5 Tips For Hiking With Little Kids

We recently did the dumbest thing possible as first time parents. We took our 3 year old hiking on muddy Spring trails. Crazy, huh? After our big adventure in muddy puddles with our willful son, I did what I should have done before our family hiking excursion. Read about tips for hiking with little kids and toddlers from other parents who learned the hard way.

It doesn’t matter if it’s an early Spring or Summer hike. There are some things you must bring along with you that may make the hiking with little kids experience a bit more bearable.

Although it can be challenging to go hiking with toddlers and little children, the rewards are plentiful. Prepare, pack your your patience and have some fun! Here are some of our top tips based on our family hiking excursions.

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1 // The Right Footwear

Just as you would wear hiking boots or hiking shoes on a trail, so should your child. When it’s been a rainy few days, you might want to stick to easy trails and rain boots. Why? Because their treads aren’t the best for trails with roots and rocks.

For dry conditions, a good pair of hiking shoes is worthwhile investing in to make sure your child isn’t slipping around or injuring their feet or ankles.

It can be expensive to get hiking boots for toddlers and little kids when their feet grow so fast. If you opt-out of hiking shoes or boots, look for running shoes that fit well and have good treads. No flimsy sandals!

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2 // Clothes For Layering

Rule of thumb: there will be whining about being too hot or too cold when hiking with a little kid. A light jacket or sweater to keep the chill away or to strip off when the temperatures warm-up is a must! For hotter days, a long-sleeved white cotton shirt protects your child’s skin from sunburn. It also helps to spot any ticks that hitch a ride.

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3 // A Hat That Protects From The Sun

Hiking with little kids means you sometimes have to delay your excursion until mid-day. Temper tantrums, grumpiness and other fun little kid behaviours will derail your best-laid plans for a morning hike. Plan for all weather conditions, including hot blazing sunshine.

Get sun protection via a boonie hat! Look for a hat that covers the ears and shades the face. It should be a sturdy material that doesn’t allow sunlight through. We like boonie hats because of the coverage over the face. However, you can always use bucket hats if the brim is wide enough.

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4 // Snacks And A Beverage

What a great time to introduce your child to the deliciousness of trail mix! While nuts might be difficult to chew or perhaps your child has an allergy, there are other nibbles to consider.

Here’s our favourite mix: raisins, yogurt-covered berries, mini-crackers (e.g. Goldfish or pretzels), a few mini M & Ms.

For a beverage, watered-down fruit juice is a good way to boost energy and electrolytes without a huge sugar rush. Opt to get your child their very own water bottle with an easy-to-drink internal straw. It will prevent leaks but keep them hydrated. They’ll feel like they have their very own stuff for hiking the trails.

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5 // Their Own Backpack

Something that’s key when hiking with little kids is making sure they feel they have their own stuff. Toddlers and little kids like to emulate adults, so instead of fighting over who carries, yours, give them one of their own.

Avoid the temper tantrums and whining on the trail by providing them with their very own backpack. We got our son a cute dinosaur backpack in which he carries his water bottle, snacks, and a few knick-knacks. It’s also a great way to carry things he finds on the trail.

TIP: Add an old Ziploc bag to keep the bag interior from becoming dirty.

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Toddler And Kids Hiking Stuff We Love

Disclaimer: I received product samples from Hydro Flask and Sunday Afternoons to test out with my son. No other compensation was provided. All opinions below are based on our experience and personal feedback.

We tried out a couple of new items that are perfect for hiking with toddlers and little kids. My son is into boonie hats these days (copying Daddy), and he loves to sip out of cups with straws. So these two items are PERFECT for our three-year-old.

Hydro Flask 12 oz Wide Mouth Kids Bottle — (355mL) , CAD $35.95

This small flask is perfect for little hands. A BPA-free bottle that’s durable, and holds both cold and hot drinks it’s great for hiking excursions. It keeps cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours, and hot drinks hot for up to six hours. We love the drink straw lid as it’s easy to sip, doesn’t leak easily and is easy to clean. My son also likes that he can hold it and it won’t slip out of his hands due to the silicone cover.

Shop online at Hydro Flask (Canada and US deliveries). For ages 3+.

Sunday Afternoons Kids Clear Creek Boonie Hat

Boonie hats are the new bucket hats. We like them because they have a great little strap to keep a hat on your child’s head. It’s also crushable, so we can scrunch it up and put it into our son’s backpack when he doesn’t need it. There are a few colour options that are reversible so you get two hats in one. Our son liked the reptile one, as seen above. It goes well with his blue froggie jacket.

Teach them to protect their skin and their heads when they’re young! The Sunday Afternoons boonie hat is a wide, flexible brim hat with excellent ventilation and SmartStrap® safety technology for great reliable sun protection. UPF 50+ Certified sun rating. It’s sold at MEC stores in Canada, and online at Sunday Afternoons. Also, Sunday Afternoons hats are available on Amazon.com for US deliveries. Comes in various head sizes.

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A Few Things To Stuff Into Your Backpack

While there are key things to have for your child, here are a few other things to have with you or at least have in your car.

• Paper towel to wipe off muddy shoes/boots
• Sunscreen, SPF 60 or 110 – try to use a natural sunscreen like LASPA for your child’s skin
• Tweezers and a small, clear container, if you happen to notice a tick bite
• Allergy medication – Kids Benadryl
• A mini Emergency kit
• Cellphone in case of emergencies
• Toilet paper if there’s a kybo / outhouse around and your child needs a pit-stop

| Related: 10 Truths About Life With A Three Year Old

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Keep It Short & Sweet On The Trails

When it comes to family hiking with toddlers, keep it short and sweet.

• Unless your child is used to long walks, keep hikes to about a mile/kilometre or two maximum. Shorter legs require more steps, so little kids get tired on trails much quicker than adults. We also avoid giving our son anything sugary before a hike because he will crash. And when he crashes, his energy is gone. You’re bound to end up lugging your kid on your back if they lose all energy.
• Keep to the trail to avoid tick bites as much as possible. Ticks like to hang out on rotting wood and foliage.
• Your child will get dirty on the trails… just accept it!
• The final piece of advice for hiking with toddlers and little kids: scope out the trails in advance. Do your research online to see if they are easy trails. For little kids, rocky, steep trails aren’t the safest places to go for a walk. Not only can they twist an ankle or slip on rocks, if there’s an escarpment or cliff, it’s also very dangerous. We like to stick to easy trails and those where there are few dangerous areas.

That’s it! Have fun with the kids on the trails!

QUESTION: What are your tips for hiking with toddlers and little kids? What works for you? What is your biggest challenge when exploring the outdoors with your kids?

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