Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 04:56 pm
We know the feeling… The weather is great and you want to hit the hiking trails with your newborn. You stop, however, because you have some concern you’re being irresponsible. Simply put, you fear what may happen to your newborn on a hike, and want to make sure hiking with an infant is okay.
Have no fear, hiking with an infant or toddler is a great outdoor activity for new mothers and fathers. Just make sure you prepare for the trip with a good plan and appropriate gear.
Coping With Worry and Fear
The worry we feel for our newborns is only natural, and coping with our fear for our child won’t likely be easy.
The first step: Understand that the fears and worries you have for your newborn won’t go away anytime soon.
Many of us will continue to worry about our children all the way through adulthood!
That said, it is helpful to put your worry into perspective… your baby will be just fine if you take them on a hike. Just make sure you follow these basic steps:
- Be responsible in your planning
- Know Your (and your newborns) Limits
- Ease into your hiking endeavors
- Bring the essentials on your hike
Through the rest of this post we are going to provide a lot of detail on planning, limits, and how to ease into hiking with a young one.
Can You Go Hiking with a Baby?
Yes. You can definitely go hiking with an infant / baby.
This isn’t to say you should take on a slew of 14k mountain hikes with your child, but you can rest assured that it is safe to take your baby on a hike if you take care to plan out the hike responsibly and with the age of your baby in mind.
How Soon Can I Hike With My Newborn?
This is a question only you can answer, although you may want to include your doctor in the conversation to confirm that there aren’t any unique considerations for your child (all babies are different!).
With the above said, there are no rules with how old your newborn should be before you take them on a hike. The simple answer is that, you can go hiking with your newborn as soon as you feel confident in their safety (and your sanity) on the hike.
Still worried? Well, there are some general age determination guidelines we can reference that will hopefully put you at ease a bit.
The governments Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) has age determination guidelines for toy use AND play behavior. While your infant won’t come in contact with toys on a hike, these determination guidelines are helpful in pinpointing what level of movement and support a baby will have when moving during play, or in this case, during a recreational hike. Here are some helpful take-away’s from page 178 of their Age Determination Guidelines:
- 0 to 4 months old: Infants enjoy movement, but cannot sit-upright, and apparatuses must provide complete support during movement.
- 4 through 7 months old: Infants can sit with support, enjoy motion, and can handle being pushed in a swing with support.
- 8 through 11 months old: Children at this age begin to crawl, and walk, and climb.
- 12 through 18 months: Children gain confidence in their walking and climbing, but lack awareness of consequences with regards to falls.
Hopefully the above provides you with a little more confidence that your baby can handle a well planned hike.
For any moms or dads out there who want to take their baby on a hike between the ages of 0 and 4 though, take the suggestion of the Consumer Protection Safety Commission into account and be sure that there is continual and complete support for your baby during any hike. No worries, below we cover some of the gear needed for hiking with an infant.
How Far Can You Hike with a Baby?
The question should really be, how far can you hike with your baby while both you and the baby feel comfortable and safe.
Since most hiking trails are unpaved, your stroller will need to remain at home, which means you will be carrying your baby in some capacity. In this scenario, your baby will likely be totally comfortable at all times, while you start to reach a limit for how long you can handle wearing the baby carrier. After all, depending on the weather some hiking baby carriers are bound to make you sweat a bit.
Safety Considerations for Babies While Hiking
As mentioned earlier in this post, children have different head and back support guidelines depending on their age. Of course, all children are different, but generally speaking newborns need complete support, while two years old children are basically independent (as far as their adventurous spirit goes). Below are some safety considerations for your hike with a baby.
Take Trail Terrain into Consideration
You might be used to taking on hikes where altitude gain is the real rush. While you may be addicted to steep inclines and declines take care to note what your terrain is, how you will be able to traverse it while carrying your child, and what the worse case scenario would be if you slipped at any point on the trail.
Keep Track of the Weather
It can get hot fast when there isn’t cloud cover, and the opposite is true when you are at higher altitudes. That is to say, it can be snowing at the top of a mountain anytime of year. Since weather shifts quickly it is important to prepare for hot and cold every time you go hiking with the little one.
Hike with Others
Hiking with someone is always beneficial when you have a baby attached to your front or back. This is always stated when people talk about safety considerations, but that is because it is so easy.
RELATED: Hiking is a Great Date Option | Consider This a Date
Simply ask a friend or significant other to come with you. If you fall, twist an ankle, need help grabbing a water bottle, or anything else, you will be happy to have a hiking companion.
Select an Appropriate (and Safe) Baby Hiking Carrier
We have a very detailed guide to the best hiking baby carriers in another post (being written now), but it would be negligent not to provide some guidance on which baby carriers work best for different ages of infant. Below we go through the highest rated for the various age brackets.
Hiking Carrier for 0 to 7 Months Old (7 lb)
The newborns will require the most support on a hike, and any carrier should reflect that. My absolute favorite for a newborn is the Ergobaby 360 Cool Air Mesh Baby Carrier with the newborn baby insert, which provides additional support for the head.
Ergobaby 360 Baby Carrier
Ergobaby Newborn Baby Insert
At just one pound the Ergobaby carrier really is a great option for carrying a newborn. Since you will be the one moving your legs on the hike it is important that the carrier be a reasonable weight.
Hiking Carrier for 8 to 11 Months Old (about 21 lb)
At this age, some children will be stronger than others, and it will be important to have a versatile carrier to help. Possibly the most prolific carrier, which also happens to be perfect for long hikes, is the Osprey Packs Poco Child Carrier.
Osprey Packs Poco Child Carrier
Osprey Rain Cover
The only down side of the Osprey is its weight. At over 7 lb the carrier itself is going to add some heft to your already growing baby. If you can get past the weight though, the Osprey carriers are fantastic because they can sit on the ground without falling over… even with your baby in it. Check out the Osprey Product Manual or its current price on Amazon here: Osprey Packs Poco.
Pack List for Hiking With an Infant
Since you’ll be carrying another person with you on your hiking excursion you’ll soon realize the importance of planning what you pack. Without a good plan, the weight you end up carrying may turn into a burden. Here are the absolute essentials.
- Water
- Snacks
- Phone
- Baby Wipes
- Diapers
- Sunscreen
- Safety Pins
- Hand Sanitizer
- Tweezers
- Pain Killers
- A bag to carry out waste
You may also want to consider bringing a GPS Watch with you if you plan on hiking for a longer duration of time. If your phone battery dies, and you’ve gotten confused with your hiking route, you will be thankful you have a GPS Watch with a long battery life.
Don't Hesitate to Hike With Your Infant
Following the birth of a child it can be difficult spending time being physically active. After all, most of your focus will be on feeding, changing diapers, cleaning, and trying to get a couple hours sleep in between it all. Hiking with your newborn can be the perfect way to get some exercise in while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the trails.
Hopefully this post has given you the blueprint needed to confidently take on some hikes with your young one.
Image Credit: Eric Lanning |(https://www.flickr.com/photos/lanninge/) | Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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