You are about to embark on the more difficult journeys of your life. Trying to get a tinny human to walk a long distance. Though daunting, it is extremely rewarding. Here are 5 steps to hike with a toddler how we do it
Disclaimer
There are countless ways to enjoy the great outdoors with kids. This is just the way we have found success. We would love to hear how you do it in the comment below!
Have A Plan
If your are anything like me, planning things out comes naturally to you. For some reason, when we had Madilyn this part of my brain stopped working for a little. Something as simple as who, what, when, where and why can be enough if your are only bringing 1-2 toddlers.
I have found that minimally, have a park or trail network picked out the night prior. This gives you the opportunity to get your toddler excited about where you are going. It also helps make sure you work out the logistics of naps, lunch, snacks etc. The timing of when/ where you hit nap time and lunch can really change your whole day.
Generally, I have found nap time to be best after the hike. For us, this is was in the afternoon with Madilyn. My reason for this is your toddler will naturally be tired after all this outdoor activity. If you can line up their normal nap time with when they are the most tired, this can make for a peaceful ride home.
Bring Snacks
Snacks👏Snacks👏Snacks👏
Seriously. If you have not already figured this out about your toddler, they are constantly growing and have no understanding of their own energy limits. They will run full-tilt up a steep hill and be surprised they are tired at the top. Having something fast, tasty and preferably nutritious is exactly what you need to keep the little legs moving
Be careful with timing lunch. When I was learning how to hike with a toddler, I rediscovered the concept of “getting a stitch”. I have been playing sports and running for a long time so a light lunch before setting out on a mild hike is no big deal for me. For your toddler, it is. I made this mistake once.
Madilyn and I crammed down a sandwich and an apple before setting out on a great hike at Cliffs Of The Neuse State Park. 5-10 minutes into it, Madilyn had to completely stop. The rest of the hike was a rotation of rest, slow walk, forgetting about her stich, walking faster, getting the stitch again and repeat. I have found that a LIGHT lunch at the mid point or the end of your hike is the sweet spot.
Be Realistic
This is particularly important if you were an avid hiker prior to having kids. Now that you have a tinny human that walks, you need to re-assess what success looks like for a hike. You may have been able to hike 5-7miles on a good hike when it was just you and maybe even when your kid was a baby in a backpack.
Now you will stop often to let your toddler assess the rocks/leaves/acorns/that thing over there that you didn’t see but they insist is there…. you get the idea. Your toddler is constantly discovering new things about the world they live in. A hike will likely expose them to many more things they have never seen before.
I realized early on in learning how to hike with a toddler that about 3 miles was the magic distance for us. We were doing mostly flat and easy trails plus I was fine with carrying her on my shoulders now and again. This also made it easy to build in time for her to stop and learn about…. more…acorns.
Stay Flexible
Like with so many things involving toddlers, understand nothing goes to plan. On one occasion at Medoc Mountain State Park, we were on our way to the trail head when Madilyn told me she reeeeealy wanted to walk out on this little dock for canoes. I generally stay away from docks, not sure why but she was really interested in it. We walked out on the dock to this surreal scene of bright blue sky and crisp green on the water. I would have never stopped and seen this if it was not for her odd request.
Good thing we did stop because by the time we were leaving the dock, she also informed me her diaper was entirely full and nearly overflowing. Thank goodness we were less than 5 minutes to the visitor center for a full clean up.
You may want to get to an overlook or show them that waterfall but there is no shame in turning around after the first mile if you need to. That brings me to the last point.
Have Fun
If you could take only one thing from this list of 5 Steps To Hike With A Toddler it would be this. Have fun. Chances are, you forgot something at the car or your toddler is in a mood today or the trail is washed out or the park just is subpar or your toddler made a dumb face just as you were about to get the perfect photo (see thumbnail) or a million other things. Take a deep breath and look for a way to have fun and make a memory together.
Did you just realize there is a playground here? Let them check it out. Live turtles in the visitor center? Its worth being 10 minutes later getting home for them to play a little with Tutu and BoBo the Turtle twins.
One day I decided to check out Umstead State Park and chose the trail closes to the main road. It seemed to be directly under all the RDU airport traffic. Madilyn constantly was confused about all these loud and distant sounds. We had a hard time getting done with the hike but I remembered something. The RDU observation park was not far from where we parked. So rather than continuing to explore the park, I decided to take Madilyn to go learn a little about planes by watching them land/take off.
This is not an easy thing to do but every single time her and I set out on a trail I know I am going to make a memory with her. The smile on her face when she sees something new or spectacular in nature is worth it every time.
Overall
Toddlers are a hurricane of energy that constantly make opportunities for life long memories. You have a brief opportunity to be a part of that and you decided to share the great outdoors with them. Good on you! Do not get discouraged if things do not go like you expected and try again. Every time we get on the trail, we are a little better than the time before. Hope you like 5 Steps To Hike With A Toddler
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