On the Trail: Tips for Hiking Adventures with Kids

Kids love outdoor adventures like hiking and camping where they can get the chance to explore some beautiful natural scenery and learn some new skills under the watchful guidance of their parents.

There are many suitable places where you can take your kids hiking and it is the sort of family fun that is hard to beat, but you also need to be ready for the trip and make sure that their safety and needs are taken care of. This is especially important if you are doing a nighttime hike or tour, such as the vallea lumina in Whistler. It’s crucial you are prepared – that way you can just focus on having fun when you are there!

Here are some tips for having an enjoyable and safe hiking adventure with your kids, which would include getting tents to accommodate the family (like the ones at rei tents), safety gear, first aid kits, preparing the right drinks and snacks to keep them happy and healthy during the hike, – a way to build their confidence, and some suggestions for keeping them motivated and happy.

Fuel for the journey

If you check into a hotel the night before you set off on your trek, like the JW Marriott Camelback Inn, for instance, it gives you a chance to be well rested for the trip and to prepare all the food, drink, and equipment you might need.

Kids can get hungry and thirsty pretty quickly, especially when they are burning up their energy on a hike, which means you need to be ready to top up their internal fuel levels with some suitable trail snacks.

There are plenty of options you can use for high-energy and nutritious snacks, and you could even make your own trail mix bar if you want to make sure that they get all the right ingredients and will love the taste.

Everyone needs to be properly hydrated too, so make sure you pack plenty of water and even a few appropriate energy drinks if you want so that no one starts to suffer from a combination of heat, tiredness, and a lack of fluids.

Build up their skills

When you are taking your kids on a hike you have to make allowances for their age so that you don’t set a challenge that is too much for them, even if you can manage the trail with relative ease.

It is always better to build up your child’s confidence and ability slowly so that they can cope with the challenge and feel good about finishing, rather than having a meltdown and feeling deflated about not completing the hike.

At the end of the hike

It can give everyone an even greater sense of purpose and satisfaction if you are able to plan a hike that offers some sort of natural reward that the kids will love, so try to plan a route that culminates with something fun like an amazing waterfall, or a place where they can play and unwind safely.

Add some extra intrigue

You sometimes have to make the hike a bit more interesting for little ones that just the amazing scenery that you might be enjoying along the way. A good trick would be to turn the hike into a bit of a scavenger hunt. List some things that you should hope to spot along the way, such as a pretty flower, a feather, and anything else you might be able to tick off while you are on the hike.

These tips and ideas should help, but most kids don’t need much persuasion to go on a hike and it is the sort of family adventure that everyone will love, as long as you are prepared for what lies ahead.