Top Ten Tips for Hiking with Toddlers
Explore the outdoors with toddlers!
My husband and I love hiking and exploring the outdoors. After having two kids two years apart, we found we needed to tweak our hiking routine a bit to accommodate toddlers. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, detaching from screens and gadgets, and exercise are all huge advantages of getting out and enjoying Mother Nature!
Here I will share with you my top tips for having successful hiking adventures with toddlers!
- Be realistic. Start with small hikes! Getting kids into the routine is half the battle, so set yourself up for success and start with a short hike.
- Start early! Chances are, your bubbling brood is up at 5 am on a Saturday already (no? just mine?), so hop in the car and start the hike first thing in the morning! Plus, the trails will be quieter and it pretty much guarantees the kids will zonk out for nap after the hike.
- SNACKS. Different kinds. Healthy, moderately healthy, and sugar bombs. We start with the healthy snacks and save the candy if we need to do some serious bribery at the end of the hike.
- Plan your route. Then plan your backup route for meltdowns. Is there a shorter loop? While it’s great to plan for a 4 mile hike, it’s even better to have a backup plan of a 2 mile route. Let’s manage our expectations with toddlers!
- Have a backup plan. My two year old is stubborn and wants to walk! However, I will now always pack my Ergobaby Four Position 360 Cool Air Mesh Baby Carrier
for hikes because it is light, breathable, and easy to pack so I can toss the toddler on my back and finish the hike! On our last hike I didn’t bring it because we were planning a very short route, but little O still ended up on our shoulders for the last part of the trail.
- Water bottles. One part hydration + one part distraction = happiness for everyone. My kids are obsessed with the Contigo Kids bottle. It’s durable and doesn’t spill. My kids love to flip the straw up and down, and it comes in fun and bright designs! This is our favorite: Contigo Kids Water Bottle
- Towels, dry clothes, and shoes in the car. Everyone is happier with dry feet at the end of a hike! The toddlers will be happy with a dry change of clothes, so everyone will be happy!
- Sunscreen & hats. Protect their sensitive skin from burns! We love hats that also have neck guards, like this Navy Blue Baby Sun Hat with UPF50 Sun Protection by Sun Smarties, Size Small
. I tell the boys they have Batman hat-capes. Super cool for now, until they are endlessly tortured in middle school if they still let me dress them in their hat capes. But hey, at least they will have beautiful, un-burned skin!
- Layers. Pack for all conditions and if it’s chilly to start, dress the kids in layers so you can peel them off one by one.
- More snacks back in the car. You can never have too many snacks for toddlers. And more for you, because the kiddos will probably eat everything!
for hikes because it is light, breathable, and easy to pack so I can toss the toddler on my back and finish the hike! On our last hike I didn’t bring it because we were planning a very short route, but little O still ended up on our shoulders for the last part of the trail.
. I tell the boys they have Batman hat-capes. Super cool for now, until they are endlessly tortured in middle school if they still let me dress them in their hat capes. But hey, at least they will have beautiful, un-burned skin!Bonus tip: If you are hiking with toddlers and dogs, I definitely recommend harnessing the energy of the pups and allowing them to carry some supplies! Our dogs tend to be more focused when they have on their dog backpack, which can be found on Amazon here , and it lightens the load for us! Win, win.
Fun fact: Pre-kids, the hubby and I would walk to the local market and fill our dog’s bag with either a 6-pack of beer or two bottles of wine (can’t get just one bottle–the pack would be lopsided!!)
I hope you enjoy these tips for hiking with toddlers! To receive more tips and updates from Mud and Merlot, sign up for the newsletter!
