This paper examines a location-based augmented reality (AR) application developed for environmental education, specifically designed to enhance experiential outdoor learning experiences. Targeted at primary education students, the application offers an immersive approach to understanding lake ecosystems while highlighting the functions and significance of wetland environments. The development process of the AR application followed the ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation). A structured evaluation framework, based on a questionnaire adapted for AR applications, was designed, and data were collected from 87 primary education students. The evaluation results showed that the vast majority of participants were satisfied with both the organization and content of the educational activity. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed high scores across all the evaluated factors: challenge, ease of use, usefulness/knowledge, interaction/collaboration, experiential/situated learning, and intention to reuse. Analyzing hypothetical correlations between these factors demonstrated that challenge had a positive and significant impact on the successful outcome of the location-based AR experience. Additionally, intention to reuse was positively influenced by all other factors (b >0.556, sig = 0.000). Notably, experiential/situated learning emerged as a strong predictor of usefulness/knowledge (b = 0.756, sig = 0.000), interaction/collaboration (b = 0.662, sig = 0.000), and intention to reuse (b = 0.640, sig = 0.000). These findings reinforce the importance and educational value of authentic, situated learning experiences in environmental education.