Summer Riddles With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page has 42 summer riddles with answers for holidays, road trips, camps and garden games. The easy riddles suit younger children, the trickier ones need a little thought about sun and heat, and the hard set mixes number puzzles with some surprising facts about long days and southern summers. All are clean and family friendly.
Easy Summer Riddles
I rise early, set late and shine all summer. Look at me for too long and your eyes will hurt. What am I?
The sun
I am a lotion you rub on your skin to stop the sun from burning you. What am I?
Sunscreen
I am built from wet sand with a bucket, and the tide washes me away. What am I?
A sandcastle
I sit on your nose and keep the glare out of your eyes. What am I?
Sunglasses
I slap the ground when you walk, and I have a strap that goes between your toes. What am I?
Flip-flops
I am frozen on a stick, I come in many colours, and I drip down your hand if you are slow. What am I?
An ice lolly (popsicle)
I am made from sour yellow fruit, water and sugar, and I am sold at a stand on a hot day. What am I?
Lemonade
I am green on the outside and red on the inside, and you can spit my black seeds. What am I?
A watermelon
I spin and spray water over the lawn, and children love to run through me. What am I?
A sprinkler
Spread a blanket on the grass, open a basket of food, and you are having one of me. What am I?
A picnic
I spin around and blow cool air at you, but I have no mouth. What am I?
A fan
I am found on the beach, and if you hold me to your ear you can hear the sea. What am I?
A seashell
Trickier Summer Riddles
I come after too much sun. I am red and sore, and later I peel. What am I?
Sunburn
I follow you everywhere in the sunshine, I am longest in the evening, and you cannot pick me up. What am I?
A shadow
I am a small beetle with a lamp in my tail, and I blink in the garden on warm nights. What am I?
A firefly
I swing between two trees and hold you up while you take an afternoon nap. What am I?
A hammock
I am a tall yellow flower, and when I am young I turn my face to follow the sun. What am I?
A sunflower
I am a house with cloth walls that folds into a bag, and I sleep four on a camping trip. What am I?
A tent
I have a grill, and sausages and burgers sizzle on me while smoke rises. What am I?
A barbecue
I am a big hole filled with blue water, and children jump in me to cool down. What am I?
A swimming pool
I sit on a high chair on the sand with a whistle and a red float, watching the swimmers. Who am I?
A lifeguard
I have a tail but no body, a string but no guitar, and I only rise in a breeze. What am I?
A kite
I am an insect that chirps by rubbing my wings together, and I sing in the grass on warm nights. What am I?
A cricket
I am the longest day of the year in the north, around June 21st. What am I?
The summer solstice
Hard Summer Riddles
It is not distance from the sun that makes summer hot. I am the 23.5 degree lean that gives one half of the world more direct sunshine. What am I?
The tilt of the Earth's axis
On Christmas Day the temperature is 35 degrees and children are playing at the beach. In which half of the world might I be?
The southern hemisphere, such as Australia, where December is summer
For several weeks in a northern summer, in places inside the Arctic Circle, I never set and I am still shining at midnight. What am I?
The sun (the midnight sun)
A lemonade stand sells cups at 50 cents each. It sells 36 cups, and the ingredients cost 6 dollars. What is the profit?
12 dollars, because 36 x 0.50 = 18 and 18 - 6 = 12
A paddling pool holds 1,200 litres. A hose fills it at 20 litres a minute. How long does it take to fill?
60 minutes, because 1,200 / 20 = 60
Algae on a pond doubles every day and covers the whole pond on day 20. On which day was half the pond covered?
Day 19, because it doubles to cover everything on the next day
A glass of lemonade is filled right to the brim with ice cubes floating in it. When the ice melts, does the glass overflow?
No. Floating ice already displaces its own weight of water, so the level stays the same
The hottest part of summer is named after an animal and a bright star in the sky. What are these days called?
The dog days (named for Sirius, the Dog Star)
The sun rises at 5:00 in the morning and sets at 21:00 in the evening. How many hours of daylight is that?
16 hours, because 21 - 5 = 16
Nina collects 7 shells an hour on the beach from 9 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon. She gives away a quarter of them. How many does she keep?
21. She collects 4 x 7 = 28, gives away 7, and 28 - 7 = 21
Quick-Fire Summer Riddles
Dry yourself with me after a swim. What am I?
A towel
Wide brim, worn to keep the sun off your face. What am I?
A sunhat
Worn to swim and never to school. What am I?
A swimsuit
A big shade for the sand, held up by a pole. What am I?
A beach umbrella
A box for drinks that keeps them cold. What am I?
A cooler
Toast marshmallows over me at night. What am I?
A campfire
Ride the wave standing on me. What am I?
A surfboard
The golden show at the end of a long day. What am I?
A sunset
How to Use These Summer Riddles
These riddles are made for outdoor time. Read one aloud on the beach, in the car or around the campfire, and see who shouts the answer first. The easy set works well for younger children who are still learning to guess.
Older children can tackle the hard riddles, especially the number puzzles. Ask them to explain their working before you reveal the answer, since the reasoning is what makes the riddle fun.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good summer riddle for kids?
Try 'I am a lotion you rub on your skin to stop the sun from burning you.' The answer is sunscreen. Riddles about the beach, ice lollies and sandcastles are easy for young children to solve.
Why is it summer in Australia at Christmas?
The Earth's axis is tilted, so when the northern half leans away from the sun it is winter there, while the southern half leans toward it. Australia is in the south, so December brings its summer.
Can I use summer riddles for a camp or a class?
Yes. They are clean and need no equipment. Read them around a campfire, write them on cards for a scavenger hunt, or use the quick-fire set as a warm-up before outdoor games.
What is the longest day of the year called?
It is the summer solstice, which falls around June 21st in the northern half of the world. It is the day with the most hours of daylight, and the sun rises highest in the sky.
