When planning a day hiking trip with kids, study your map

As planning a day hike with children in the wilds, having a map isn’t enough. You want to study it before heading out so that you’ve got a general idea of where you’re going. Not only will this reduce the chances of getting lost but will help you familiarize yourself with the sites along the way.

Some items to look for on the map include:
g Trailhead – Where does the trail begin and how do you get there from the parking lot?
g Key features – Is there a spot along the way where you begin to walk beside a waterway? Or maybe go under electrical or phone wires? Or maybe reach a vista? These are great places to take a rest; you may want to plan route segments so that you know when you’ll stop.
g Major terrain changes – If children are getting tired knowing that a steep incline is ahead can help you decide if you should turnaround or continue going. Likewise, know if you have to cross streams so you can pack a change of socks and shoes.
g Intersecting trails – Be aware of points where other trails branch off or join the one you’re taking. You want to avoid unintentionally going onto those paths.
g Destination – Where is the end point of the hike, or the place where you’ll turn around? This may not be applicable if a loop.

If children are of elementary and middle school age, have them familiarize themselves with the map as well. This will help them become better map readers and even can get them excited about what awaits them on the adventure.

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

How to estimate distances when day hiking

How long a day hike with a child will take depends on a number of factors,
including terrain, how much you're carrying, and how fit you are.

When planning a day hike with children, you’ll likely want to have a good estimate of how long you’ll be on the trail. This is good to know for planning rest stops and snacks. You’ll also want to leave with a responsible party an estimate of when you’ll be back to civilization so that they can report to authorities that you’re missing (If you or a child is injured, having this safety net can be vital to you rescue and survival).

Unfortunately, estimating how far you can walk isn’t an easy answer. It depends on a number of factors. If you’re tall, you’ll take longer steps than someone who is short. If you have a child carrier or backpack on, you’ll need longer to walk the same distance than if you don’t. If the terrain is steep, rocky or otherwise difficult, it’ll take longer than a flat, well-maintained trail. If at a high altitude, you’ll go slower than at a lower elevation.

Generally, if you’re physically fit, expect that you can do a mile in:
g 20 minutes – No pack/carrier, easy trail
g 40 minutes – No pack/carrier, difficult trail OR pack/carrier, easy trail
g 60 minutes – Pack/carrier, difficult trail

The more hikes you do, the greater awareness you’ll have of your pace under varied conditions and will be better able to make an accurate estimate.

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

How to get your children interested in day hiking

To ensure kids remain interested in hiking,
allow them to explore the trail on their
one terms. This three-year-old is watching
 a bug cross the trail.

How do you get kids interested in hiking? The answer is simple: See the hike through the tyke’s eyes.

Because kids are smaller and less physically developed than adults and because they cognitively and emotionally are in a different world than us, they’re not going to see the hike in the same way as an adult. Since we want to make the hike fun for them – and there are many benefits of doing just that – we have to see the hike as they would so that we can appeal to their interests.

Some quick tips:
g Get them involved in the planning – Have your children help you plan the hike. They can help select the trail (meaning they’ll pick one that interests them), and if old enough they can highlight it on a topo map. Also allow them to help select their gear.
g Ensure there’s a midpoint payoff – When selecting a trail to hike, make sure there’s something interesting about half way along the journey. It might be a waterfall, a cool set of boulders to clamber over, or an old abandoned structure. This will surprise and delight kids, keeping up their energy and enthusiasm.
g Let them explore on their terms – While you must ensure they play it safe, you still have to let them play. If they want to stop and listen to singing birds, then stop and listen to singing birds. If they want to pause and bend over to examine a bug crossing the trail, then be prepared to pause.

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.

Follow planning list when hiking with kids

Before leaving on any hike with children, plan out your trip. Here’s a useful planning checklist:
g Print a road map showing how to reach the parking lot near the trailhead. Outline the route with a transparent yellow highlighter and write out the directions.
g Print a satellite photo of the parking area and the trailhead. Mark the trailhead on the photo.
g Print a topo map of the trail. Outline the trail with the yellow highlighter. Note interesting features you want to see along the trail and the destination.
g If carrying GPS, program this information into your device.
g Make a timeline for your trip, listing: when you will leave home; when you will arrive at the trailhead; your turn-back time; when you will return for home in your vehicle; when you will arrive at home.
g Estimate how much water and food you will need to bring based on the amount of time you plan to spend on the trail and in your vehicle. You’ll need at least 2 pints of water per person for every hour on the trail.
g Fill out two copies of a hiker’s safety form. Leave one in your vehicle.
g Share all of this information with a responsible person remaining in civilization, leaving a hiker’s safety form with them. If they do not hear from you within an hour of when you plan to leave the trail in your vehicle, they should contact authorities to report you as possibly lost.

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

Make your child hike's new assistant planner

Children will be more interested in a day hike if they can
help plan it.

Most children will find fun the idea of a hike and explore. Still, kids can be fickle creatures. Their lack of knowledge and experience in the world often makes them cautious about suggested activities.

And in today’s video game-oriented, 300-cable channel, Internet-connected world, some kids may be reluctant – or even afraid – to get outside.

You want to sway kids to at least entertain the notion that a hike might be fun. If they hit the trail thinking a long stretch of boredom awaits them, they’ll make the experience miserable for both themselves and for you.

To entice kids, let them help plan the hike. They can assist in selecting the destination, tracing out the trail on a map, choosing which snacks to bring, and more.

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.

Research before hiking in unfamiliar area

Black bear. Photo courtesy
Great Smoky Mountains NPS.

When planning to hike in an unfamiliar area, know what plants and animals are there so you can avoid them if necessary. If you don’t know much about the plants or animals – such as what they look like – you’ll want to research that.

Recalls parent Vera E., of Burlington, Vt.: “We took a hike in northern Vermont during the fall when the foliage was a blaze of colors. I guess I was a little too taken in because I didn’t pay attention to what the trees were telling me: We were walking into bear country. The trail wound through beechnut, apple, and cherry, all of which produced fruits that bears gorge on as they near hibernation.

“When we spotted a big sow just off the trail, we froze. Luckily we were downwind from it and were able to turn back with incident.”

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

Check weather report before going on hike

When planning a day hike with kids, always first check a weather report for where you plan to walk.

Knowing the weather also can result in a lighter load. There’s very little need to bring wet weather gear if there’s no rain forecast for a 100 miles around and you’re going to be out for just a couple of hours. If on a hike of more than a couple of hours, though, be aware that weather fronts can move quickly, turning a lovely sunny morning into a bitterly cold, gray afternoon.

Weather forecasting is a difficult craft at best. A prediction about temperatures and rainfall usually is only good for about 48 hours. Though you may have planned the weekend hike Wednesday evening, canceling the hike on a gray Saturday morning always is better than spending a few extra days in the wilds hoping a rescue team finds you because you were cut off high waters.

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