8 Great Trails through the Mountains

Glacier National Park in Montana

Best trails for seeing Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s wonders
Among the best ways to see Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just five short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – the third highest point this side of the Mississippi, a historic water mill from the 1800s, the tallest concrete dam east of the Rockies, a rare herd of elk, and a scenic waterfalls.

Lawn Lake Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
Day hikers stand a good chance of spotting a variety of montane wildlife on the Lawn Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. The 12.5-miles round trip from Fall River to Lawn Lake is just a segment of the overall trail. Be forewarned, though: Because of its high altitude, the elevation gain (2447 feet), a rocky trail surface, and the length, this is not a hike for the unfit.

Mono Meadow Trail
Yosemite National Park
Day hikers on the Mono Meadow Trail can spot an array of wildlife – and if willing to walk a bit farther can enjoy a great Sierra Mountains vista that most other visitors to Yosemite National Park never see. The trail makes for a 1.2-miles round trip to Mono Meadow. After reaching the open area, many continue on to the Mount Starr King overlook for a 3.5-miles round trip.

Glacier National Park
Among the best ways to see Glacier National Park’s major sights is via a day hike. Though the park has several remote areas, just five short trails allow visitors to enjoy the park’s major highlights –mountain vistas, wildlife sightings, moraine lakes, glaciers, and waterfalls.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Shenandoah National Park
Fantastic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and its famous Shenandoah Valley await day hikers on a segment of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Shenandoah National Park. About 101 miles of the famed backpacking trail passes through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, with many sections accessible from Skyline Drive. An excellent segment to hike is the Stony Man Trail, which runs about 1.6-miles round trip and gains 340 feet in elevation.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

14 Great Day Hikes in the Mountains

Chimney Tops at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Ten must-see sights at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is so large that unless you spend years there, you won’t see all it offers. So when you’ve only a week or so to visit the park, what are the absolute must-do sights?

Alpine Ridge Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
If you’re looking to prove your mettle, you may want to hike one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s shortest trails. The 0.6-mile round trip Alpine Ridge Trail gains 300 feet while sitting at an altitude of 12,000 feet above sea level, where there’s significantly less oxygen than most of us are used to. Because of that, the route through the alpine tundra appropriately is nicknamed Huffer’s Hill.

Hidden Lake Overlook Trail
Glacier National Park
Day hikers stand a good chance of spotting the rare marmot on the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail at Glacier National Park in Montana. Though several species of marmots exist across the globe, in the United States their range is limited to mountains of the northwest. The result is very few Americans ever see the marmot.

Jenny Lake Trail
Grand Teton National Park
Day hikers can walk along a tranquil blue lake with some of the most impressive mountain views in the United States as a backdrop on the Jenny Lake Trail in Grand Teton National Park. The 6.5-mile trail wraps around the world-famous lake at the base of the snow-capped Teton Mountain Range in northwest Wyoming. 

Rancheria Falls National Recreation Trail
Sierra National Forest
A 150-foot high waterfall awaits day hikers at the end of the Rancheria Falls National Recreation Trail in California’s Sierra National Forest. The 1-mile out-and-back trail (2-miles round trip) sits high in the Sierra Nevada, south of Yosemite National Park. For those wishing to avoid Yosemite’s crowds, the Sierra National Forest offers a nice alternative from June to October; the trail typically is closed the rest of the year due to heavy snowfall at the 7200-foot elevation.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

13 Great Day Trails in the Mountains

Leigh Lake and Mount Moran Grand Teton National Park

Several entries lead to cool Great Smoky Mountains hikes
A vast, sprawling park covering 816 square miles, Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a number of access points and sections. You'll find great mountain trails near every one of the entrances.

Milner Pass Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
Day hikers can place their feet on both sides of the Continental Divide when hiking the Milner Pass Trail at Rocky Mountain National Park. The 4.1-mile one-way trail makes for a long round-trip hike, but the route can be shortened or treated as a point-to-point trail.

Four Mile Trail
Yosemite National Park
Day hikers can view almost all of Yosemite Valley’s famous landmarks from above via the Four Mile Trail. The trail runs from the Yosemite Valley floor to Glacier Point – but rather than make the steep ascent that will be impossible for most young children and backbreaking for parents carrying them, instead hike the 4.6-mile trail backward from the Glacier Point rim to the valley floor.

Leigh Lake Trail
Grand Teton National Park
Families can day hike alongside two alpine lakes on the Leigh Lake Trail at Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. The 2-miles round trip segment described here heads past crystal blue lakes through green pines with gray Mount Moran soaring in the background. Most of the segment passes String Lake, but the trail ultimately ends at its namesake, Leigh Lake.

Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail
Glacier National Park
A scenic stroll around a high mountain lake awaits day hikers on the Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail at Glacier National Park in Montana. Flat and full of great views as well as wildlife, the 2.9-mile loop – made up of segments of three other trails – is perfect for families with children.

BONUS: Day hiking trail maps for Great Smoky Mts.
No one ever should hit the trail without a topo map. Here are topo maps for three day hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

7 Great Day Hikes in the Mountains

Swiftcurrent Lake at sunset, Glacier National Park. Courtesy Glacier NPS.

Explore Great Smoky Mountains’ geology
Much of the rock currently at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s surface are sedimentary layers that piled up over a span of 95 million years beginning about 545 million years ago. Fossils of sea creatures – burrows of worms and shells of crustaceans – can be found in these sedimentary layers at the park, most notably Cades Cove. 

Mills Lake Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
Day hikers can explore a montane forest on the Mills Lake Trail at Rocky Mountain National Park. Such forests cover much of this national park, which sits at high elevations. The trail runs 2.65 miles one-way (5.3 miles round trip) through a woods to a mountain lake at the base of Glacier Gorge.

Bridalveil Creek Trail
Yosemite National Park
Families can enjoy a day hike along a scenic mountain creek through green meadows and evergreen woods on the Bridalveil Creek Trail at Yosemite National Park. The 5.5-mile loop is particularly good for those staying at the nearby Bridalveil Creek Campground.

Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail
Glacier National Park
A scenic stroll around a high mountain lake awaits day hikers on the Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail at Glacier National Park in Montana. Flat and full of great views as well as wildlife, the 2.9-mile loop – made up of segments of three other trails – is perfect for families with children.

Alpine Lakes Loop
Great Basin National Park
Families can hike an alpine landscape almost two miles above sea level on the Alpine Lakes Loop at Nevada’s Great Basin National Park. The 2.3-mile trail sits in a national park so remote that its night skies ranks as among the country’s darkest.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

8 Great Day Hikes in the Mountains

Swiftcurrent Lake at Glacier National Park

Great Smoky’s geography means great trails
The Great Smoky Mountains’ geography consists of several mountains with valleys tucked between them and the ridgelines leading to their peaks. The result is a number of great, diverse hiking trails to explore.

Trail leads to incredible vista on Stony Man
Fantastic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and its famous Shenandoah Valley await day hikers on a segment of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Shenandoah National Park. About 101 miles of the famed backpacking trail passes through Shenandoah, with many sections accessible from Skyline Drive. An excellent segment to hike is the Stony Man Trail, which runs about 1.6-miles round trip and gains 340 feet in elevation. 

Alpine Ridge Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
If you’re looking to prove your mettle, you may want to hike one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s shortest trails. The 0.6-mile round trip Alpine Ridge Trail gains 300 feet while sitting at an altitude of 12,000 feet above sea level, where there’s significantly less oxygen than most of us are used to. Because of that, the route through the alpine tundra appropriately is nicknamed Huffer’s Hill.

Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail
Glacier National Park
A scenic stroll around a high mountain lake awaits day hikers on the Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail at Glacier National Park in Montana. Flat and full of great views as well as wildlife, the 2.9-mile loop – made up of segments of three other trails – is perfect for families with children.

Queen's Garden
Bryce Canyon National Park
Fairyland really does exist – it’s smack dab in southcentral in Utah, where a maze of totem pole-like rock formations called hoodoos grace Bryce Canyon National Park. Because of the Queens Garden’s high altitude – some 8000 feet elevation – May to September marks the best time to visit.

Smith Peak Trail
Yosemite National Park
Families can hike a forested mountainside past giant granite boulders on a segment of the Smith Peak Trail at Yosemite National Park. Located in the park’s Hetch Hetchy section, the 2.32-miles round trip trail is one of two routes to Smith Peak. This option makes a nice alternate route as the more popular trail that leaves from the ranger station can be soggy in springtime.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

11 Great Hikes through the Mountains

Leigh Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Top sights to see at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Imagine a place where several waterfalls tumble more than eight stories over ancient rock, where you can hike to a mountain vista offering 100-mile views, where countless streams and rivers rush over riffles and cascades through dense verdant forests, where you can traipse through historic pioneer buildings or stand in awe before a rare, majestic elk that haven’t been seen in these parts since George Washington’s time. The place is real. It’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Bluebird Lake Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is one of Colorado's most visibly prominent fourteeners – a mountain more than 14,000 feet high – on the Front Range. Among the best views of it can be had on the Bluebird Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park's Wild Basin. The trail is not for the timid or physically unfit. This 12.6-miles round trip includes an elevation gain of 2,478 feet.

Hidden Lake Overlook Trail
Glacier National Park
Day hikers stand a good chance of spotting the rare marmot on the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail at Glacier National Park in Montana. Though several species of marmots exist across the globe, in the United States their range is limited to mountains of the northwest. The result is very few Americans ever see the marmot.

Leigh Lake Trail
Grand Teton National Park
Families can day hike alongside two alpine lakes on the Leigh Lake Trail at Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. The 2-miles round trip segment described here heads past crystal blue lakes through green pines with gray Mount Moran soaring in the background.

Wonderland Trail
Mount Rainier National Park
Families can get a good view of the largest glacier in the 48 contiguous United States on a segment of the Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier National Park. The 93-mile trail encircles Mount Rainier, the Washington national park’s centerpiece. A few access points, however, allow small portions of it to be day hiked; among them is a 3.3-mile round trip trail in the Sunrise area.

Rancheria Falls National Recreation Trail
Sierra National Forest
A 150-foot high waterfall awaits day hikers at the end of the Rancheria Falls National Recreation Trail in California’s Sierra National Forest. The 1-mile out-and-back trail (2-miles round trip) sits high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, south of Yosemite National Park.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

Six Great National Parks to See Wildlife

Bison can be found on Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley Trail.

The following article was written for and originally appeared in the August 2016 Coach.net newsletter:

America’s national parks are known for their great vistas and fantastic rock formations, but they also preserve another treasure: wildlife.

In fact, national parks rank among the best places to see interesting and rare wildlife. Late summer marks a particularly good time for wildlife viewing at many parks as most mothers bring out their young by that time of the year.

Given the breadth of national park locations, there’s also the opportunity to see almost every kind of North American wildlife, from those that live on mountains, in marine environments, and in the tropics to those that make their homes on prairies, deserts, and in temperate forests.

Mountains
Travelers can explore the “Serengeti of North America” on the Lamar Valley Trail at Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park. Like the mountain-ringed African plain, Lamar Valley serves as home to the classic megafauna that define North America. Bison, elk, grizzlies, black bears, wolves, coyotes, eagles, osprey and more all can be found at this high elevation. Coyotes also can be seen wandering about, looking for a meal while bald eagles and osprey grace the skies. Grizzlies reside in the hilly woods, but they and the area’s other big two predators – black bears and wolf packs – prefer to remain under cover than be seen.

Marine
You can encounter an array of marine wildlife on the Beach Trail at Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. Low tide also provides an opportunity to see intertidal life. As the waters retreat into the ocean – and water levels here can fall 25 vertical feet, among the greatest extremes in the world – a number of animals and plants are exposed. Don’t be surprised to spot starfish and snails on the sands and grasses. On shore, a variety of sea birds gather and fly over, often nabbing exposed intertidal creatures for a meal. During those first moments of sunlight, watch for humpback whales, harbor porpoise, puffins, sea otters, and Steller sea lions, frolicking and feeding in the mouth of the bay. Bring binoculars. If lucky, you’ll also hear the blow of humpback whales.

Tropics
Tropical wildlife can be safely seen from the Anhinga Trail at Florida’s Everglades National Park. The trail’s boardwalk takes you over open water where you can watch for alligators peeking out of a river, as well as turtles, herons and egrets. Winter marks the best season to see the most wildlife. A number of birds spend their time in the Everglades after migrating from a northern clime. Among those you can spot are the double breasted cormorant, great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, tricolored heron, white ibis and woodstork. Turkey vultures congregate in the marsh during the early morning hours.

Prairies
North America’s largest mammal – the bison – freely roams North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the Buckhorn Trail is an excellent place to spot them and other Great Plains wildlife. The trail includes a prairie dog town that stretches for about a mile. You’ll be able to spot them barking from their burrow entrances as they keep an eye out for predators. Hawks, coyotes and rattlesnakes are among the creatures hoping to make an unsuspecting prairie dog its dinner.

Deserts
Four desert ecosystems can be found in North America, and the park closest to a major metro area offers among the best spots to see wildlife of these dry climes. Outside of Tucson, Ariz., Saguaro National Park’s Douglas Spring Trail crosses the Rincon Mountain District (Saguaro Park East), providing the chance to see coyotes, roadrunners, jackrabbits and quail. All four of those creatures thrive in the Sonoran Desert, which stretches across Arizona and northern Mexico, as well as good portions of the continent’s other three desert ecosystems.

Temperate forests
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, though stretching across the Appalachian Mountains, offers the opportunity to see many of the animals that reside in temperate forests covering much of the continent east of the Mississippi River. The Deep Creek/Indian Falls trails in the park’s North Carolina section sports Eastern cottontail rabbit, groundhogs, river otter, and white-tailed deer. Also present but much more elusive, as they keep to themselves, are black bear, bobcat, coyote, red fox, red wolf, and wild boar.

Rob Bignell is the author of several hiking guidebooks, including the bestselling Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

How to cross rough terrain when hiking

Though most of the terrain you’ll cross with walking kids will be fairly flat, as they age you’ll start tackling rougher country. In addition, if carrying an infant or toddler in a carrier, there’s no need to limit yourself to flat trails, so long as you know how to traverse slopes, scree and other hindrances. Not knowing how to cross such ground can cause you and your children to fall.

The more you and your kids hike, the easier traversing difficult terrain will become. After a while, it’ll become second nature.

Some difficult terrain you may encounter includes:
g Up a slope - When heading up an incline, slow your pace, take short steps, and keep body upright. This will ensure you keep your balance.
g Down a slope - Ironically, going down a slope can be as exhausting as going up one, particularly on a steep trail. Don’t let gravity take you down too fast or you’ll slip; at best, your feet, ankles and knees will ache by the time you reach bottom. Your trekking pole really can help you stay upright when going downhill. You can maximize your trekking pole’s effectiveness by holding it securely with your arms bent at the elbow in a 90 degrees angle in front of you. In addition, test each stone with your pole before stepping on it.
g Scree - Scree is small, loose rock often found on slopes, especially in mountainous areas. It can slide beneath your step, causing you to slip, which in turn can cut up your hands as the rocks often are sharp. Walk across scree by stepping sideways so the long side of your feet have more contact with the slope. If climbing up a slope with scree, take small steps with your feet spread-eagled or splayed. This puts your weight on each boot’s instep, reducing both strain on your legs and the odds of slipping.

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

How to build a snow shelter that’ll save your life

If caught in a freak snowstorm, you always can build a snow shelter
to stay alive. Be sure to carry a shovel in your vehicle.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Burrow to stay
dry, warm during
an emergency

If forced to stay a winter night in the wilds – perhaps you got lost, maybe a mountain blizzard took you by surprise – your survival in large part will depend on finding shelter. You need to get out of the cold and wet because you’ll freeze to death before you do from dehydration. But what can you do if there’s no shelter – even a ramshackle old cabin – nearby?

The answer is build a snow shelter.

Animals' example
Also known as a snow cave, this shelter isn’t perfect, but it’ll certainly keep you warmer and dryer than if you expose yourself to wind and snowfall. Burrowing is, after all, how smaller mammals stay warm in winter.

The first step to building a snow shelter is location. As you need to dig straight into the snow rather than dig down, locate a sloped hillside with deep snow.

Next, dig out an entrance. This just needs to be large enough for you to crawl and should go about two feet deep.

After that, begin excavating upward to create a domed room that is about five feet high and six feet wide.

Once the room is created, use a stick to poke a hole upward through the domed roof. This one- to two-inch diameter hole serves as an air vent and should be located next to the entry hole.

Pine bough mattress
Following that, create a sleeping bench against the back wall. This can be done by taking snow from the half of the room closest to the entry and piling it up about two feet from the floor. Add some pine boughs to it as a mattress to keep you off the ground.

You’ll want to close up the entry to keep out wind, blowing snow, and curious animals. Do that by rolling a snowball that is large enough to cover the entrance; use snow from outside of the dome room.

Finally, should you have a small candle, you may use to provide light and a modicum of warmth. Don’t start a larger fire, though, as it will melt the snow (and cause the shelter to collapse upon it) or will use up much of the oxygen in the shelter.

Stay in the snow shelter until the storm clears or daylight arrives so that you can set back out on foot to your vehicle.

Read more useful day hiking tips in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

What to do if caught in a whiteout during a day hike with children

Always remain aware of the weather so that you don't get caught in a
snowstorm or whiteout conditions. Photo courtesy of Charles Rondeau.

When day hiking in the mountains or in a northern state during winter, you always risk getting caught in a whiteout. Knowing how to walk through it can be vital to your survival.

A whiteout occurs when snow falls so fast that you literally can’t see the ground let alone a few feet in front of you. In this disoriented state, hikers easily can get lost and exhaust themselves trying to find their way.

Remaining aware of the weather and not hiking when snow is forecast always is advised to avoid a whiteout. Still, especially in the mountains with its many microclimates, a snowstorm – and whiteout conditions – can surprise you.

As soon as snow begins to fall, turn back. Continuing to walk when the odds favor more rather than less snow falling only invites disaster.

If a whiteout is rising around you and you’re near a makeshift shelter or your vehicle – “near” meaning you still can see it – immediately get inside and wait to hike when visibility improves.

Should no shelter be in sight, quickly construct one. A hastily dug snow cave or a tree well shelter will help keep you out of the wind and provide you some warmth. Indeed, the best thing to do in a whiteout is to simply stay put in a shelter.

If you must walk, have each member of the party hold hands as you walk toward your destination. Children easily can get lost in the piling snow, so you don’t want longer legged members of your party reaching the shelter only to find someone who is younger still are out there – somewhere.

Also, take careful, measured steps, especially since you can’t see. You don’t want to fall and get snow inside your clothing. The wet and cold will increase the chances of you suffering hypothermia. In addition, you definitely don’t want to suffer an injury from a fall, as you’re already battling the elements. If in a sloped area, as you walk toss a snowball slightly ahead of you as a way of measuring the slope’s angle.

Finally, as walking, protect your face. This means covering your mouth and nose so wind and snow doesn’t strike them.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Three great hiking quotes to discuss with day hiking with kids

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead
where there is no path and leave a trail.”

The trail offers a great opportunity to teach kids lessons about life. For older children and teens, a good quotation might be the way to impart wisdom or at least a good discussion going. Here are three great quotations I like for the trail:

“Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” – Dag Hammarskjold

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings.” – John Muir

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

Pros and cons of standard maps when day hiking with children

Depend on topographical rather than standard road maps and their kin
when navigating a hiking trail. Photo courtesy of ulrikkold / Photoree.

Standard road maps (including printed guides and handmade trail maps) show highways and locations of cities and parks. Maps included in guidebooks, printed guides handed out at parks, and that are hand drawn tend to be designed like road maps, and often carry the same positives and negatives.

The main advantage of a standard road map is that it eliminates all of the extraneous info you’ll find on other maps, focusing on a key landmark feature, specifically roads. Because of this, a road map is mainly useful for helping you figure out how to reach the trailhead, and in the case of printed guides, pointing out highlights you can see on the trail.

The benefits end there, though. Standard road maps rarely show trails or forest roads that you might traverse. In addition, they don’t give you a sense of the lay of the land, such as how high hills and mountains are. If hand drawn, as are many of those on printed guides, they are not always done to scale, making any estimate of how far you’ve got to go difficult if not impossible.

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

Five great hiking quotes to discuss with day hiking with kids

“You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special
soul as well.”

The trail offers a great opportunity to teach kids lessons about life. For older children and teens, a good quotation might be the way to impart wisdom or at least a good discussion going. Here are five great quotations I like for the trail:

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well.” – Emme Woodhull-Bäche

“The place where you lose the trail is not necessarily the place where it ends.” – Tom Brown, Jr.

“The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up” – Robert Persin

“In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks.” – John Muir

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

How to survive getting caught in freak snowstorm on a hike

Getting stranded in a snowstorm means at best you’ll only have days to live unless soon rescued. Hypothermia, frostbite, lack of water due to it freezing and the inability to forage for food or to find tinder and branches to make a fire all make survival extremely difficult.

If you’ve planned your trip correctly, you shouldn’t be in the wilds when a snowstorm is forecast. Mountain weather is highly changeable, however, and it’s quite possible in late spring and early autumn for one to surprise you at a high elevation. As soon as you see any signs of clouding over, feel a significant drop in temperature, or notice high winds or snowflakes, immediately descend to a lower elevation.

If walking is no longer viable – snow can hide the trail and bring visibility to zero – immediately construct a shelter to diminish the effect of wind and wet snow. Huddle together for warmth. Do not eat snow as it will lower your core body temperature. Immediately call for help, and don’t send anyone for help as they easily can get lost in the snowstorm.

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

How to avoid, treat altitude sickness in kids

Since air pressure is lower at higher elevations, you will inhale less oxygen in mountainous areas. For most hikers, the problem begins when reaching 8,000 feet above sea level, in which acute mountain sickness can affect both child and adult. More serious and deadlier problems can occur at higher than 12,000 feet, and parents shouldn’t take their children above that level.

Fortunately, few points in North America are that high, so you’ll rarely encounter this issue, unless you’re trying to peakbag the United States’ or Canada’s highest mountains. Children will suffer from altitude sickness more readily than adults. As their bodies are still developing, they simply don’t have the ability to adjust as quickly to changes in oxygen levels as do adults.

To avoid altitude sickness, go at a slow pace that allows time for acclimatization. Limit altitude changes to no more than 2000-3000 feet so long as you’re returning to your starting point.

Signs of altitude sickness include shortness of breath, dehydration, headache, nausea and dizziness. If the child becomes confused, clumsy, vomits and has a dry cough, the condition is serious. Treating altitude sickness requires descending to a lower elevation where there’s more oxygen. In addition, drink extra water to avoid dehydration, and eat light, high-carbohydrate meals. If the condition is serious, get medical attention immediately.

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

How long will day hike with kids take?

Just how long will your entire day hiking adventure with kids take?

To determine that, add three elements: drive time, walking time, and rest stops. Drive time usually is easy to figure out, though be aware that if heading into mountains, curvy and steep roads will force you to go slower. That means a longer drive time. For walking time, you’ll go much slower than you would if hiking on your own or with other adults. Kids on your back probably will increase your walk time by 25%; kids on foot will increase it by 50% until their late teens, when they’ll probably outpace you. Finally, set aside 10-15 minutes for each rest stop on the hike, stopping every half hour for toddlers, preschoolers and early elementary school aged-children and every hour for older children and teens. Of course, you may need to make more frequent stops, but don’t do any less.

This hike now must be positioned during certain hours of the day depending on your children’s habits. Most importantly, consider when your kids eat meals and take naps. You’re trying to squeeze hikes between these major daily events in a child’s life.

For infants, this is not such a big deal as the child can be fed during rest stops, and the rhythm of your walk likely will lull him to sleep. For toddlers eating solid meals and needing the comfort of a mattress, however, it’s a bit more complicated. You don’t want to arrive at the trailhead a half-hour before lunch time. This all becomes less of an issue as the children enter school; if the hike crosses meal time, simply plan a picnic lunch. Regardless of age, make sure kids have eaten a complete meal before heading out on the road.

You also want to get back to you vehicle before darkness falls. Children hiking at night is inadvisable, as the difficulty in seeing increases the chance of falling, of missing a turnoff in the trail and getting lost, and of keeping track of children. Many animals also hunt at night, so there is a greater chance of being bitten.

That being said, group night hikes, led by rangers and park docents, are a lot of fun and very educational – but the trails on such hikes usually are wide and well maintained, and you’re probably with a highly experienced hiker who knows the area extremely well.

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

How far of a drive should the hiking trail be?

The younger the child, the shorter the distance from home you want the trail to be. When my son was two-years-old, more than a half-hour in the Jeep to the trail-head was murder – even with toys and books and his favorite stuffie. As a four-year-old, he could handle a trip of up to an hour. You probably already have a good idea of how long your children can spend in the vehicle.

There are a couple of other elements to consider about the drive. Even if your children have no problem with two or three hours in the car, long drives can cramp muscles. For infants, curvy roads like those in the mountains can lead to upset tummies. Neither situation will make for a pleasant hike.

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

Limit elevation gains for younger children

Limit elevation gains to 500 feet for elementary school
children who are day hiking. Photo courtesy
North Cascades NPS.

For teenagers, peakbagging or hiking to a mountain’s summit, can be fun. The younger the child, though, and you’ll want to avoid switchbacks and large elevation gains.

Simply put, the younger the flatter. A single high knoll can wear out a three-year-old kid who otherwise could handle a mile of flat ground.

If the child is walking, limit elevation gains to 500 feet for older elementary school children and to even less for preschoolers.

Related article:
g Check weather report before heading out on day hike

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

When not to take kids hiking in certain areas

Avoid desert hikes during summer and the wet season.

As selecting a trail to day hike with children, you can eliminate those in certain regions when specific weather conditions prevail:
g Coastlines – Always check local tide tables if walking along beaches and coastlines, as you don’t want to get stranded in the ocean or large lake by rising water.
g Cold climates – Winter and spring will be chilly and often wet.
g Deserts – Avoid them during the wet seasons as flash floods can occur, sweeping down sandy washes and canyons, leaving you stranded, wet, or worse drowned. Outside of the wet season, avoid any days in which rain, high wind, and hot temperatures are forecast. This makes summer a bad time for desert hiking. Late autumn and early spring usually are the best times to hike deserts.
g Forests – Spring usually is a wet season to avoid. Summer and autumn make for the best hiking.
g High altitudes – Whenever high winds, precipitation and cold temperatures are forecast at lower elevations, they will be worse in the mountains. Winter, early spring and late autumn are dangerous times to hike high mountains. Low mountains and hilly country are best hiked on pleasant spring days; late summer is best for high mountains.

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

Select right sunglasses for hiking children

Sunglasses are an absolute must at high altitudes if walking through open areas exposed to the sun and during winter when children can suffer from snow blindness. Look for 100% UV-protective shades, which provide the best screen.

The variety of sunglasses available out there are enormous, but when children are involved, always opt for something sturdy. You can buy sunglasses with no hinges, which means toddlers have one less avenue for breaking them. You even can buy symmetrical sunglasses that can be worn either right-side-up or upside down (for some reason, toddlers like to wear sunglasses upside down). These latter options also cost more money than an inexpensive pair you can buy for kids at any discount store.

Also, be prepared for children to lose their sunglasses. The younger the child, the more likely that the sunglasses will come off sometime during the hike. A lanyard can help prevent this but isn't foolproof unless you clip it the child's clothing.

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