Do your homework when choosing hike

Select short, well-known trails for your
first day hikes with kids. Image courtesy
of Simon Howden/FreeDigitalPhotos net.

The best advice when choosing a trail is to “do your homework.” There’s a lot to consider, from its length to elevation gains, from weather to what features you’ll see on the trail.

For your first few hikes, stick to short, well-known trails where you’re likely to encounter others. Once you get a feel for hiking and your kids’ abilities and interests, expand to longer and more remote trails.

Until they enter their late teens, children need to stick to trails rather than going off-trail hiking, which is known as bushwhacking. Children too easily can get lost when off trail. They also can easily get scratched and cut up or to stumble across poisonous plants and dangerous animals.

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

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.

A basic guide to planning a hike with kids

Good planning will ensure smiles
on your day hiking child's face
- as well as yours!

You’ll get more out of the hike if you research it and plan ahead. It’s not enough to just pull over to the side of the road and hit a trail that you’ve never been on and have no idea where it goes. In fact, doing so invites disaster.

When selecting a destination, remember that not all kids are made alike. The five-year-old neighbor boy may have had no trouble with a specific trail, but your five-year-old may not like it or be able to handle it. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all different and develop at our own rates.

For your first few hikes, stick to short, well-known trails where you’re likely to encounter others. Once you get a feel for hiking and your kids’ abilities and interests, expand to longer and more remote trails.

Until they enter their late teens, children need to stick to trails rather than going off-trail hiking, which is known as bushwhacking. Children too easily can get lost when off trail. They also can easily get scratched and cut up or to stumble across poisonous plants and dangerous animals. Always check to see what the weather will be like on the trail you plan to hike. While an adult might be able to withstand wind and a sprinkle here or there, for children it can be pure misery. Dry, pleasantly warm days with limited wind always are best when hiking with children.

Don’t choose a trail that is any longer than the youngest child in your group can hike. Adults in good shape can go 8-12 miles a day; for kids, it’s much less. There’s no magical number. Ask other parents what their children can do, and you’ll get a whole range of answers. The reality is that every child is different: different leg lengths, different attitudes toward hiking, different levels of physical fitness, different levels of physical development, different expectations about being carried, and more.

When planning the hike, try to find a trail with a mid-point payoff – that is something kids will find exciting about half-way through the hike. This will help keep kids’ energy and enthusiasm up during the journey.

Generally, kids will prefer a circular route to one that requires hiking back the way you came. The return trip often feels anti-climatic, but you can overcome that by mentioning features that all of you might want to take a closer look at.

Once you select a trail, map out your route. Using a light, transparent highlighter that won’t obscure details, trace the trail on your map. This will make navigating the path easier once in the field.

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

Ensure trail is open before driving to it

Photo courtesy of Big Bend NPS.

Sometimes trails are closed for maintenance or because fires and landslides have made them impassable. A closed trail can be a real disappointment to children, especially after you’ve gotten them excited about the hike and what they might see. As you research trails online to determine their length, terrain and features, watch for information that indicates whether or not the trail is closed. To be certain, contact the ranger for the park, forest or wilderness area you plan to visit.

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

Who takes the lead on hike with children?

As soon as you hit the trailhead, many kids want to run ahead. You let them bound off, excited by their enthusiasm at discovering nature’s wonders and knowing that they’ll stop along the way to look at something, allowing you to catch up.

Bad idea.

There are too many dangers in the wilds, from rattlesnakes sunning themselves on the trail to missing a turn resulting in them getting lost. It’s all right to allow older teens who’ve done a lot of hiking to take the lead, but preschoolers and elementary age kids simply won’t be alert enough to all of the dangers. Perhaps they can walk a few feet ahead of you, but they should be keeping your pace – not running ahead – and they always should be in your sight. I often find it’s best to walk side by side with my little one. We talk to one another more that way.

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

Always go over hiking safety with kids before taking your first step on the trail

It’s best to review hiking safety rules before leaving the house – but just before hitting the trailhead, a gentle reminder is a good idea. Through repetition, they’ll get it. Even my son at the age of three could tell me after a couple of hiking trips what to do if he saw a snake.

Some ground rules you need to cover include:
g Stay in sight of an adult at all times
g Only drink water we bring in
g What to do if they get lost
g Watch for poison ivy/oak/sumac
g What to do if they see a snake
g Where they should not go (also what not to climb, no stepping into water, stay away from cliff sides and other drop offs, etc.)
g Stay on the trail, no shortcuts

Cover anything else you feel is necessary.

As kids get older and have done several hikes, they probably don’t need to go over every item on the list or you can review the rules quite quickly.

Now herd the kids onto the trailhead!

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

Teach children about hiking trail markers

Signpost at Bryce Canyon National Park.

In most cases, the trail is an obvious path through the wilds. Sometimes, though, there are branching trails not always marked on the map. You can avoid getting lost by following a variety of trail markers. Teaching kids about these trail markers can be vital to their safety. Be forewarned, though, that in some official wilderness areas, man-made improvements are not allowed, so there will be no trail signs.

Common trail markers include:
g Signpost - A signpost usually gives the name of the trail and some-times provides an arrow showing which way the path goes at a fork or junction. Many national parks and forests use a simple wooden pole in the ground that provide such in-formation as the Forest Road number and forbidden activities on the trail, such as driving an ATV over it. Other parks might actually nail a sign to a tree, though this is generally falling into disfavor as animals sometimes chew on the signs.
g Directional signs - These signs sometimes tell you the name of your trail, usually at the trailhead, but once out in the wilds more often than not they tell how far another trail or landmark is. They’re usually hung at forks or junctures.
g Paint blazes - Sometimes shapes will be painted on trees along the trail. Usually a single color is used for the trail’s length. Each shape symbolizes a different piece of information.
g Cairns - These are piles of stones that indicate you’re on a trail. Usually cairns are found in desert areas or on mountains above the tree line.
g Rocks and boulders - In deserts where trees are rare, paint blazes may be used on rocks and boulders rather than trees. For environmental and aesthetic reasons, cairns are preferred, however.
g Flags - Surveyor’s tape and ribbons of fabric might be tied on trees to indicate an unofficial or temporary trail. This method typically is used during trail construction of a trail.

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

Stay on the trail when day hiking with kids

Hiking off trail means potentially damaging fragile growth.

Following this rule not only ensures you minimize damage but is also a matter of safety. Off trail is where kids most likely will encounter dangerous animals and poisonous plants. Not being able to see where they’re stepping also increases the likelihood of falling and injuring themselves. Leaving the trail also raises the chances of getting lost.

Staying on the trail also means staying out of caves, mines or abandoned structures you may encounter. They are usually dangerous places and wild animals may be living there.

In addition, never let children take a shortcut on a switchback trail. Besides putting them on steep ground upon which they could slip, their impatient act will cause the switchback to erode.

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