How to Introduce Kids to Hiking

Hiking is one of the best family activities, because it’s refreshing, flexible and requires only basic skills and common sense. The earlier you introduce your kids to the joys of hiking, the easier it will become a lifelong family pursuit.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Start small, start local. Before you branch out into state or national parks, visit somewhere closer to home. Many neighborhood parks or schools will have a short trail, nature path or greenbelt area. Young kids may only need a quarter-mile before they get tired, so don’t be overly ambitious for your first outing. The younger the child, the more gentle terrain you’ll want to find.

2. Dress your kids in comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothes that are OK to get dirty. You may want to leave a clean set of clothes in the car.

3. Bring along a small bag to collect leaves or rocks and another one to collect trash you run across. You’ll be teaching your kids an early lesson about taking care of nature.

4. Turn over rocks, look into fallen logs and peek into ponds. Let the kids get their hands dirty and explore.

5. Follow their lead. Their natural curiosity will guide you on how fast they want to walk and what things spark their interest. Encourage them to look up, down and all around, plus use all their senses as they hike.

6. Pack a snack and water for everyone, along with sanitizing hand wipes. Dried fruit and granola bars are portable and pack well. For more tips, see my article: "How to Pack Backpack Snacks" (link in Resources below).

7. Take a few safety precautions, even with a short hike. Wear a hat and sunscreen and bring a simple first-aid kit. Even a small scrape can upset a young child, so having a bandage at the ready can go a long way toward an enjoyable hike.

8. Talk about some basic rules of hiking: stay on the trail; only pick up leaves from the ground; don’t eat any berries; avoid poison ivy.

9. After you have had several successful short hikes, gradually lengthen the distance or vary the terrain.

10. Take a family hike on a weekly or monthly basis; regular hiking will ingrain the experience into the family’s regular routine, plus give everyone a chance to watch nature as the seasons change.

[frozenmocha]

on 8/13/2009 five stars! good tips.

[shawnee50]

on 1/25/2009 Great Ideas kids love walking with Mom or Dad. Nice article thank you 5*s

[hlthychoclitnut]

on 1/6/2009 Thanks for How to Introduce Kids to Hiking. We used to hike all the time when my boys were little. Once we asked one of them whether he'd rather go to disneyland or hiking and he said hiking.