30 Best Backyard Toys for Toddlers

It’s summertime, which means it’s time for fun in the sun! And when you have toddlers, you want the best outdoor toys for them to play with. Especially if you’ve got twins or siblings to entertain!

As a child, I lived for summer days and I love that as a mom I can continue the summer fun with my children. While many days are spent adventuring at the beach (here is my list of what to bring to the beach with toddlers) and park, we also enjoy good old backyard outdoor play.

My kids will happily play with some cups, shovels, and dirt in our garden bed, making a giant mud kitchen. I love that they don’t need special garden toys for toddlers to be happy.

However, when I do bring out the outdoor toys for kids, it is just about the best summer day ever. They will stay outside for hours! Here I’ve rounded up the best outdoor toys for toddlers.

*Post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Best Backyard Toys for Toddlers: Twins or Siblings

Whether you’re looking for gift ideas for an Easter basket or summer birthday, or just looking to find some fun outdoor games, I’ve got you covered.

Since I have 3 children (twins plus one) having toys that they can play with TOGETHER is essential.

Best Backyard Toys for Toddlers: Sand Boxes and Sand Toys

Sandbox

We have this Little Tikes digger sandbox and it has been hands down one of the best purchases we’ve made. The best part is that it has a digger and dump truck!

All 3 of my kids adore playing with it! Another great choice is the Step2 Play Sandbox. I am a big fan of sandboxes with lids so when it rains the sand stays dry. Some sand tables don’t have covers, so watch out for that!

The Step2 Play Sandbox is a bit bigger sandbox than the digger one, so it really depends on what you’re looking for!

It’s also nice if you want a break from the sand (let’s say you have twin toddlers who won’t stop eating it), you can put the cover on and be done with sand play.

Trucks for the Sand

Since the digger sandbox comes with a built-in digger, I suggest buying extra trucks to use as sand toys so that everyone can have one. If they still need help (younger toddlers most likely will) then you can set the timer and have them take turns with the big digger.

Trucks are great outdoor toys! We also have these construction trucks for sand that we got for our youngest son, Beckham. He loves playing in the sandbox with them and also taking them to the beach! They are great little trucks and probably his favorite outdoor toys!

Big Metal Dump Truck

I am so impressed with this dump truck! If you click on the picture, you can purchase from Amazon, but the link will bring you to Target. I have found that it is much more affordable from Target than from Amazon!

Since this dump truck is made from metal, it is perfect for open-ended play and transporting rocks, dirt, sticks, etc. It is a BIG dump truck and has a pretty high weight limit! It can transport a lot!

Best Outside Toys for Toddlers: Water Play

Water Table

Water tables are hands down one of the best outside toys for toddlers. My twins have endless amounts of fun filling toys with water and dumping them out.

We have owned both the Step2 Spill & Splash (pictured below) water table and the Step2 Rain Shower water table. We had the first one before we moved and ended up leaving it behind and I hated the thought of buying the same thing, so we tried a new one.

The Step2 Rain Shower water table has a plug to let the water out, while the other one doesn’t. It’s not the end of the world to dump the water out, but it is a nice perk to not have to!

I don’t have any pictures of my kids playing with the Step2 Rain Shower water table yet, but it is a ton of fun and has a few more things to do.

P.S. Can you even handle how CUTE they are???

Kiddie Pool

I have a love-hate relationship with inflatable pools. On the one hand, my kids love them. On the other hand, I hate having them sit around my garage. I purchased this pool for my kids to use this summer.

It is a pretty basic and inexpensive pool. Since we live close to the beach, I plan on spending lots of days at the beach so I didn’t want to invest in a fancy pool. I can always buy one later on this summer if I feel like we want to have more pool days at home.

Another super fun outdoor toy is an inflatable water slide! You can click here to read more about the best inflatable water slides.

Slip N Slide

Similar to blowup pools, I have a love/hate relationship with slip n slides. However, my big kids (as I’m updating this post, they were 6 and 8 this past summer!!!) love them. This is not a toy that is great for young kids to play with on their own.

My older kids will play with it on their own (with my supervision, of course, because alllll water play should have supervision!), but if my toddler is going in it, I have to get my bathing suit on and slide down it with him.

Sprinkler

If you don’t feel like filling up the pool or the water table, a sprinkler can provide endless fun. This Melissa and Doug sprinkler is perfect if you don’t have a garage or place to store outdoor toys.

Splash Pad

Splash pads are perfect fun toys for young children who are prone to sensory overload and don’t like getting their feet in the dirt or grass. They get to experience all of the fun of a sprinkler, and the water that collects at the bottom of the splash pad is so fun to collect into cups and pour out!

Best Outdoor Toys for Toddlers: Garden Toys

Garden tools for toddlers are so much fun. They love to play in the dirt and ‘help.’

This Green Toys Watering Can is safe for toddlers and is a fantastic price! Perfect for an Easter basket. An easy way to entertain toddlers is to give them a watering can and ask them to water your plants!

How much fun does this Garden Wagon and Tool Set look?

These Garden Wagon and Tool Set come with a tote bag, gloves, and a really cute little book about gardening.

Related: Best Indoor Toys for Twins

Best Backyard Toys for Toddlers: Ride-On Toys

Radio Flyer Tricycle

We got our oldest, Theo a radio flyer trike for his 2nd birthday, and now our two-year-old twins, Josie and Margo have them.

They are amazing because they can be used in several different ways!

We love that they have handles so we can take family walks in the summer and the little ones feel like they’re “big kids” on a bicycle, but we are really pushing them like a stroller.

As they grow into them, you can remove the handle and it is a regular tricycle!

Now that we have added a 4th child to our family, these tricycles have been well-loved by all four of our toddlers!

Tough Trike

This Thomas the Train Trike is another one of Beckham’s favorite outdoor toys for pedaling around the neighborhood! He loves Thomas the Train, but it also comes with the characters Barbie, Hot Wheels, Blaze, and Harley Davidson.

Balance Bike

Balance bikes are a great way to teach young children how to ride a bike and get plenty of outdoor time.

These balance bikes are the perfect size for one and two year olds!

These balance bikes are great for older toddlers, ages 2+. We got them when our twins were 3, and they were riding bikes with no training wheels at five years old. They loved them and they come in a lot of great colors!

Cozy Coupe

My kids go crazy for any kind of ride in a car! They love to drive them and also push each other around in them. They are a huge hit! I will say that we only have one of these types of cars, so they do fight over them.

Best Outdoor Toy Play Sets for Toddlers

Picnic Table

Eating outside is one of our favorite summertime activities. Our kids are too small for our patio table, so I purchased this picnic table for them.

I really wanted to get a pretty wooden one, but wanted one that I could fold up and store in the garage in the winter. It is durable, easy to clean, and folds up flat so we can store it during the winter months. Winning all around!

Slide

We have a swing set at our new house, so we left our Little Tikes Slide behind. It is a great toy for toddlers and my kids all loved it! It also can be used indoors which is a great perk.

Jungle Gym

Climbing is fun for toddlers plus it works their gross motor skills.

The Step 2 Panda Climber has a really fun slide and the platform is large enough for toddlers to play on together. This Step2 Sports Climber and Slide has a climber, side, and basketball hoop. It’s perfect for kiddos who enjoy an outdoor game of basketball.

Play House

My kids looooooove our playhouse. We have an old one that was given to us by a neighbor, but it has been perfect for their pretend play. They come up with endless things to do out there.

One of their favorites is to throw balls through the windows, run out and get them, and repeat it over and over. It’s so cute.

This Kidkraft Modern Playhouse is the perfect outdoor toy for twins because it has a little picnic table that’s just the right size for two children and all of the imaginative play that they will come up with. If you have more than 2 though, the picnic table won’t work!

This plastic playhouse by Little Tikes is a better price and is very sturdy. It’s also big enough for several children to play in together.

The Playtime Patio has a sand table, water area, toy grill, sink, and lots of other fun features.

Other Awesome Outdoor Toys for Toddlers

Lawn Mower

All of my kids have absolutely loved running around in the grass and “helping” daddy cut the grass. It is absolutely precious and keeps them entertained!

Balls

These Daball Toddler Soccer Balls are perfect for kicking and toss games. They are excellent for developing hand-eye coordination and are soft enough that your little ones won’t get hurt if they get bonked in the head with it. Bonus, they come in a huge selection of animal patterns.

Sidewalk Chalk

I love this jumbo sidewalk chalk because it is a fantastic price and comes with a container to store it in! The jumbo sidewalk is great for little fingers to work on fine motor skills.

Bubble Machine

A bubble machine is a classic toy for toddlers! We have gotten this exact bubble machine as an Easter gift for our kids! We have had a lot of fun with them in our own backyard.

Honorable Mentions

Here are some backyard toys that have just been “OK” for us, or that I think are too much work and effort to be used outside.

ball pits (the balls blow away and get lost)
outdoor tents or teepees (I don’t like them for outdoor use)
stomp rockets (better for older kids)

Outdoor Storage

One of the things that helps your kids have the most fun with outdoor toys is to make sure that you have a good storage system. Here are some great options for easy storage for your backyard toys!