We love to hike. In fact, a few years ago, my kids and I hiked about 18 miles in a week. But just because we love to hike, doesn’t mean a hiking trip isn’t filled with “Are we done yet?” questions. Or even some whining about how tired they are. And I know other parents deal with the same thing as they try taking their family on outdoor adventures.

Here’s a list I’ve put together with seven ways to make hiking fun for kids – because if the kids ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

Let Them Pick the Hiking Trail

Give your kid ownership of the itinerary and they’ll be personally invested in the hike.

My daughter planned a hike for our family vacation in Yellowstone National Park. We made the five-mile round-trip trek to Hellroaring Creek, and it’s one of the most memorable hikes we’ve been on. I found that when the kids have a say in which hike we took, they’re more willing to do what it takes to complete it.

Make Up Impromptu Stories

Our favorite way of keeping our mind off of “hiking pains” is to challenge each other to make up stories. For example, I was given two concepts: a haunted house and a pizza delivery guy. I spent the next 15 minutes recounting the story of a Papa John’s delivery guy bringing a pizza to a haunted house that eats pizza. It was a stupid story, but one the kids still remember.

I’ve also been tasked with telling a story about bananas that take over the world. The kookieness of it definitely took our minds off of the uphill climb.

Play a Variety of Games

Games you play in the car can also work while hiking. Here’s a list of a few games you can try:

• I spy with my little eye (have one person pick something in the distance and offer one clue “Something that is blue”; See if people can identify what the person sees)
• I’m going on a hike and I’m going to bring… (an alligator, backpack, car, doughnut, etc.)
• Build-on-stories (one person says a sentence of a story, and the next person has to add on to it, and so on)
• 20 Questions (one person picks a person, place or thing and everyone else gets to ask 20 questions to try and guess what the person is thinking of)

 

Bring Snacks and Drink Mixes

Snacks are a great motivator. Select an interval for how often you’re going to stop for a snack. Younger kids may need one every half mile. Older kids may have to stick it out for a full mile. It’s your call. Simple snacks that we carry with us include:

• Fruit snacks/fruit leather
• Granola bars
• Rice Krispie treats
• Trail mix
• Fresh fruit (pears or apples)

You’ll want to avoid anything chocolate or things that melt in the sun. That creates a mess you don’t want to have to deal with.

We also found individual drink mixes add some flavor to the water they need to drink along the trail. It keeps them hydrated and happy.

Write Your Own Song

While hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park on January, my daughter 10-year-old daughter was whining like you wouldn’t believe! I was trying everything I could to get her mind focused on something else, but nothing was working.

Eventually, after pulling my snowpants up for the millionth time, I decided to write a song about it. We had some good laughs about it, and it worked for a few minutes, but she still whined the rest of the uphill climb to the car.

If you complete your song on the trail, take a moment to stop and film a performance of it. Which ties directly into the next tip.

If You Give a Kid a Camera

In the age of digital photography, a kid can take a bazillion photos on a single SD card. And when a kid is focused on taking photos, they won’t be focused on the fact they are hiking.

We used this principle while hiking in Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park in Vermont. While a few of the kids chose to do the Junior Ranger program, the one who wasn’t interested kept busy capturing photos of the plants.

Later, you can show the young photographer their work and even print up a few for them to show their friends at school.

One of the post important things: Be sure they have the camera strap over their head so if they drop it, it doesn’t fall on the ground.

The “Just a Little Further” Principle

I’m notorious for pushing my kids to hike as far as they can and then some. I figure, if we get as far along the trail as we can possibly go, then walking back to the car is the only option. If there’s a specific destination on the trail – like Delicate Arch in Arches National Park – then have them keep that end goal in mind.

When they start complaining about how tired they are, we focus on a point ahead and say, “Let’s get there and then we can stop for a minute.” After a short break, we hit the trail again.

As the tour guide, that means I am required to have the patience to deal with the whining and complaining, but in the end, we celebrate the success of completing a three or four mile hike – sometimes 5+ miles. We end up with great stories about the hike, and the more we hike, the easier it will be in the future.

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