The leaves seem to be at their peak, the temperature is perfect, and our days of being outside are numbered. Instead of sulking in the fact that winter is coming, get outside and enjoy the beauty that fall has to offer- wherever you may live.
I want to introduce you to my friend Jill. Of course I met Jill at the gym, and she is an awesome mom to her two little boy munchkins R & E. What I love about Jill is her ability to just “get out and go”. She loves being outside in it all with her boys- what a great way to teach them. She and her hubby are not afraid to drive (a forgotten amount of) hours to Glacier National Park with two kids, hike and camp. She is braver than me. We all need to learn from people like Jill! That is why Jill is here for a two-part series: “Hiking WITH your Kids”. No better person to learn from than her. Jill also writes a beautiful lifestyle blog 10EightyFour about her adventurous life and travels- check her out.
Hiking with your Kids.
Hiking with kids takes some planning, patience and practice, but it is always worth the time spent. We hike a lot with our kiddos and up until recently it was pretty easy because we carried them on our backs. We were able to control the pace, breaks and distance along the way. They were easily entertained with singing, stories, little woodland creature spotting games, snacks, breaks and naps. We have been able to hike several all day hikes with our two dudes along for the ride. Now that our oldest is getting too big to ride in a pack we have had to take a new approach to hiking.
4 Tips for PLANNING your HIKE
1. Know where you are going.
We don’t always know the exact trails that we will be taking or how far we will be able to go but we try to have a general understanding of the park and what things to see while hiking. Points of interest are a must. Our boys are easy, so places to skip rocks or a creek to splash in are perfect destinations.
2. Choose your time of day wisely.
We know that mornings are our best time to let the boys hike. That is when they are raring to go and can hike longer. Our afternoons and evenings are usually for short walks to places that they can play. Knowing how to set up our day is key, this lessens the meltdowns. Trust me, everyone has a meltdown at some point.
3. Plan for a full day.
We always plan for a full day of hiking even if its just a half day, so we have enough nourishment if our hikes take longer. Water, snacks and lunches need to be planned out. We always take enough water and snacks for a full day. Lunches get packed when we know it will be a full day and we always have more food and water in the car for when we return.
4. Dress accordingly.
Knowing all these things helps me plan the most important thing: our hiking fashion. Dress accordingly for the weather and location. Shoes are important. Comfortable walking shoes, that is, but waterproof hiking shoes are the best. Everyone will get dirty and wet, let it happen. We got into the habit early of saying, “that if you get wet or muddy at the beginning you will be wet or muddy until you dry or are done.”
Thank you Jill for these tips. Next time we all “Get out and Go”, we will remember you 4 tips to planning your hike with your kids. It is so much more fun to be adventurous with our munchkins. The opportunity for them to be active and learn in the great outdoors is limitless. Take advantage of the outdoors and take a hike with your family!
Your turn- tell me!
Where is your favorite place to hike?
Do you allow your munchkins to join in on the fun?
I miss these days of exploring the outdoors with my boys! Now they’re big and would rather do things with their friends. But we do have some great memories of those days!
Great tips! My munchkins are not so little anymore but we did do a fun nature hike last weekend.
Great tips! Doing any activities with kids takes lots of planning ahead.
Awesome tips! I haven’t been hiking in about a year, but I’m going in a few weeks with my mom. Can’t wait!
My kids were so not the outdoorsy type when they were younger. We are enjoying doing many more activities now that they are older
No munchkins here, but I love seeing families out and about. Great time to connect and explore! No matter where I go, I always have to plan snacks for myself…I don’t want to get hangry!
I don’t really live somewhere where hiking is available. But we do go on long bike rides, or kayaking and the rule is always the same. We go just a bit further than when the whinning starts, and we always finish with a great ending (be it a treat, or something fun, or major accolades) because I have found that THAT is what they remember and will help next time we want to push them a little bit again.
Wow! That is awesome! We do short hikes in a forest near where we live, but have never done a longer hike with our little lady, the one time we put her in a hiking backpack she screamed the whole time! I’m sure the kids getting used to it is part of the learning curve.
Great tips to remember. My last hike was with my 8 year old grandsons and it was kind of spur of the moment. We did bring water and snacks of course, but we didn’t have a clear plan and ended up turning around before we reached our destination because we got worried that the return trip would be too long. Fortunately, everything was fine, but I will definitely plan better for next time.
Where I love, we have beaches, not forests, so our hiking involves walking up and down shorelines, looking for shells and shark teeth. I imagine that we would hike if it was more accessible, but it’s not something that my husband or I grew up with, so we don’t make it happen. It might be fun!
Sadly there aren’t too many places to go hiking around here, but when I go home and visit my parents in NH we take the boys on hikes!! They love it!
We have hiked with out kids for as long as I can remember. Weekend trips to Yosemite were absolutely amazing.
My kids are at an age now where they do real hikes with us. It’s nice to be past that in between of too big to carry, but small enough to not be able to go as far.