Keep kids excited about hiking: Find the Lie

"We crossed a creek. We smelled pine-scented air. A wolf attacked us."

Once you’ve completed your first hike, pat yourself on the back. You’ve done a lot of work but have taken the first step into a larger world for both you and your children.

To keep kid’s enthusiasm charged, “review” the hike in kid-friendly ways. While you really can’t do this with infants, most toddlers and older kids will enjoy it. One post-hike game/activity you might consider for the drive back home is Find the Lie.

Number off for player order. Give everyone a minute or so to think about the hiking trip. Each player will make three statements about the hike; two of the statements will be true while one will be false. For example, if hiking through Yosemite Valley, a player might say, “We saw a waterfall. We saw a mountain. We saw a grizzly bear.” The first player gives his three statements, and the rest of the group has to determine which one was a lie; hopefully, in the above example, the lie was “We saw a grizzly bear”!

If a player stumps the group, he earns a point. Depending on how many children there are, set the number of points needed in advance to win; the more players, the lower the points needed as you’ll otherwise end up playing too many rounds; three usually is a good number. Ditto on age; the younger the children, the lower should the points needed to win.

Materials: None needed

Ages: 5 and up

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