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You are here: Home / All / Hiking with the Kids – 10 Tips to Keep it Smooth
Hiking with the children

Hiking with the Kids – 10 Tips to Keep it Smooth

Updated January 25, 2019 By //  by Kris. This post contains affiliate links. This means we may make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Hiking with the kids can be so fun, it can also be a little daunting, or even downright frustrating.  After a recent hike with my 4 kids on the weekend, I will share with you my tips for making hiking with the kids an all-round pleasant experience for everyone involved!

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We had been hearing from a lot of people about this newish walk up a popular landmark that had an urban legend attached.  Legend has it, that a young Aboriginal woman stole a shawl from her employer to keep her baby warm, and then she fled when discovered.  She ran up this hill and then leaped to her death, with the baby, to avoid capture and punishment.  The cliff is now called The Leap.  We had one day left of our school holidays, so we thought that hiking with the kids up to the summit would be the best way to spend it.Hiking with the children

Table of Contents

  • 1. Hike Selection
  • 2. Starting Off
  • 3. Snack Breaks
  • 4. A Wrong Turn
  • 5. Timing
  • 6.  Keep it Fun
  • 7. Team Work
  • 8.  Rewards
  • 9. Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
  • 10.  Education
  • Get out there and explore the wilderness.  Be safe, and have fun!
  • -PIN IT-

1. Hike Selection

This time we were doing a hike we had not attempted before and it was only our second time scaling anything significant since the arrival of baby number 4.  We had heard good things about this walk and knew it was relatively short but adventurous with a difficulty rating not beyond our kids aged 5, 6 and 8.  The baby (who does weigh over 10kg actually) should be happy in her carrier, and the whole thing will take no more than 3 hours up and back.

Hiking with the children2. Starting Off

The kids are always excited about a bush walk in the beginning and this one was certainly no exception.  The first part of the track involved boulder hopping up a river bed all the way up to a waterfall before changing course and going steeper up into the bush.  Spotting the pink flagging that marked the path kept the children entertained and looking forward to each section as we moved on into the bush.

Hiking with the children3. Snack Breaks

After the natural first section of the river boulders was passed, we handed out some mandarines and chocolate bars, had some water and continued on.  At this stage, we promised the kids a doughnut when we reached the top!  This fabled treat was enough to drive them on!  We were able to take the trek relatively slowly and could stop for frequent drink breaks along the way.

4. A Wrong Turn

The two boys aged 6 and 8 were in the lead, and we allowed them to lead us up a very difficult steep and slippery section which really challenged us, before we realised that there was no more pink flagging which meant we were no longer on the track!  But oh well, we had made it to the top of the cliff, albeit in a different section to the normal walk!  It was easy to retrace our steps once we realised our mistake but getting back down that slippery bit was definitely more challenging than going up!  But we just had to keep calm and carry on, there was nothing else for it.  Hiking with the childrenAt the bottom of the steep bit, we noticed the flagging heading off to the right of the cliff along the correct path and promised then that we would have to return one day soon to finish the track properly.  This gave us the opportunity to provide an important lesson to the kids about never straying from the path and how to respond to injury or getting lost.  Make sure you all know what to do in an emergency and check conditions before you go on a hike.  

5. Timing

It took us an hour to get to the alternative top, and nearly 2 hours getting back down.  This was exactly the limit for our kids, luckily we had the promise of more treats at the bottom.  I wouldn’t attempt much more than this with kids this age and ours are definitely out of practice but they managed it well.  The one-year-old in the baby carrier was akin to having a heavy pack so was actually great fitness training for something like the Kokoda trail.  Hopefully, we can do this ourselves one day, and I think hiking The Leap and carrying the baby on your back is perfect to practice!

Take your time on the hike, remember to look around you not just down at your feet and really take in your surroundings.  Don’t try to hurry up the children either. Let them set the pace.  They are more likely to stumble if they are hurrying.  Slow down and enjoy the journey!

6.  Keep it Fun

This time, despite the wrong turn, hiking with the kids was super fun!  The track was adventurous and the boys enjoyed trying out their parkour moves from boulder to boulder.  We were dirty and tired at the end, but exhilarated too!  We love spending time as a family.Hiking with the children

7. Team Work

Brian and I took turns carrying big baby Mabel.  And we both motivated the team to do their very best and maintained enthusiasm and joy, in spite of the extra challenges we came up against.  We had funny chats, told jokes, sang songs and really hung out with the kids while journeying into the rainforest.  There were no tears!  No injuries!  Just plenty of fun and laughs and a sense of achievement.  Daisy told me all about her new ninja skills while she made up a song about family which she belted out at the top of her lungs loving the acoustics of the rocky canyon.

8.  Rewards

The satisfaction of climbing a peak could be your only reward, but Brian and I like to have a celebratory cold beer at the bottom to add to our satisfaction. (after a big thirst quenching water first of course).  We drip feed the kids little chocolatey treats along the way and treat them at the end with juicy fruits and water with the promise of ice-cream for dessert later on.Hiking with the children

9. Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Kids need to be encouraged to spend more time outdoors and to get amongst it!  My kids are in love with Xbox and especially enjoy playing Minecraft like so many kids their age, so when the opportunity arises getting them back to nature is super important.  They can be pushed, but we have learn’t not to push them too hard, or else they will back away instead.  So we use gentle encouragement and rewards to get them into the spirit of things.  A nice easy hike during the cooler weather was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and it was challenging, but also achievable.  Because we reached the top and came back down and then ticked the box, the children were really proud of themselves.  And we were proud of them too!

10.  Education

I try to never miss an opportunity for education.  Whether it be bird watching, or plant identification or geography of the mountain, the storytelling of urban legends, or a quiz on Disney movies to distract them, I am constantly trying to find ways to teach the kids little facts and information, even while on a hike.  I am super looking forward to homeschooling them next year while we travel around and using our time together to teach them the things that matter.  Hiking with the children

Hiking with the kids is rewarding and challenging at the same time.  It is extra tiring because not only do you have to do the walk yourself, but you have to continually motivate everyone and keep everyone together and keep them happy and fed and enthusiastic, and occasionally have to carry more than just the baby!  But it is enriching as well and the time spent with your family is worth everything! Hiking with the children

Get out there and explore the wilderness.  Be safe, and have fun!

-PIN IT-

Hiking with The Kids

 

Filed Under: All, Australia, The Best Family Travel Destinations Tagged With: hiking, walking

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Comments

  1. John

    August 30, 2018 at 6:01 am

    Great article about hiking with the kids, you have given some very actionable tips!

    I enjoy hiking myself, but with young children, I often don’t take them as they can get bored easily, but it is really a great thing to do as a family.

    Using your advice such as taking snack breaks and keeping it fun I think will really help.

    Maybe, I’ll start out on shorter hikes and see how it goes?

    Enjoyed the read, you look like you had heaps of fun 🙂

    Reply
    • Kris

      September 19, 2018 at 11:23 am

      Thanks John, It was a fun hike.  It was a really good length and difficulty level to tackle with kids my age, and I think starting out small would be the best advice!

      Let me know how it goes!

      Best wishes, Kris

      Reply
  2. TJSchlenker

    September 1, 2018 at 4:10 pm

    One of my FAVORITE things to do in life is climb mountains. I have been on the lookout for some way to take my now-14-year-old son mountain-climbing.

    Alas, I live in Michigan, where there are no mountains! The nearest ones are 5+ hours away which makes it really hard for scheduling. One day tho’, this WILL HAPPEN!! I mean, something has to wean him away from “Fortnight” (It USED to be Minecraft).

    I liked walking through your trip with you through the large pictures. Makes me wanna try it. Hopefully you’ll see MY walk-through online one day with my son.

    I just don’t know if I’ll have a creepy tale to go along with it like YOU did. LOL

    Reply
    • Kris

      September 19, 2018 at 11:16 am

      Haha yes my sons are also into the Minecraft/Fortnite phase at present.  And I think the creepy tale actually helped to keep them interested in a way.  There are a few good climbs around where we live here, we are tackling them one by one!  I hope to see you and your son finding some mountains soon!! 

      Thanks for commenting, kind regards, Kris

      Reply
  3. roamy

    September 5, 2018 at 11:11 pm

    Hi Kris
    This is a real eye opener, I never thought it`s possible to hike with kids, to me I always thought they are these little people who will feel bored and never stop complaining of the sun when you`re out there with them.
    But reading your post, I can already see where I miscalculated hiking with kids, I love my hikes and can do almost 4 hours one way and I think where this is where the problem is.I should start small and increase with time.
    Another mistake most of us make when hiking with kids is forgetting treats but as said, I learned quite a lot of things to do right reading this post.
    I checked some of your other posts too and feel so motivated to get out there. Unfortunately, the sunny weather will soon be gone but this is a post I must save for next year.
    Really appreciate you sharing this, informative and very helpful.

    Reply
    • Kris

      September 19, 2018 at 11:05 am

      Hi!  Thanks so much for the comments.  I am so happy to hear that our article has resonated with you!  Please consider subscribing to our email list so you will be the first to get our new articles as soon as they are published.

      Kind regards and happy hiking!

      Reply

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