50 Fun, Cheap Outdoor Dates That Are Perfect For Summer
Make your own outside fort! Grab blankets and sheets from inside and hang them from trees to create your own little outdoor sanctuary together.
By 
Becca Martin
1. Spend the majority of your night at a drive-in movie theater and get cozy in the back of the car. Perfect for some alone time with some entertainment.
2. Build a campfire for two with s’mores. It’s free and a great way to spend quality time together.
3. Check out your local farmers’ market and buy some fresh produce to make a fantastic dinner together at home.
4. Go hiking or for a nature walk.
5. Tie-dye random clothes or old sheets you have. Everything looks better with a fresh coat of tie-dye on it and it’s fun.
6. Grab discount coupons at your local grocery store or search for deals on the Internet for bargain prices for a theme park near you. Everyone loves amusement parks, and use the extra cash you have to play games and win a giant teddy bear.
7. Have a picnic in the park. Bring a basket with food, a blanket, maybe a guitar, go all out and make a day of it.
8. Go to an amateur sports game, even if you’re not a fan. Tickets are usually super cheap, along with the beer!
9. Get pool floaties, or any kind of floatation device really, and float around in a small lake or down a river. It’s extremely relaxing and fun. (Hint: pack a cooler filled with food and beer so you can float and eat.)
10. Make a day out of going to local wineries, the samples are usually free and you can go from winery to winery throughout the day tasting and comparing. It also gives you an excuse to dress up a bit.
11. Go to an outdoor festival. Google what’s going on around you in the summer and you’re bound to find free festivals in your area to check out.
12. Concerts at small venues are generally free or cheap, especially if local bands are performing. Grab some lawn chairs and hangout at the stage for the night together.
13. Find a bar or club that has karaoke on a certain night and go sing your hearts out together on stage.
14. Go to a local park and swing on the swings. It’s a perfect opportunity to get some great conversation in.
15. Check out the garage sales in your neighborhoods on the weekends. This might sound like a weird date, but you never know what you’ll find and it’s always interesting to see everyone’s junk.
16. Go get ice cream together. Sit on a bench and eat it or go for a walk, but enjoy each other’s company.
17. Spend a day at the beach, pack a bag for the day and just lay out in the sun and splash around in the water.
18. Rent a two-person kayak, this might cost a little, but not too much if you go to a state park or a local rental shop and split it. Pack a lunch and stop half way through to sit on a rock and eat together.
19. Have a water balloon fight. Run around your yard and chase each other just like you used to do when you were kids.
20. Take a mini road trip even to somewhere you’ve been before, but get out of the car and walk around. Actually explore the area you are together.
21. Go stargazing at night. Summer nights are perfect to layout side and admire the stars. Bring blankets and lie in the grass, and appreciate the time you’re spending with the person you’re with.
22. Find a zoo near you and spend the day looking at exotic animals. Most zoos are decently cheap and it’s the perfect place to take plenty of pictures.
23. Go on a scavenger hunt! Each partner should hide clues around specific places and send the other one looking for the clues to the main prize. (Hint: all clues should be love related and pertain to your relationship.)
24. Go geocaching. I’ve never actually done this, but I’ve always wanted to. It is an app where you search for a particular item based on GPS location. It seems really fun and gives you something to talk through.
25. Watch the sunrise or sunset with your S/O in a private part of the land that is special to you and if you don’t have a special spot, make one.
26. Visit a nature center. They are generally free to the public to walk around and explore different parts of history in your area and see different changes in the land around you.
27. Pick berries together. You only pay for what bushel you fill so if you’re not looking to spend a lot grab a smaller bushel and eat some berries in the fields together.
28. Skip rocks together at the lake on a warm summer day and reminisce over old memories.
29. Be a tourist in your own city and visit historical landmarks and if you don’t have any go some place in town you’ve never been before.
30. Create your own slip n slide. I’ve done it with a tarp and a hose, it brings you back to your childhood days and it’s super fun.
31. Make your own popsicles. Look up recipes or just grab some of your favorite fresh fruit throw it in a popsicle container with water and if you don’t have a popsicle container, just use an ice cube tray and freeze away.
32. Go camping, even if you’re not an outdoors person, at least pitch a tent in the backyard. Bring blankets, snacks, a lantern and really try to get cozy in nature.
33. Go fishing. Fishing is fun and relaxing. It’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon sitting on a dock with your S/O.
34. Check out a flea market and let it flood you with nostalgia and bond over your childhood days.
35. Beach day! Go to your local beach and spend the day playing in the water and catching some rays.
36. Make your own outside fort! Grab blankets and sheets from inside and hang them from trees to create your own little outdoor sanctuary together.
37. Spend the day at a beer festival. You do normally have to buy general admission tickets, but once you’re in you can have as much beer as you want and beer is a great way to bond.
38. Have a cook out in the backyard. Set the table up nice, throw a candle in the center and cook up some great burgers.
39. Go mini golfing, while it costs money it is very inexpensive and who doesn’t love a good healthy competition of mini golfing and harmless shit talking to your S/O?
40. Go for a bike ride together through town, on a boardwalk, around your favorite spot. It’s a great way to have fun and get some exercise in.
41. Head for morning coffee at an outdoor café, that way you get to still enjoy your three favorite things: caffeine, the outdoors and your S/O.
42. If you live near a pond, make a rope swing and spend the day swinging into the lake. It will be thrilling and refreshing.
43. Go to a roof top happy hour. You get to still enjoy the beautiful outside weather while enjoying cheap drinks, and the view will most likely be amazing.
44. Find your inner kid and play with sidewalk chalk and see who can create the best/most artistic drawing.
45. Buy cheap sparklers and fireworks and set them off at night together.
46. Fly a kite. Kites are relatively cheap if you don’t already have one. Spend the day in the park flying them around (without getting them tangled).
47. Volunteer at one of your favorite charities in your community. It will feel good and you’ll get to do something you’re passionate about together.
48. Participate in a color run. The prices of these vary, but plan it ahead of time and make sure you sign up for the early bird special to save yourselves some money! Color runs are loads of fun and there isn’t much that’s better than fun exercise.
49. Feed the ducks by your local lake or pond.
50. Make your own outdoor cinema. Pull a TV out on the deck and grab some blankets and cuddle up while watching your favorite movie in the comfort of your own deck. 
