Plenty of good reasons to day hike during winter months

This article originally was written for and appeared in a slightly different form at Seattle Backpackers Magazine.

Day hiking season isn’t over just because temperatures have dropped and snow has fallen. Many days during winter, especially in the southern United States, sport pleasant weather, and even in northern climes sometimes just some warmer clothing is needed.

In fact, winter offers several advantages over summer for day hiking:
g No bugs – Annoying insects like mosquitoes and ticks generally are gone after the first freeze. They won’t be back until a significant portion of the snow melts next spring.
g Smaller crowds – National, state, and county parks generally see lower attendance during winter months. That means you won’t have to jostle for position to see the sights.
g Increased visibility – In fact, you’ll see more on the trail during winter than summer. With green leaves having fallen off vegetation, you’ll have a better chance of seeing wildlife and geological formations.
g Entirely new environment – How a forest or wetlands appears in winter compared to summer is quite different. The animals inhabiting those areas also can change with migrations and hibernation.
g Snow offers options for new activities – You can’t build a snowman or go sledding in summer. But there’s more to do than that: animal tracks often are easier to spot in the snow, and snowshoeing allows you to go a little off trail in the thinner vegetation (not to mention the latter will keep you quite physically fit).

So don’t hang up your hiking gear just because autumn is almost over. Get out and enjoy a day hike this winter!

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Four ways to avoid crowds when day hiking with children

To avoid crowds on a hiking trail, consider hiking off-season or picking
trails without parking lots. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

With summer’s arrival, you’ve probably noticed that trails at national and state parks are a bit crowded. While we can all applaud that people are out hiking and enjoying nature, crowds also can be a distraction from enjoying the outdoors.

If that’s the case with you and your family, there’s no need to give up day hiking. Here are a few ways to avoid crowds on trails:
g Go mid-week – Most people don’t work weekends, so parks and trails are used more frequently on Saturdays, Sundays and Fridays or Mondays of three-day weekends. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will see fewer people outdoors.
g Hike off-season – Summers from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend tend to be the most popular times for families to visit parks and use trails, mainly because school is out. Consider hiking on nice days in April, May, September and October.
g Pick trails without parking lots – While a park may be busy, the trails that are most used are those where people can easily park their vehicles. Using a non-lot trail may mean you have to walk a little farther to the trailhead, though.
g Select trails far away off the main road – Trailheads that are alongside federal or state highways as well as those on main park roads tend to be the most popular (even though they may not be the most spectacular). Look for trailheads off of county or township roads.

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

When NOT to hit the trail for a day hike

Avoid crowded trails by hiking the area during
off-season, such as early autumn.

One of the best reasons to stay off of a trail is because it’s too busy. Part of the allure of the hike, after all, is its solitude so that you can fully appreciate nature’s beauty. That’s difficult to do when people are blocking your views, talking over the sounds of songbirds, jostling with you for space on a narrow trail, or God forbid, lighting a cigarette as walking slowly in front of you (Where’s Smokey the Bear when you need him?).

To avoid crowded trails, always check to see if the area you intend to hike is in high tourist season or if a local festival is going on nearby. Both usually occur during dry, pleasantly warm weather – which coincidentally are the best days for hiking with children. Such events can result in busy trails and heavy traffic.

One high tourist season you probably won’t be able to avoid is flower and foliage displays, though. Often the main reason to go to some parks is for their wildflower displays.

As a side note, don’t hike during high hunting seasons. There’s really no sane reason, for example, to hit a Wisconsin trail during Thanksgiving week’s deer hunting season, when more than 225,000 armed hunters with buck fever comb virtually every woods and field.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.