Great activity for day hiking kids: Rest Stop Referee

"The next rest stop comes when we've ascended another 100 feet."

Generally, exploring and discovery is enough for kids, but sometimes even they can grow bored with that and become restless. Remember that they naturally have shorter attention spans than adults.

Fortunately, there are lots of tried and true activities you can do on the trail that’ll keep kids from getting bored. Among them is Rest Stop Referee.

Have your child keep track with a watch how long you’ve walked and call out “Rest Stop” when you reach the 15-minute or 30-minute mark. If heading up a mountain, use an altimeter, requiring a brief rest stop every 100 meters.

Materials: Watch or altimeter

Ages: 10 and up

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.