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Family hiking preparations are easy!
When venturing into the great outdoors with your children, remembering a few essentials can make or break your family hiking preparations.
Understand your children’s abilities – we’ve attempted more than one hike that one or both of the kiddos couldn’t handle. This is the kind of family hiking preparations which you learn as you go – we’ve seen our kids go through various phases, and now we look for hikes which emphasize what they’re interested in at the moment (such as climbing).
Know where you’re headed – this seems so obvious, but we’ve had our moments of getting caught up in the excitement of our outdoor recreation plans and forgetting things we needed. For example, if you want to hike near a stream, it’s a good idea to have a small towel in your backpack; also, for a dry path, the kids will need tennis shoes, but for wet or rocky paths, they need their hiking boots.
Bring plenty of water – it doesn’t matter if you’re planning to spend an hour or five hours on the trail – kids get thirsty! If you’re hiking in heat or altitude, you’ll need even more. I try to bring along as much as we can carry, because even if they won’t drink it, we can use it to cool them down. D has a nice camelback which he uses. E’s a little too small for that, but look at stores like REI
&nsbp;or other sports stores to find a variety of water carrying packs.
Always pack snacks – just like with the water, kids are always hungry (well, mine are). I usually bring fruit (like apples), granola bars, and even some nuts for all of our hikes – even the short ones.
Watch the weather – another obvious tip, but for anyone who lives in an area like Colorado (Here is our page for Colorado family hiking,
where the weather can change in an instant), be prepared for anything. We bring rain ponchos in the car then make the decision when we arrive at the trailhead about whether or not we need them. The kids usually dress in layers, even on hot days, because you never know when a cloud will come over and possibly sprinkle. Always, we have sun hats! And before we leave the car, we put sunscreen on all exposed areas. Family hiking isn’t much fun when the kids get home with negative consequences (like a burn). Since we hike in all
seasons,
we have to be prepared for anything.
Don’t forget hiking ‘equipment’ – by this, I mean lovies and other necessities. E needs her animals; D needs a camera (disposable or kids’ digital). To help them learn some responsibility, I often ask them to gather what they want – but I might bring an extra animal, just in case.
These are simply a few tips and ideas for family hiking preparations – after you’ve enjoyed a few hiking adventures of your own, you’ll have an even better list.
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