Last updated on September 27th, 2021 at 05:10 pm
Introducing your kids to nature hikes at an early age is an effective way to develop their interests in the great outdoors. And, family hikes not only burn off that extra energy, mother nature is a fantastic teacher! While kids are exploring they’re also learning basic life skills like independence, creativity, and problem solving. So, to keep them outside longer and content with the journey we’ve formed our top 15 tips to make hiking fun for kids.
Hiking any distance with children can be difficult without a purpose or activity. And, while nature can provide most of the entertainment, a few simple tricks will keep kids excited for the journey. Finding the right balance of free exploration and activities on the trail will make for fun family memories.
1. Let Them Set the Pace
Kids are naturally curious, and with smaller legs and shorter attention spans, expect quite a bit of stop and go. While they tend to do things at a slower pace as compared to the adults, it’s best not to rush the experience. Additionally, children of all ages love to explore and take in new information at their own pace.
Allowing them to take their time to enjoy new things can spark their interest in nature and make for a less grumpy hike. Plus, we as adults don’t have all the answers, so this can be a great learning experience for the whole family.
2. Hike with Friends
Good company goes a long way. Allow them to invite a friend or two to join you on the trails. In pairs or a bunch, kids will find plenty to occupy each other and are less likely to explode into tantrum (fingers-crossed).
As with most things in life, hiking is better shared. And, inviting more kids on the hike will help alleviate boredom. This is especially true for bigger kids, notably if you’re hiking during the weekends when they’d truly prefer to be doing something else with friends.
However, this isn’t just a tool to keep them happy on the trails. Fostering relationships with friends outside of the family is crucial for development and a happy future.
3. Plan the Route Together
Including children, especially bigger kids, in planning the route keeps them interested and engaged during the trip. Letting them decide the course makes kids feel invested and excited to see what’s around the next bend. Not only that, they tend to feel a sense of comfort knowing that you trust their explorer abilities and want to include them in big decisions.
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Also, during the hike, reinforce their skillful navigation and note the beauty of the trail they’ve chosen. This goes a long way to build their confidence and boost morale.
4. Assign Jobs
We all know that kids love to imitate adults. And, when an adult assigns a task that feels adult-y, most kids will jump at the opportunity. Kids love to take charge, and feel fulfilled when they’re assigned important duties.
For instance, assign them different tasks like trail-leader, map reader, or animal spotter. We’ve found that it also helps to hand them a prop to make it official. A walking stick for leading, a compass or binoculars will do just nicely.
Finally, have big kids navigate the trip and lead the way to keep them from trailing behind to pack. Big kid, if they’re up for it can enjoy adult tasks like identifying species or taking pictures to catalog the journey.
5. Make a Game of It
Nature hikes can become quite boring for children after the first half hour of stimuli is exhausted. Keeping them captivated for long treks can be hard, but you can make hiking fun with a few fun games!
Scavenger Hunt
It helps to preplan a bit beforehand. However, we’ve found that a scavenger hunt easily makes an exciting day-long adventure, as long as it’s casual and broken up with conversation. Or, opt for a shorter hunt-list for a quick pick-me-up mid hike.
For the trail, it’s easy to find things like a pine cone or an oak tree. Mix it up, try to find the ‘smallest pine cone’ or ‘something created by humans.’
I Spy and Trail ABCs
Additionally, childhood favorites like ‘I spy’, or Trail ABCs can be trail-savers.
For Trail ABCs, everyone has to find something that starts with ‘A’ before moving to the next letter. This can be amazing, until someone really can’t figure it out.. assign a mulligan system or take/offer suggestions when the family gets stuck.
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Geocaching
For older kids, if you’re alright including some tech, geocaching makes for a fantastic treasure hunting adventure. Geocaching is a worldwide network of hidden boxes filled with messages or items.
However, the rule is ‘if you take something, leave something.’ So, what a great opportunity to squeeze out even more activities at home and make items to leave in these caches. We’ve seen a wide array of treasures while geocaching; painted rocks, poems, tiny dinosaurs, even pressed flowers covered in resin.
To get started, download the free ‘Geocaching’ app to your phone or tablet. Then, pack up and get ready to climb, get dirty, and put your thinking caps on.. because these are extremely well-hidden.
6. Create an Adventure Log
While traveling together as a family, the memories you’re making will last a lifetime. However, to keep kids interested in the trip and to make a truly special occasion, consider recording your journey through photographs or journaling. For kids, sketching different flora and fauna along the way or even drawing your lunch break will keep them connected to the idea of the adventure.
Additionally, a trail log or journal can be a great way to right down different things you’ve encountered. Or, if you have unanswered questions along the path, take pictures or write everything about it in the journal to research later as a family. As a result, you may see a lot more involvement from even the big kids as well.
7. Let them Carry their Own Gear
Even though responsibility seems like a downer, kids actually thrive when given a task. And, why not have them lighten your load and carry a bit of their own necessities?
By filling their own packs with small items you may see them transform with this new sense of independence. Not only that, taking charge of their own things fosters leadership and leaves them with more confidence to push forward.
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However, this is a double edged sword if they’re overloaded or of cumbersome make. So, we’ve actually outlined this in a recent post about ‘how much kids can carry on a hike.’
8. Introduce Exploration Gear
If you’ve got an outdoorsy kid on your hands, it could be time to invest in exploration gear. Because hiking can bring kids into nature’s classroom, why not equip them with tools for the trade?
While there are many many different kits out there, we’ve found that kids love specimen jars and magnifying glasses best for examining and playing. However, a good set of binoculars to fit their age are an amazing tool that can keep them occupied and excited to explore.
9. Plan Frequent Snack Stops
It goes without saying, feeding kids along the way is essential. Not only is it important for fuel, it staves off tantrums and grumpy hikers. And, this may be the most easy way to keep them happy!
By making well-spaced food stops throughout the day, your hike is broken up into manageable portion for your little ones. Not only are breaks good for morale, these will be a nice opportunity for the family to reflect on the journey so far and feel out if it’s time to turn back.
10. Search for Identifiable Flora
There is likely to be plenty of plants along the path. And, armed with a good botanical aid the family can spend hours looking for trees or undergrowth to identify. This could even be a great way to push kids down the path, ask ‘what is that sapling down there?’ It’s not a dirty trick if it’s learning!
Additionally, this is a great place to teach a few lessons. Notably, ‘leave no trace’ is a lifelong mantra to help preserve our forests. However, allow them to touch, smell, and then identify the plants from the trail books that you may carry with you.
Not only will this help them identify plants of your region, they’ll gain knowledge of poisonous varieties.
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11. Lots of Positive Reinforcement
When unleashing the children onto nature, it can be quite difficult to keep them under control. However, if they’re being kind to animals, nature, and strangers try to keep the attitude light. So, while allowing them some independence, we find that kids are pretty easy when outside.
A little bit of positivity goes a long way on the trails. And, when you find yourself out in the middle of a trail, kindness is welcomed, especially for kids…and, especially if you’re trying to keep the hike fun. For instance, while they’re exploring comment on ‘how great that question is’ or how ‘wonderfully gentle they were’ when they lifted that rotten bark, etc.
12. Plan for Variable Terrain
While kids love adventure, do ensure that there are new and interesting opportunities on the trail. Even though this is may be out of your control, keeping an open mind will be key. If possible, try to take a route that involves small streams, rock walls, and fallen trees that kids can walk along.
Additionally, experiment with different trails near you to mix it up and find new tactile encounters. Not only will they have fun, new terrain keeps kids’ interest piqued for future hikes.
13. Prepare with Correct Gear
Hiking is fun but can be a complete disaster without the right gear. For the kiddos, this will include good fitting shoes, correct clothing for the weather, and a properly fitting backpack. As far as hiking shoes, a comfortable pair of sneakers or hiking sandals is really all you need for the kids. Additionally, we always carry a small raincoat and an extra warm layer just in case.
And, to carry this, an age appropriate backpack made for the trails is a must. We find that backpacks need to have a sternum strap to secure the shifting weight and keep them comfortable.
We also find that a brimmed hat is essential for little ones if there are sunny patches along the trail.
Finally, kids need to stay hydrated. We have probably mentioned this about five times already, but it is essential for a happy hike. Choose a brightly colored hiking water bottle and let them decorate it with cool bottle stickers to encourage them to use it.
14. Hike Different Trails
Everyone gets bored of repetition. So, try changing it up and including different trails for the hiking trip!
For kids, especially the older ones, trying new or longer trails fosters imagination and sense of adventure. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt that new scenery also makes them interested in what mysteries future hikes may hold.
15. Catalog the Journey Post Hike
After reaching home, we love discussing the trip. Try to help kids in finding information about the specimens they’ve sketched or from the pictures they’ve taken. Additionally, compliment and converse on the sketches and their entries in the journal.
Also, this is a fantastic opportunity to talk about what worked and what didn’t on the hike. This intimate feedback will be very useful for your next family adventure.
Finally, we love printing pictures or creating scrapbook entries about the trip with the kids.
Slow Down and Enjoy the Scenery
Hiking is a great way to spend quality time with kids and build a stronger relationship as a family. And, by indulging in routine hikes, you’re setting them up for a healthy future. As nurturers, we must always make such efforts to introduce our kids to activities and memories that they can cherish for lifetime. And, while hiking with kids can present challenges, a few fun games and good company can create a perfect family outing.
Image Credit: Barney Moss|(source)|Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)— reduced file size and image