Hiking with Kids – Ideas to keep your Kids moving and entertained

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Alright, we’d be lying if we told you that our kids never complained about going on a hike (or while hiking!). Kids, like adults, need motivation to keep them going. Since time seems to go so slowly for them, a hike can seem like an eternity. 

Here are some ideas for hiking with kids and on how to keep them entertained and moving forward.

Make sure you’re prepared and take regular breaks

Unhappy kids make unhappy, whiny hikers. Make sure you’re prepared for changing weather with appropriate layers to ensure your kids are comfortable (dry, warm/cool depending on the weather). Bring plenty of snacks and water and take regular breaks for water, snacks/food and pit stops. Kids have higher metabolisms and can get hungry and grouchy quickly. Feed and quench their hunger and thirst before they ask as they may not want to wait until you can find the next good spot with shade to stop.

Give each child an important job

Make your child feel like they are a part of a team. Assign them an important job, including carrying their own little backpack with water and snacks. Some ideas: find each person a suitable hiking pole, give everyone status updates on when the group reaches milestones (by distance or time), be in charge of calling time for breaks and when we need to start moving again.

To build some excitement, you could let your child know you’re going on a “discovery” outing, and you’d like their help with discovering new plants. You could gift him/her with a kid-friendly magnifying glass, snapshot camera and/or download an app like Seek, a free nature app created by National Geographic and the California Academy of Sciences just for kids and families, that allows children to identify all kinds of plants and wildlife in the area, as well as the ability to earn fun badges!

Allowing the app to know your location, it shows the types of animals and plants you’d likely spot in your area. You can learn about each animal with their database and if you’re not sure what a plant or animal is, you can use their in-app camera to capture a shot and it can identify it for you!

Journal it!

Give your child a notebook to use as a journal to document what they see. For responsible children, allow them to take a small instant camera (if you have one) or a portable video camera, so they can later re-watch themselves!

Let kids be kids and let them play with sticks, rocks and dirt,

Even if you are carrying a child, he/she will become antsy (if they don’t fall asleep first!) so make sure to find a flat area, and give him/her an opportunity to explore. Sure, they may get a bit (a lot!) of dirt of them, but we’re in nature – it’s not like they’re on the floor of a public bathroom!

Invite friends to join!

There’s no better way to make our kids forget everything they would have complained about when hiking than bringing along friends to socialize and play with.

Offer treats for reaching milestones.

Set some achievable milestones based on distance, a natural landmark, or whatever comes to mind (the next shady spot is an easy one that works for us in the heat!). A treat could be a quick game, a fun story, a giant bear hug – whatever motivates your kid. Even though it’s not something we like to abuse, a yummy (sweet or savory) treat goes a long way in motivation when it involves a young child!

Let them check the map or GPS tracker.

Allow your child to feel included in the planning. Show them the route you are taking and where you’re headed. Let them see their progress.

Sing songs.

Any song your kids enjoy works. The ants go marching is popular with ours 🙂

Find a good, sturdy stick to use as a hiking pole

Kids love having a makeshift hiking pole (or if you have a space adjustable one that you can adjust for your kids, that works too!). The hiking pole can also double as a fishing pole.

Explore different textures

For example, let them touch dry lichen and compare with how soft moss feels on a tree trunk or a rock.

Race natural “boats”

If you walk by a stream, fashion a little floating boat with a twig and a leaf. Toss it into the water and watch them race by.

Go on a treasure hunt

Ideas of things to hunt for:

• A pine cone or dead leaves to bring home to decorate
• Flat stones to decorate with these medium**, fine**, or extra fine markers** (These are excellent. We use them for all kinds of projects, including decorating easter eggs! We prefer the metallic ones that draw like gel pens)
• Bugs.
• Seasonal fruit (wild strawberries, blackberries, etc). Note: Don’t eat anything on the trail unless you are certain it’s edible.
• Naturally occurring animal formations (see photo of the fox and dinosaur wood twigs we found!)
• Shells. We live in an area with lots of snails so abandoned old snail shells are everywhere.

Play a game

• Follow the leader (especially if there are other kids around)
• Play i-Spy/Scavenger Hunt. For a DYI scavenger hunt option, create and print out a checklist for each child, so they can check things off as they see them or bring along a fun, colorful, ready-made scavenger hunt game**. Alternatively, similar to i-Spy, just call out criteria as you go along, and allow time for each child to find something that matches the criteria (e.g. find something smooth, find something rough).
• Race to the next goal post/milestone (e.g. tree, shady spot, sunny spot, )
• Find and make a wish with a dandelion or wishbone
• Like Hansel and Gretel, leave a little trail of rocks, leaves or other markers to follow back (only works for out and back trails!)
• Story creators – Choose 3 items to create a story with. Pass your turn on to the next person by giving them 3 new items to continue the story with.
• Mindful rest, listen and identify – During a break, take a breather. Ask everyone to close their eyes for 30 seconds and listen. Each person can share what sounds they heard.
• Describe & Guess. Similar to the game Taboo, start describing something and have everyone else guess what it is.

Optional, but fun things we recommend:

• Kid-friendly magnifying glass**, Binoculars for kids**, critter habitat** (check out our gift idea blog post, Nature Discovery Kit for Kids**)
• Anything lightweight like this foldable picnic blanket**should do. We also have this one** that’s softer (has a fleece like feel) but it’s thicker.
• Local Plant/bird/animal guide (as mentioned above, if you have an iPhone, we highly recommend downloading the free Seek by iNaturalist app made just for kids and families!)

If you’re interested in learning more about how to get started with hiking with your kids, check out this blog post.

What games and activities do you do to keep your kids motivated to hike? Please share below in the comments. We love hearing your ideas!