<p>In Finland, teaching primarily takes place in classrooms, and accordingly, pre-service teacher education has focused on learning indoors. Only in recent years has more attention been paid to the development of outdoor education pedagogy in Finland. Finnish curricula already encourage and require outdoor education, particularly within biology and environmental studies. Previous research also encourages outdoor education, because outdoor activities have been found to have many physical, psychological, and social benefits. Despite knowledge about the benefits of outdoor education, the teachers’ concerns about outdoor education and lack of teacher training in outdoor education pedagogy is a significant barrier to teachers adopting this approach to learning. In contrast, pre-service teachers’ reflections on outdoor education have received little attention in previous research.</p><p>This study focused on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of successful or unsuccessful outdoor education. A total of 113 pre-service teachers participated in the study. The data were collected using the method of empathy-based stories (MEBS) and analysed using thematic analysis. Pre-service teachers empathised with the role of a newly graduated teacher conducting an outdoor biology lesson. Although the frame story guided them to write about a single lesson, it simultaneously allowed for writing about outdoor education in a broader sense.</p><p>The results show that successful outdoor education was made possible by a teacher’s careful preparation and good weather. For unsuccessful outdoor education, the teaching was poorly planned, accidents occurred, and the weather was bad. Reflecting on these observations helps us understand the factors that should be addressed in teacher education.</p>