- Image by Rubén Marcos via Flickr
One of the cheapest but most rewarding of family activities you can do with kids of any age is to hike. There is a series of great books on this – here is the one I use
A few things to remember about the family hike:
1. Pack more water than you think you will need.
2. Pack more food than you think you will need. Use trail friendly snacks like granola, granola bars, nuts, and fruit.
3. Pack more clothing than you think you will need. You never know if the hike will take much longer than advertised.
4. Bring a map and a compass, just in case!
5. Make the hike interesting for young ones. Point out items of interest, clouds in cool shapes, and uniquely colored leaves or trees.
6. Sing! Hikes are a great opportunity to get some music time in.
7. Put one person in charge of following the trail and marking it, if you need to, and another on keeping an eye on the kids. That way, you both know your primary duty on the trail.
8. Take out what you bring in. That means you will need to bring some odor disguising bags for dirty diapers and such.
9. Take pictures! It is fun to help your younger children process the hike later if they can see where they were and what they did.
10. Use back-friendly devices! You will end up carrying someone, if not everyone, at a point in the hike. Don’t bring a purse or a backpack with poor shoulder supports. Bring the comfortable stuff! That goes for shoes and clothes too.
Enjoy!!
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I agree! Great tips too. We always bring too much food because we get distracted by our surroundings and forget to eat. ;0)