Hiking With Kids: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

If hiking with your kids has been sitting on your “one day” list because it feels like a massive undertaking, you’re not alone.

You might be wondering:

• What do I need to take?

• How far can my kids actually walk?

• What if someone gets hurt?

• What if I forget something important?

• What if the weather changes?

• What if we get lost?

• What if the whole thing goes horribly wrong?

  
  

There can be a lot of “oh no, that’s all too much for me to handle” floating around in your head before you’ve even put your shoes on.

But here’s the thing:

You don’t need to know everything before you start hiking with your kids.

You just need to start somewhere.

And that somewhere can be really, really small.

Hiking with kids doesn’t have to mean a big adventure

When I say “hiking with kids”, I don’t necessarily mean climbing a mountain with a 10kg pack on your back while your children cheerfully skip along behind you.

Hiking can be a short bush track.

A walk through the local park.

A trail you’ve done a hundred times.

Or simply getting outside together, away from screens and distractions, and spending some time noticing what’s around you.

Listen to the birds.

Stop to rescue a worm from a puddle.

Look at a cool bug.

Poke something with a stick.

Let them notice things.

That’s time outside. And it counts.

You don’t have to turn every outing into a mission.

In fact, if you’re new to hiking with kids, I’d encourage you to do the opposite.

Start painfully small

If you have no idea where to begin, make your first step so small that it almost feels ridiculous.

Walk around the block.

Walk to the shops.

Park further away from the entrance in the car park.

Walk from one shop to another instead of getting back in the car.

Take the kids to the local park on foot.

These little walks might not feel like hiking, but they’re doing something incredibly useful:

They’re putting time on feet.

You’re building the habit of walking without even really thinking about it.

Your kids are getting used to moving their bodies for longer.

You’re learning how they respond when they’re tired, hungry, bored or distracted.

You’re learning what they like.

You’re learning what makes them complain.

You’re learning what motivates them.

And you’re building a family habit without having to organise a giant expedition.

These tiny outings create micro habits that make bigger adventures much easier later.

Before you plan the epic bush walk…

Make sure you and your kids actually enjoy walking first.

One of the worst things you can do is have a fantastic idea for a beautiful bush walk with incredible views, pack everyone into the car and head off for several hours, when your kids haven’t been part of the preparation journey.

Their opinion of the task matters.

If they already associate walking with being tired, bored and miserable, your beautiful scenic hike may not go quite as planned.

Build up to it.

Start small.

Let them have some wins.

You can always go further later.

Choosing your first hiking trail

Once your family is ready to move beyond the neighbourhood, start with something simple.

I’d recommend choosing a trail that’s close to home if you can.

There are a few reasons for this.

You’re already familiar with the general area. You’ll have a better understanding of the local weather. It’s easier to get home if things aren’t going well.

And if you’re taking your kids hiking without another adult, you might feel more comfortable choosing a track closer to home which’s well-used where other people are around.

For a first proper hike, I’d look for:

• A well-formed, well-maintained track

• Straightforward terrain

• A distance that suits your family

• No unnecessary drop offs or tricky sections

• No significant river crossings

• Reliable access

• Mobile reception if your phone is your main form of communication

• Somewhere you feel comfortable being with your kids

  
  

As a very rough starting point, 5km return or less may be plenty for a family beginning to explore hiking, depending entirely on the ages and abilities of your kids.

But don’t get hung up on the number.

Kilometres aren’t the goal.

A 3km walk can be a massive achievement for one family and barely register for another.

Age gives you some indication of what a child might manage, but every kid is different.

Your job is to learn what your kids can do.

Do your research before you leave

I don’t recommend winging it.

There’s nothing worse than doing all the preparation, packing everyone’s favourite snacks, getting everybody dressed and mentally preparing yourself for the day…

Only to arrive at the track and find red tape across the entrance saying: DO NOT ENTER.

Maybe there’s been a recent storm, flooding, slip or other event that’s affected the track.

Sometimes changing your plans is simply part of being outdoors. You need to be comfortable with turning around, changing direction or abandoning the original plan.

But if you could have found out about the closure with five minutes of research beforehand, it’s worth doing the research.

Depending on the track, I might:

• Check current track information and alerts

• Search for recent information about the area

• Ask someone who has recently walked it

• Contact the local authority responsible for maintaining it

• Check recent weather events

• Look at the terrain and elevation

• Check whether there are river crossings or exposed sections

• Check the weather forecast

• Check whether mobile reception is available

With experience, this list becomes much easier to assess.

You don’t need to become an expert overnight.

The more time you spend on trails, the better you’ll become at knowing what matters.

Choose a track that gives you options

When you’re hiking with kids, flexibility is your friend.

This is one reason I particularly like there-and-back tracks for family hikes.

If everyone is doing brilliantly, you can keep going.

If everyone’s had enough, you turn around.

Simple.

A loop track or a track where you have to reach a particular destination before you can return can make things much harder if your three-year-old suddenly decides walking is done for life now.

You don’t want to be thinking:

“We’ve got another 4km to go before we can get back to the car.” when everyone is already cooked.

Give yourself an easy escape route.

What do you actually need to take when hiking with kids?

You don’t need to buy an entire outdoor shop before your first walk.

Start with the basics.

For a family day hike, think about:

• Water

• Plenty of food and snacks

• A rain jacket each for everyone

• Warm layers

• Sun protection

• A hat appropriate for the conditions

• Basic first aid

• Your phone

• Navigation

• Any medication your family needs

• Spare clothing where appropriate

And here’s something I’ve learned over the years:

Smart packing beats simply packing more stuff.

Overpacking is certainly better than being caught unprepared, but you can make your pack much more efficient by thinking about what everyone is wearing as well as what you’re carrying.

What should kids wear hiking?

You don’t need hiking boots to start hiking.

Good, sturdy footwear with decent grip, support and comfort is much more important than whether it has the word hiking written on the side.

As your family gets onto more challenging terrain, footwear becomes more important.

But you don’t need to buy a whole new wardrobe before taking your first walk.

Clothing is where things can get a little more important.

If everyone heads out wearing cotton T-shirts, cotton shorts and a cotton hoodie and then gets wet or sweaty, you’ve got a problem.

Cotton absorbs moisture and stays wet. Wet clothing can leave you cold.

For outdoor adventures, quick-drying and insulating fabrics such as synthetic materials, merino wool and polypropylene can be much more useful.

These fabrics can wick moisture away from the skin, and some insulating materials can continue providing warmth even when wet.

Think in layers.

And regardless of what the weather forecast says, a rain jacket for everyone belongs in the pack.

Because weather has a funny habit of changing its mind.

You don’t need to pack a beanie because it’s winter if you’re walking in 18°C sunshine, and you don’t need to carry a sun hat for everyone just because it’s sunny if you’re spending the day under dense tree cover.

There is nuance to outdoor gear.

The goal isn’t to pack for every possible weather condition on Earth.

It’s to understand the conditions you’re heading into and prepare accordingly.

Don’t underestimate the importance of food

If you want your family hike to have a fighting chance, food is one of your biggest allies.

Kids have faster metabolisms than adults, and hunger can appear very suddenly.

Please don’t be the adult saying:

“You can’t be hungry. We had breakfast two hours ago.”

If your child says they’re hungry, they’re allowed to be hungry.

Feed them before you leave and pack more food than you think you’ll need.

I like to think about snacks in three categories.

1. Something substantial

Something that will actually fill them up and provide some protein.

For example:

• Salami sticks

• Nuts, where appropriate

• Cheese

• Other substantial foods your kids enjoy

2. Something to keep them going

Things that are easy to eat while walking or during a quick break:

• Muesli bars

• Bliss balls

• Fruit

• Crackers

• Other family favourites

3. Something fun

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Sometimes you need a little morale boost.

A few gummy lollies or another sweet treat can be surprisingly effective when little legs are starting to lose enthusiasm.

This isn’t about bribing your kids to walk.

It’s about recognising that food is part of the hike.

Snack breaks are the hike.

How far can kids walk?

This is one of the questions parents ask all the time.

And unfortunately, there isn’t a magic number.

A five-year-old isn’t automatically capable of walking a certain number of kilometres just because they’re five.

Older kids will generally be able to walk further than toddlers, but every child has different physical abilities, interests and tolerance for walking.

Instead of asking:

“How many kilometres should my child be able to walk?”

I’d ask:

“What can my child comfortably manage right now?”

That’s information you can build from.

Start small.

Pay attention.

Increase gradually.

You’ll learn your kids.

And remember that distance isn’t the only measure of a successful hike.

Maybe you walked 2km and spent an hour investigating bugs.

Maybe you made it halfway around the track before turning around.

Maybe your child walked further than they ever have before.

That’s progress.

Kids aren’t miniature adults

This might be one of the biggest mindset shifts you can make when hiking with children.

Kids will:

• Get hungry

• Want to stop frequently

• Notice absolutely everything

• Walk slowly

• Get distracted

• Suddenly become exhausted

• Want to investigate something completely unrelated to the trail

• Ask how much further it is approximately 47 times

You will probably travel much slower and cover much less distance than you would without them.

That’s normal.

The aim isn’t to recreate the hiking experience you would have as an adult and somehow make your children fit into it.

You’re hiking with kids.

Let the experience be a family experience.

Keep your expectations low at first

If I could give you one piece of advice when you’re starting out, this would probably be it:

Set the bar low.

Really low.

Silly-small low.

Because you can always build up.

If your first outing goes brilliantly, fantastic. Do a little more next time.

If you walk around the block and everyone has a great time, you’ve won.

If you try to go too hard too early, you risk making the whole experience miserable before you’ve even built the habit.

And if your kids decide that hiking is something they hate?

You’ve got a much bigger problem to solve.

The goal at the beginning isn’t to cover impressive distances.

It’s to create positive experiences outdoors.

Let kids actually experience the outdoors

You don’t need to entertain your children every second you’re outside.

Let them look around.

Let them explore where it’s safe to do so.

Let them poke things with sticks.

Let them stop and look at a bug.

Let them notice the world around them.

Part of the magic of getting outside is that you don’t necessarily have to do anything.

You can walk without headphones.

You can put the devices away.

You can listen to birds.

You can notice the weather.

You can stop.

You can breathe.

Sometimes getting outside together is enough.

Know when to turn around

One of the most useful skills you’ll develop as a parent who spends time outdoors is knowing when to call it.

Don’t wait until everyone is completely exhausted, hungry, cold and miserable.

Read your kids.

You will start to recognise their early warning signs.

Maybe the whining starts.

Maybe someone suddenly needs to be carried.

Maybe snacks aren’t fixing the mood anymore.

Maybe everyone is getting slower.

That’s information.

Use it.

Turning around before the wheels completely fall off isn’t failure.

It’s good decision-making.

And it means you might finish the day remembering the cool waterfall, funny bug or ridiculous conversation instead of the spectacular meltdown that happened 800m from the car.

A few simple safety rules

You don’t need to be scared of hiking with your kids.

But you do need to take responsibility for your plans.

A few basics go a long way.

Leave your intentions

Tell someone you trust where you’re going and when you expect to be back.

This is often referred to as leaving your intentions.

If something goes wrong and you’re overdue, someone knows where you were supposed to be.

Have a way to communicate

Your phone is useful, but don’t assume you’ll always have reception.

If your phone is your only communication method, choosing a trail with mobile coverage is a sensible consideration.

If you have access to an emergency communication device such as a PLB, that gives you another option in areas where phone reception isn’t reliable.

Trust your gut

If you’re looking at a particular track or location and your internal alarm bells are going off, you don’t have to go.

Choose somewhere else.

You don’t need to prove anything.

There will always be another trail.

What if you get something wrong?

This is the bit I really want you to hear.

You will get things wrong.

Everyone does.

You might take too much food.

You might not take enough.

You might discover that your child absolutely hates the trail you chose.

You might forget something.

You might discover that the distance you thought was easy is actually a complete disaster with your particular combination of children.

That’s okay.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

How will you learn if you never try?

Pay attention to what happened.

Change what didn’t work.

Keep what did.

Try again.

That’s how you build outdoor experience.

You don’t need to be an expert before you begin

If you’ve been sitting at home thinking that hiking with kids sounds amazing but also completely overwhelming, I’d like you to take some of the pressure off yourself.

You don’t need all the gear.

You don’t need to know every trail.

You don’t need to be able to navigate a mountain range.

You don’t need children who naturally love walking.

And you definitely don’t need to start with an epic adventure.

Start with the smallest possible step.

Walk around the block.

Walk to the park.

Walk to the shops.

Put some time on your feet.

Learn what your kids are like outdoors.

Then take another step.

And another.

Nobody started anything at expert level.

The hardest part can be getting out the front door.

And once you’re through it?

You might discover that this whole hiking-with-kids thing isn’t nearly as complicated as it seemed from the couch.

Maybe you’ve already got the raincoats.

Maybe you’ve got some warm layers.

Maybe you’ve packed their favourite snacks.

Maybe this weekend you try something silly small.

You have to start somewhere.

So start there.