How to Motivate Your Kids to Hike
Hiking offers families a fun way to explore, spend time together, and stay active. However, kids are not always the most willing participants. It can be a challenge to keep them engaged and eager to keep going. Here are a few tips and tricks to motivate your kids to hike.
1. Make it part of their identity. Talk about hiking and make it fun! Tell your child that hiking is a neat way to see new places and let them know they are capable. Simple statements like “You’re a hiker!” actually mean a lot. Another way to add hiking to their identity is buy some small accessories, like hiking stickers, a pair of binoculars, or a compass.
2. Invest in good hiking shoes. Having quality shoes makes a big difference in hiking. The treads on hiking shoes help prevent missteps and falls. These toddler/kid hiking shoes by Merrell have been our go-to for years - we have four pairs ranging from size 5 to 12! We also recently tried this kid pair by Keen and it’s been a favorite of our older son.
3. Bring kids into the planning process. As you choose a hiking trail, share the details with your child. Show them pictures of the views. Look on YouTube to see if there is a video about the trail or about something you’ll find on the trail. When kids know what to expect, it actually builds their excitement!
4. Choose a hiking trail with kid-friendly features. When selecting a trail, consider ones that have features that kids particularly enjoy, like rocks, streams, sticks, etc. Be sure to choose a trail with a manageable elevation gain.
5. Have a carrying plan for kids three and under. Young kids can learn how to hike, but they may reach their limit before you return to the trailhead. For kids one and half to three years old, it’s good to have them start on their feet and then have a way to carry them when needed. We love our Osprey Poco LT carrier, as it’s incredibly light and compact but still packed full of features, like a sunshade and room for water bottles and snacks.
6. Offer an incentive. This one may be a bit controversial, but offering a reward or incentive may be the extra push your kid needs to get hiking. When we took a road trip through the national parks in Utah, we told our boys that they could earn a quarter for every mile they hiked. As we made our way through each hike, we’d update them on their progress. “You’ve already earned a quarter and you’re almost to your next quarter!” By the end of the trip, our older son hiked almost thirty miles.
7. Bring snacks and distribute at the halfway point. Everyone, adults and kids alike, needs fuel while hiking. Bring a few easily packable snacks, like granola bars, trail mix, and dried fruit. We also like to bring our favorite snack cooler bag and add cheese, sliced apples, and grapes. Our snack strategy is to offer half of the snack at the halfway point and distribute the rest when the hike is complete.
8. Make it a treasure hunt. Put those kid-friendly features (see tip #4) to work and have kids spot them throughout the hike. How many colors of wildflowers can you find? Who can find the longest stick? How many fallen trees do you see? Can anyone spot a cool bird? Take this to the next level by choosing a hike with a program geared toward kids, like the Junior Ranger programs at national and state parks.
9. Start small and gradually build up distance. As with all habits and practices, it’s good to start small. If your family is new to hiking, start with a half mile trail and build from there! We have three kids six and under and find that three miles roundtrip is a sweet spot for us.
10. Capture the memory. And finally… be sure to preserve the memory of your family hikes by taking photos, writing down funny quotes, or keeping a log of the hikes you complete together. Whenever we do a family hike, we always try to take a (slightly awkward) family selfie. It’s also fun to ask our kids to “pose like a hiker!” and get some cute shots. Print out the photos and put them on your fridge or add them to a scrapbook.
If your family is new to hiking or looking for new ways to make your family hikes fun, we hope these tips will help you venture out and hike more together. Don’t get discouraged if your kids complain (we’ve all been there!) - with practice, it really does get easier.
Note: I only share items that I use and love. If you choose to purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission. This supports our site and helps us make more content to spark adventure.