After three years of almost weekly hiking with kids, we’ve learned a few things about how to have an enjoyable family hike! After I wrote my last post about the best places to hike in Alaska with kids, I realized that we’ve only been able to enjoy Alaska hiking so much this summer because we’ve practiced and re-practiced how to keep everyone in the family enjoying themselves. So I thought I’d do a little series with our best tips and tricks for hiking with kids.
1. Start Small
We hiked 8+ miles and 3000 feet of elevation at Exit Glacier a few weeks ago, and our kids did So well. But we sure didn’t start that way! Our first year hiking with small kids, we aimed for 2 miles or less for a good hike. Even just last year, I was only aiming for 4 mile hikes! There are so many incredible short hikes, that I would recommend starting very small if you and your kids are new hikers. That way, you can build success and confidence in their stamina and your preparation skills. Plus, their little legs will just get bigger each year!
2. Tailor Hikes to their Interests
My kids are so much more likely to be cheerful and motivated on a hike if they know the payoff includes a feature that they’re excited. This might include a tidepool, a waterfall, an abandoned vehicle, or a likely animal sighting. So one of my best tips for hiking with kids is to choose your hike wisely according to their interests and get them hyped up about what you’ll see!
3. Pre-game the Flora & Fauna
No matter where you are in the world, there are interesting plants and creatures to observe. Hiking with kids is so much fun when you’ve prepared ahead of time and can identify what you find! We’ve started collecting field guides (the Peterson Guides are among our favorites — starting with this birds guide and this reptiles and amphibians one would be fun!), and the kids get a real thrill every time they correctly identify something as small as a moth or type of fungi. If you’re visiting a National or State Park in an unfamiliar area, the visitor’s centers will often have posters displayed or field guides available for purchase in the gift shop.
4. Make It a Game
In this picture, my middle is hiking with a giant stick between his legs because he was pretending to be a quidditch player in Harry Potter (we’ve been reading the books out loud together lately!). This kept him from complaining that his legs were tired on a hard hike for almost a mile. We play silly games while hiking with kids alllll the time. Some ideas: pretend you’re cars that need to take gas breaks or visit the mechanic every few hundred feet, hike like a local animal that you love and make their silly animal noises, or act like that water crossing is actually a lava crossing and you can’t fall into it! This can turn a hike where we’re on the struggle bus into a fun family memory.
5. Bring More Snacks
This is one of my number one pieces of parenting advice no matter the location: bring more snacks than you think you’ll need. This is especially true while hiking with kids and burning extra calories. All the snacks. Alllll the snacks.
6. Invest in Good Shoes
It’s less important if you’re new to hiking with kids and learning to love shorter hikes, but as you hike longer distances as a family, good hiking shoes are a must. Our kids have these Keens hiking boots this year in Alaska, and we’ve been so happy with them. Investing in quality hiking gear can be expensive, but we bought the big kids their hiking boots on sale around Black Friday. Our youngest got hers from a thrift store since her feet grow so fast as a toddler. My boots also are thrift store finds since my feet grew after every pregnancy. I’m hoping to upgrade for Christmas this year, though! Your local Buy Nothing group might be another option for finding hiking boots if budget is a concern.
7. Grab Fun Hiking “Toys”
Our honorary Aunt Clare introduced a bunch of fun hiking toys last winter that have proven to make our kiddos much perkier on hikes. Some of these are dollar store finds and inexpensive, but they are often only available there seasonally, so I’ve linked similar ones here:
- Toddler style binoculars
- Sand and water fine motor skills toys (these also double as sensory bin toys!)
- Bug catcher kit
- Slingshots
- Compass
- Catch and release tank
- Notebook and pencil for recording observations
- Kid-sized backpack to hold all of it!
8. Pack Layers
Sudden temperature changes, an increase in the wind speed, or an unexpected drizzle are all extremely common on a hike. And nothing ruins a fun trip hiking with kids faster than a kiddo being uncomfortably cold. Unless it’s literally 85 degrees out, we always hike with our favorite Columbia fleece jackets rolled up in the backpack or tied around the kids’ waists. If there’s any chance of rain whatsoever, which has been like all summer in Alaska, we’ll also pack a lightweight rain jacket. Those Columbia fleeces can be spendy multiplied by more than one kid, but they take a beating and absolutely everything we’ve thrown at them across multiple years of hiking with kids has washed right out. Pro tip: get jackets in colors that look nice together in photos like the ones above!
9. Take More Breaks
There are a lot of hikes that feel too daunting when hiking with kids if you power straight through like an athletic grownup would. But we’ve found that a great many challenging hikes can be accomplished with kids if you just slow way down and take as many breaks as you need (sometimes every ten minutes!). Pack a lunch and take one long break whenever it’s needed. Then use snacks and hiking toys and the other (plentiful) breaks you may need, especially on trails with elevation or in very hot weather.
10. Let Them Help Choose
Another general parenting tip of mine that translates well to hiking with kids is to let them help you choose what to do. I’ll often pull up my AllTrails app and Google Maps reviews and let them see a couple of hikes I’m considering and what the most appealing features are and give them a say in what we choose. My kids appreciate a beautiful view now and will often agree to push themselves to get to it or another fun feature (like I mentioned above!). But sometimes they’re honest about their capacity that weekend and we take it easier. Just giving them options helps them feel like active participants in the experience, instead of being grouchy about something they’re being forced to do.
What do you think about hiking with kids — love it or loathe it? What’s been your favorite hike with kids? What are the hiking with kids tips I’m missing? Let me know in the comments!
And if you’re considering a trip to Alaska — absolutely DON’T MISS hiking with kids there! Here’s my list of the best Alaska hikes with kids and a travel guide for your time here.
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