Wonder Walks: How To Get The Best Out Of Your Family Hike!

Going for a hike with the family is a fantastic chance to escape the pressures of modern life and spend quality time outdoors with your little ones! We’ve come up with a few ways that we think make the experience even better!

Make it an adventure

Who doesn’t love an adventure! Turn your family hike into an adventure by creating an imaginative storyline to accompany your trip! Your family could be a group of knights on a mission to save the kingdom: ‘ride your horses’ up and down hills and create ‘secret knight passwords’ to enter through gates that ‘lead to different realms’. Your little walkers will feel much more engaged when the whole family is on an adventure together! 

Be prepared

Walking with the little ones means have to be prepared for anything. That means making sure you pack things that might avoid a tantrum or (even worse) a miniature disaster! Take a bag with you with a few things that can avoid this from happening, our essentials are; snacks (‘hangry’ kids aren’t good for a walk), plasters (in case of an accident) and water (because hydration is always a good idea)!

Plan some stop spots

Try to plan your walking route around some good stop-spots! It’s a great way to break up the walk, for rest, exploration or eating! Lots of nature walks have a National Trust property or attraction of some kind for your little explorers to enjoy. If not, then spy out somewhere with a nice view and get out some snacks to refuel those walking legs! Obviously, there can also be a spontaneous stop around some natural wonders, like a large fallen tree!

Bring a forage bag

You’ll know from the number of times you’ve had to use wet wipes on their hands that kids love to pick stuff up! Try turning this into a positive thing by bringing a foraging bag. Bring along a bag that your little explorer can fill with little natural mementoes from the family hike! You can put some pinecones, shells, feathers or nice-looking rocks away and save them as mementoes of your great family hike!

Dress for mess

When is the last time you rolled around in the mud, splashed in a puddle or jumped into a huge pile of leaves? We’re not suggesting that you do, but your kids may want to, and that means dressing them for mess! Allowing your kiddies, the freedom to get messy on your family hike is a great way for them to have fun and be more a part of nature. Plus, dressing for mess means less stress for Mum and Dad!

Going on a family hike is a fantastic way to have some natural fun with the kids. All you need to do is be ready to let loose in nature! Our tips are just a few ways to make sure your little ones enjoy their time walking, but we hope that they’ll be the first steps towards lots of fun family hikes in the future!