blood, rushing to berries and leaves that are having a moment of glory before falling.  You may catch the creamy pink of flowers in bloom before the ice comes to claim them.

Oranges, browns, and yellows

Oranges and yellows can be bright–especially against the contrast of dark wetness that seeps into fall.  On my scavenger hunt I kept gravitating toward the golden tints everywhere, from the ginko leaves littering the road, the quince fruit on my neighbor’s tree, and the sun (that dusted everything in the morning).

Greens

Moss and grass pop in bright shades, and fall has so many types of green.  Ferns hang out in the low layers of the forest, waiting to get glossy with rain.

Blues, indigoes, and purples

With all the warm colors around, blues and purples are sometimes harder to find.  When you find a deep, dark purple or a regal-looking indigo you will take notice.  As for blues, the sky and water never disappoint.

Black, white, gray, and silver

As the fall progresses, things get both darker and lighter.  Brightness fades into a more subtle contrast, the sky gets cloudy, and the light outside gets soft.  Things can get washed out into a sleepy version of their earlier selves.  There are also afternoon shadows, rain, and sometimes snow and ice.

A deeper look

Depending on where you live it can be difficult to find a full range of colors. Sometimes you’ll have to pay close attention or look in unusual places, but variety will reveal itself.

Searching high and low

Look up at trees from below. Some of the coolest colors come from the underside of leaves.  Gaze up at the sky and see the hues of sunrise and sunset.

Search the ground for mushrooms, fallen leaves, rocks, and grasses. Crouch or sit down to get a closer look.

Go big and go small

Taking in views from afar shows how colors can blend into something deep and unique. Find a high point or overlook to take in an entire scene. Appreciate a whole tree, with changing leaves in various stages of turning—this won’t be the same as looking at each leaf on its own.

Focusing up close will show something beautiful as well; zoom in and you will see colors separate into tiny rows, dots, and pixels.  (It helps to use a camera or magnifier for this, but it can be done with the naked eye.)  There are little worlds within our world. Micro habitats with worms and bugs are under fallen logs. Lichens, mosses, and algae cling to bark and rocks.

Changes in light and water

Time of day can alter the hues of what’s around you. Light and shadow can reveal things you didn’t catch before.  Appearances also change when things are wet—my favorite is ordinary rocks that bloom into when covered by rain or a stream.

The beauty of senescence

Fall brings death and decay as plants age and wither. This can be lovely, however, and is part of the yearly cycle of life. The subtlety of silver on a drying blade of grass, the deep golds and browns in a pile of leaves—these are fleeting colors that you must catch while you can.

Looking at the exhibits in the museum of my suburban neighborhood was cool. I’ve been enjoying the change of scenery this season and each time I go out I notice something different. A fall rainbow scavenger hunt is one way to look at the world through a lens of color. Once you do, it is hard to go back! Every yard, field, grove, or ditch has something amazing to see.

Free Printable for kids:

Fall Rainbow Scavenger Hunt Printable

My favorite rainbow songs playlist— click and listen to get pumped up for the hunt:

Rainbow Playlist (kid-friendly)

1. Roygbiv (They Might Be Giants)

2. Different Colors (Walk the Moon)

3. Rainbow Connection (Kermit)

4. 99 Red Balloons (Nena)

5. Orange-colored Sky (Nat King Cole)

6. Yellow Submarine (The Beatles)

7. It’s Not Easy Being Green (Kermit)

8. Blue Skies (Ella Fitzgerald)

9. Lavender Blue (Dilly, Dilly) (Burl Ives)

10. The Purple People Eater (Sheb Wooley)

11. A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation (Marty Robbins)

12. Blackbird (The Beatles)

13. Over the Rainbow (Iz)

14. True Colors (Trolls Soundtrack version)

 

And if you can’t get enough color songs, try the next ones too and make your own rainbow playlist! (Warning: these songs are not all sunshine and rainbows, some are raw and gritty—just like the fall.)

1. Crimson and Clover (Tommy James)
2. Lady with the Red Dress (Snow)
3. Little Red Corvette (Prince)
4. Little Red Riding Hood (Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs)
5. Red Light Special (TLC)
6. Red Ragtop (Tim McGraw)
7. Pink (Aerosmith)
8. Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
9. Orange Crush (R.E.M.)
10. Peaches and Cream (112)
11. Gold Digger (Kanye West Feat. Jamie Foxx)
12. Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac)
13. Mellow Yellow (Donovan)
14. Yellow (Coldplay)
15. Green Light (Lorde)
16. Green River (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
17. Leaves that are Green (Simon and Garfunkel)
18. Blue (Patsy Cline)
19. Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis Presley)
20. Blue Bayou (Linda Rondstat)
21. Mood Indigo (Nina Simone)
22. Purple Rain (Prince)
23. Purple, yellow, red, and blue (Portugal the Man)
24. Brown-Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
25. Black and Yellow (Whiz Khalifa)
26. Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden)
27. Black or White (Michael Jackson)
28. Black Magic Woman (Santana)
29. Paint it Black (The Rolling Stones)
30. Silver Rainbow (Genesis)
31. Silver Springs (Fleetwood Mac)
32. Knights in White Satin (Moody Blues)
33. White Room (Cream)
34. Autumn Leaves (Edith Piaf)
35. Chasin’ that Neon Rainbow (Alan Jackson)
36. Colors (Beck)
37. Colors (Halsey)
38. Colors of the Wind (Pocahontas Soundtrack)
39. Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)
40. Life in Color (One Republic)
41. Rainbow (Kesha)
42. Rainbow in the Dark (Dio)
43. Riding on a Rainbow (Cicely Courtneidge)
44. Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland, Wizard of Oz Soundtrack)
45. True Colors (Cyndi Lauper)