Fall is a great time to explore parks and trails, when weather is cooler and leaves are turning all hues of orange, red and brown. But you need more than water and high-energy snacks to enjoy a family hike. To maximize the fun, try these suggestions.

by Justine Ickes

Ready, Set, Go!

Taking the time to plan your family’s next outdoor adventure can mean the difference between an okay experience and a great one. Follow these steps:

  • Choose a trail that matches your family’s hiking skill and experience. Always pace your outing to the youngest or slowest walker in your family and build in rest breaks. If your family is new to hiking, choose a short, easy, circular trail. Paved trails are great for families with children of different ages and abilities because they are accessible by bike, stroller and foot. Once you’ve built up your family’s endurance, you can attempt longer and more challenging trails.
  • Familiarize yourself with the trail before you go. Use your local library and the Internet to gather resources about the area you’ll be exploring. For example, the National Park Service offers a free, downloadable Junior Ranger Activity Book with age-appropriate activities like using a map, identifying trees by their bark, fruit or leaves, and interpreting trail signs. National Park websites also offer maps of the sites that make up the parks system, including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield.
  • Make sure you time it right. Determine the best time for your hike, based on your family’s routine, and plan around nap time. A good rule of thumb is to double the estimated time you think the hike will take.
  • Match the destination to your children’s interests. Is there a star-gazer in your family? Your local nature center or botanical garden may offer guided walks on full moon nights, Halloween, the winter solstice or other special evenings. Your budding paleontologist might enjoy helping park archaeologists to unearth and interpret the prehistoric remains of dinosaurs, plants and early mammals. Are there Boy or Girl Scouts in your family? This time of year, a corn maze is a good place to let them practice their orienteering skills. 
  • Take advantage of free or low-cost hands-on exhibits, theme gardens, guided hikes, and educational programs. Georgia State Parks and some regional parks offer family-oriented programs on a range of topics.

Out on the Trail!

The key to kid-centered hikes is to focus on exploring and enjoying, not on a distance to cover or destination to reach. Try these ideas:

  • Lift up or roll over a log or rock and investigate what’s underneath. A magnifying glass and box are useful for holding and observing small creatures. Just remember to release any creature next to where you found it and take care not to crush any plants or insects when you replace the log or rock.
  • Fill up a small bag or jar with objects you find along the way. Try to use objects with a distinct texture or smell – a pine needle, a feather, a seed pod, for example. Ask your children to close their eyes and to guess what each object is using only their sense of touch or smell.
  • Plant a fake item along the trail and challenge your children to spot it. Choose objects that are small and easily overlooked – such as a pipe cleaner animal, artificial flower or toy insect – so that your kids develop their powers of observation.
  • Stop walking, close your eyes and listen for a minute. Then invite everyone to name, describe or imitate what they heard.
  • Encourage children to move in different ways. They can take giant steps, small steps, skip, pretend the ground is quicksand, play red light/green light, or imitate animals.

We made it!

The fun and learning don’t have to end when the hike does. Encourage your family to create memories with these activities:

  • Record your hikes in a journal. Family members can take turns recording the sights, sounds and sensations of your outings. Even younger children who can’t yet read and write can glue in trail maps, make leaf rubbings, trace natural stencils or draw pictures.
  • Use a map or Google Earth as a prop. Invite your children to recount the high and lows of the experience. For example, “Here’s where we walked over that log bridge.”
  • Show your photos to an expert. Often a naturalist or park ranger can identify a strange critter or plant you came across on a hike. The best family hikes have equal doses of planning, flexibility and child-friendly adventure. Keep this in mind and your next hike will be “a walk in the park.”

Safety on the Trail

  • Familiarize yourself with the trail and plan your route before you leave home.
  • Let friends or family know where you’re going and your route.
  • Carry a cell phone with a fully-charged battery.
  • Carry identification with your name, phone number and any important medical information.
  • Stay alert, be observant about your surroundings and avoid areas where visibility is poor.
  • Follow your intuition about unfamiliar areas and people you meet on the trail.
  • Allow enough time to complete your hike before dusk and never use trails after dark.

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