Family Hiking Tips: Making Memories with Your Littlest Ones

Hiking with little kids is such a great way to make family memories and help them fall in love with the outdoors.

My husband and I were enthusiastic hikers before we had children.  Many of our road trips centered around hikes we wanted to do all across the country.  Being able to keep hiking with little kids was something that often stressed me out before we actually became parents.

But we knew that we didn’t want to stop hiking once we became parents.  We also knew that we didn’t want to just wait until they were old enough to hike on their own two legs.  They might be old enough by then, but we (and our knees) would be that much older, too.  

But most importantly, we knew that we wanted to also help our children fall in love with hiking.

So we just had to figure out how to make it work.  I scoured the internet for tips on how to hike with little ones and definitely found a lot of encouragement. But I also saw a lot of posts with kids that were zonked out in their hiking packs and I knew that would NEVER be mine.  

So while there’s a lot of posts out there about hiking with toddlers, I wanted to offer some tips of what personally works for us (and our children who have pretty much never EVER fallen asleep while on the go.)

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1. Make Sure You Have Gear That is Comfortable for Everyone

For the littlest of babies, we used a soft carrier for our hikes. The Ergo Baby 360 allows for you to carry them on your front all nestled, on your front facing outwards, and on your back.

However, we ended up only using it on our fronts. We found that in the soft carrier on our backs they couldn’t see all that well. And for babies that don’t nap when on the go- they HATED not being able to see.

I did struggle though when they were on my front though feeling like I could really see where I was stepping. So as soon as we could switch them over to a structured carrier backpack, we did. The backpacks are far more comfortable for heavier babies AND they can see more.

Child Carrier Backpack

The right hiking pack is a MUST, and it’s going to be different for everyone.

aN oSPREY pOCO

My husband (and a good chunk of Reddit) swears by the Osprey Poco pack.  He’s hiked far distances for years with our oldest daughter and it’s held up fantastically. Even as a preschooler, it supports her and the weight is evenly distributed across his back and shoulders. (Better yet- ours was a hand-me-down from his brother- who used it regularly with all FOUR of his children.) 

Amazon has a more recent model here.

But even though he loves his Osprey- I found it incredibly painful.  The first time I tried to use it we had to DRASTICALLY reduce our planned hike.  I’m a full foot shorter than my husband and the Osprey just did not work for me AT ALL.  

I was initially discouraged- thinking the issue was me not being strong enough to carry our one year old. 

tHE Deuter Kid Comfort Active sl

And then I found this pack.  It was a total game changer for me.  Designed for smaller women in mind, it fits great and I’ve had ZERO back pain with it.  Our baby rides comfortably up top and it works for us.  (Do I still need to get stronger?  Absolutely.  But it’s not the pack’s fault anymore for feeling out of shape.) And while it was expensive, I figured it’s cheaper than lifelong back issues AND they do go on sale occasionally.

In addition to making sure it has the right fit for you, I’d recommend one that has a decent amount of storage AND one that has a sunshade for the baby. You’re not going to get as much storage as you would in a traditional daypack, but in mine I still had room for snacks, water, a diaper, and an extra layer for both me and my daughter with room to spare.

Hiking Boots and Poles for Extra Stability

The right boots:

You really want to make sure that you have boots that are sturdy and have a lot of good support- especially with a baby, toddler, or preschooler on your back.  Even on easier terrain, I still opt for my boots with ankle support just to make sure I’m not rolling an ankle and falling with my kid.

(I will never understand how people hike in flip flops. If that’s you, more power to you, but I will forever be in love with a boot that gives full ankle support.)

If you’re hiking in the winter, make sure you have an extra pair of crampons stashed away if you think you might encounter slick spots. This isn’t the time to be testing out your balancing skills.

If you’ve not had to really get a good pair of hiking boots before, this might be a good time to try some on at a local sporting goods store or outdoor footwear store. They can help you find the right fit and support to make sure both you and your little one are going to enjoy the hike.

Think about hiking poles:

Hiking poles are something that once I used- I never hiked again without them.  With a kid on my back- hiking poles are critical for me.

I like the extra support and steadiness they provide (especially when my toddler is distracting me by putting Cheerios into my hair.)

We just snagged a cheap pair at Walmart. I haven’t found a reason to spend much money on hiking poles yet.

2. Choose hikes with features that kids will find really enjoyable THROUGHOUT the hike

Think waterfalls, streams, historic buildings, cool bridges, and interesting rock features.

We used to be all about climbing as high and as far as we could to see an incredible view from the top of a mountain.

But sometimes those hikes can be a bit boring until you get to the very tip top.

So now we look for hikes that have features that interest them THROUGHOUT the hike.  

As a young toddler she LOVED any stream crossings.  It could be the tiniest trickle of water and she would squeal.

As she got around the age of two she started to LOVE rock features.  Outcroppings, arches, cliffs- anything like that she would say throughout the hike “More caves????”

All that to say- think less about the end destination of your hike and more about what the hike will be like along the way.

3. Let Them Have Some Choice in Which Trail You Take

If you’re deciding between two hikes, and they’re both the same to you, let your toddler or preschooler have some say.  Let them choose between a waterfall or a cliff outcropping. 

Kids feeling like they have some autonomy goes a long way in keeping them happy while they’re riding in a hiking backpack for hours.

4. Give Them a “Hiking Buddy”

Give them a small stuffed animal to keep them company.

For us, we got our daughters little black bear stuffed animals while in the Smokies.  We call them their “adventure bears” and anytime we go on a hike, they’re eager to grab them and bring them along.

We’ll hear them talking to their adventure bears or showing them the sites along the way.

It’s something fun and easy to keep them occupied AND they have special memories with their adventure bears.

Now when we say we’re going on a hike soon our preschooler will eagerly run to her room declaring “I’ve gotta grab adventure bear!”

5. Let Them be Explorers

If they’re past the age of stuffed animals, instead offer them a “navigation kit” and let them pretend to be explorers. Melissa and Doug make some cute hiking kits for kids, but you could easily put one together with a cheap compass, a pair of kid binoculars, and a map of the hike that you print off. (This is also a great way to get them excited about maps!)

If they’re old enough to write some or draw, give them a nature journal and have them sketch things they see along the way. (Even tell them that this is exactly what Lewis and Clark did if they’re interested in history!)

6. Brainstorm Some Songs or Games

Hiking can get a bit monotonous- especially if you’re just riding along.  So be ready with some songs to keep them engaged.  “Going on a bear hunt” is always a fun one.

OR if the songs are making you go insane, think about a counting challenge.  How many birch trees can they find?  How many squirrels do they see?  Give them some sort of goal to be looking for. (This is especially great when your toddler or preschooler are in their “I count EVERYTHING phase.”)

Also think of games you can play.  “I Spy” is a GREAT one for hiking (especially when you’re sucking wind going uphill and aren’t moving that fast anyways).

The Appalachian Mountain Club has a resource on fun games to play while hiking with kids here.

7. Snacks, Snacks, and More Snacks

This is a pretty basic one BUT it makes all the difference.

For our older babies or younger toddlers we give them something like Cheerios or Goldfish in a little Munchkin cup to keep them happy along with a water bottle.

For preschoolers- getting them involved in picking and packing their own snacks can really help get them excited about the hike.

Even better- let them pick out snacks they don’t often get OR MAKE SOME HOMEMADE ONES before you go.  My daughter loves homemade granola, so we’ll make some before a trip and it’s something that she really enjoys.

Also- stagger your snacks.  Make sure they’re not hungry, but definitely save the super exciting stuff for further along in the hike to give them something to look forward to.

8. Consider Off-Season Hiking

I know that summer is when everyone seems to love to be outside, but if you live anywhere that it climbs above 80 degrees, I just don’t get it.  Hiking in the summer with little kids has a lot of challenges- heat, sun, dehydration, bugs, sticky toddlers in a backpack.  It’s not my favorite.

Think about off-season hiking.  Honestly, besides it being more comfortable, we also think the hikes are a lot prettier at this time. 

In the fall, kids can enjoy all the fall colors or look for animals preparing for winter.  In the winter it’s a lot easier to see features like cliffs and arches without the foliage in the way.  And in the spring, they can see signs of winter ending and flowers starting to bloom.

It’s also so much easier to keep a kid warm than it is to keep a kid cool.

9. For Preschoolers and Older Kids: Think About Something for them to “Collect” Hikes

If your kid is a collector, think about something you could offer to them for them to collect after each hike.  

The National Park Service makes little tokens or badges for really popular hikes in certain parks.  If where you’re hiking doesn’t offer things like this, you could easily make them a little checklist that they bubble in. 

Just something small to keep them excited about “collecting” hikes.

Closing Thoughts

Hiking with our kids while they’re little is so much fun. It’s been so rewarding to be able to enjoy the outdoors with them and to see their own love for hiking start.