How to find out about and locate day hiking trails for kids

Hiking guidebooks can provide good information
about possible trails to hike.

How do you know where there’s a trail to hike? Maybe you may live near a park or national forest and pass a trail on your way to work or when running errands. You may have overheard other hikers or parents talking about them. Even then, you probably don’t know much about those trails or if they’re right for you and your family.

You may not be so lucky, of course, and have no idea where you can even hike. To find the answer, go online and look for trails near you, simply by entering the name of your town and “hiking trails” in a search engine. You may need to enter the state along with your town – for example, just typing “Lancaster” for your town gives you results for both the city in California and the one in Pennsylvania. Many of the websites you encounter will be blogs, discussion boards, and chat rooms about hiking. They can give you insights on what to expect on the trail and problems encountered.

Alternatively, you might look on a map and see what parks or national forests are near you.

Most guidebooks tend to list trails that offer the most dramatic views or that are the most famous among adult hikers. You’ll have to be selective to find those that work well for a child. Usually those marked “easy” are good trails to consider.

Such activities make a memorable end to a day hike. 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.

Hiking or camping magazines also offer lists, but they tend to be for serious backpackers who go long distances on multi-day trips.

Organized hikes offered at local parks also are a great way to get started. The downside is they often move slow and don’t always stop and linger where your child might want to.

If you can’t find answers about a specific trail, additional information usually can be obtained from park rangers.

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

Where to park when day hiking with kids

When parking where you're going to day hike, no part of the vehicle should touch a road or the natural area. Other drivers need to get through, and you wouldn’t want a wide load or a careless driver to hit your vehicle.

You also don’t want to needlessly damage the very area that you plan to hike, so don’t park on the grass or in what appear to be “weeds.” In some places, such parking can net you a ticket.

You may need to pay for parking. Usually it’s included in any entry fee or pass to a park. In many places, day use for hiking is free so long as you aren’t camping. National forests typically require a pass for day activities; you can buy them either annually (the best deal) or for daily use. They are available at most outdoors and sporting goods stores near the national forest.

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

Topo maps: When they're needed on hike

Topographical maps give contour lines and other important details for crossing a landscape. You’ll find them invaluable on a hike into the wilds.

The contour lines’ shape and their spacing on a topo map show the form and steepness of a hill or mountains, unlike the standard road map and most brochures and handmade trail maps. You’ll also know if you’re in woods, which is marked in green, or a clearing, which is marked in white. If you get lost, figuring out where you are and how to get to where you need to be will be much easier with such information.

For some day hikes, though, this is information overload. If there’s only one clearly marked trail on a flat surface, a topo map isn’t all that necessary. Another disadvantage is if going on a long hike, you will need a couple of sheets or a large topo map to show the area where you’re going, and this can be a bit cumbersome, especially in a breeze.

In addition, some U.S. Geological Survey topo maps are out of date and may not give the most current forest road or trail numbers.

Private companies often offer more up-to-date topo maps of major hiking areas like national parks. Still, for remote areas such as national forests and BLM land, USGS maps tend to be accurate more often than not as the landscape hasn’t significantly changed in decades.

Read more about maps for day hiking in the guidebook Hikes with Tykes.