Backpacking offers a great way to bring your family into nature, and grow a lifelong love of the outdoors in kids. It can be daunting to consider taking children on a backpacking trip, but if you plan it correctly and accommodate their needs, your family will have a wonderful time outside. Like always, planning is paramount, and if you’re prepared, you’ll have a good trip!
If you want to take kids backpacking, it’s imperative to make it fun, inclusive, and accommodating. Be ready to carry a little extra weight (especially if your kids are on the younger side), and to travel a bit slower. If you want to push the pace on hard terrain, that’s likely not the place to take children. Taking kids backpacking should be about encouraging a love for nature, and letting them have fun in the outdoors.
While you may be worried about the next few miles you plan to hike, a kid is going to be looking out for something interesting or cool to seek out, and you should be prepared for that. Let the kids carry a pack with a little weight (If they’re old enough to adequately do so), and give them some responsibilities around camp to be inclusive. It’s also a good idea to lean towards shorter distances and trip lengths, especially early on, but that will vary per person of course.
If you want to get your kids into outdoor adventures, I also recommend starting them early. It doesn’t have to be anything serious, things as simple as camping trips are a great way to start taking the family into nature, and getting children acclimated to outdoor activities.
Camping, climbing up some small boulders, fishing, roasting s’mores, and hiking are all good examples of ways to begin introducing children to outdoor activities and sports. Backpacking is also a great choice, but it will come more naturally if a kid is already used to hiking and camping.
How Do I Know When They’re Ready?
While you can never truly know how kids will take to backpacking and outdoor activities, there are a few things you need to consider to decide if your kids are ready for a backpacking adventure.
Can They Hike The Planned Route?
If you’ve never taken a kid on long distance hikes, there’s no way they’ll be ready for backpacking trips. If a kid has hiked 5 or 6 miles with you in the past, your trip should be accommodating for that. Maybe they won’t even get that far with a pack! If the terrain is too rough, and the distance too far, your trip will most likely be less than stellar. The distances you go will vary based on the child’s age, distances hiked before, and so on. As long as you’re considerate of their ability when planning your trek, it should be a great time!
Are They Comfortable Camping?
Backpacking is a step-up from camping out of a car, and if a kid doesn’t enjoy that, camping with a pack likely won’t make it better. Taking children on some more relaxed camping trips in more remote areas is a great way to get them acclimated to sleeping in nature, and being comfortable outdoors.
Making camping a fun experience for children will make it much easier to eventually acclimate them to backpacking trips. While you don’t need to go on a huge list of camping trips before a backpacking adventure, it’s a wonderful way to test the waters beforehand.
Are You Comfortable With It?
It can be daunting to plan for and account for multiple people on a backpacking trip. While you most likely have experience backpacking if you want to take your kids on a trip, be sure you’re up to the challenge.
You probably won’t be pushing yourself physically as much as you would on other trips (Besides maybe having to carry a child and some extra weight along the way), but if you don’t feel comfortable on backpacking trips, you may want more experience yourself beforehand.
Planning For The Trip
While planning your trip will overall be similar to planning a backpacking trip that you would take, safety, fun, and accessibility should be greater concerns. Everything will move slower if you’re taking kids backpacking, especially if they’re younger. Below are some factors to consider, but requirements will vary based on the trip and your kids.
Travel time, Campsites, And Daylight
Children aren’t going to be able to push a hard pace until they’re a bit older, so you need to understand the potential trails you will take, their intensity, elevation changes, and how far you plan to go. It’s also a good idea to consider how much time you plan to spend hiking, and how much you want to spend on your campsite. If your kids are comfortable on a longer hike, you may need to get up earlier and plan to be on the trail longer. In winter, you won’t have as much daylight, so poor planning may leave you in a difficult situation in the dark.
Accessibility
While you may be comfortable on a remote trek, it may bother you to take children on a backcountry adventure. When planning your trip, account for the locations of your vehicle, Ranger stations, nearby towns, restaurants, hospitals, and so on. This may require additional planning if you are not comfortable with being farther away from resources and transportation. While you may not need any of these things, account for your possible needs and comfort level in different situations that may arise.
Packing
It may be tempting to bring extra clothes and gear when you have kids around, but the same principles of packing for your trip apply to backpacking with children. Loading you and your kids down with clothes and gear will just make everyone less happy, and it’s only giving you more things to keep track of.
Pack similarly to how you would on a trip yourself, but maybe bring some baby wipes, a wet bag, and a couple of extra games (Cards are entertaining and lightweight) or a toy. Marshmallows are also a great, light, camp essential.
However, you should make sure that your kids have the right clothes and hiking shoes.
Attitude
Having a good attitude is essential if you want to have a good time backpacking with kids. You simply can’t push the pace like you may want to.
You have to go into it with a positive, happy mindset.
Lower Your Expectations
If you’re someone who wants to bring your kids on a backpacking trip, chances are you won’t be going at the pace you’re used to, and you won’t go as far either. Be comfortable with the idea of a casual trip, and until the kids are older and/or more open to hardcore experiences, remember that your experience may not be as intense as usual.
Stay Positive
It can be easy for kids to get discouraged, and they’re watching you and how you act along the way. If you’re getting frustrated, chances are that’ll rub off on your group.
It’s also important to consider that kids are going to do things like stop and climb boulders or trees, look at animals and bugs, and stray off the beaten path to explore. Your trip with kids is about having fun and enjoying nature, so meandering is part of the experience and your attitude should reflect that.
Backpacking with kids is a great and rewarding way to explore, educate them on nature, and enjoy the outdoors.
While you may be worried about taking children backpacking, it’s no different than planning a trip for yourself besides lower mileage. Above all, do what you feel secure with. Some parents or guardians who are very comfortable backpacking and performing outdoor sports may feel happy with a spartan adventure across peaks and hard terrain, and others may want a relaxed amble in the forest.
If you go into it with the right attitude, ready to have fun, and open to a relaxed amble through the forest, mountains, or desert, you’ll have a great time and your kids will too.
About the Author
Hussain from hikereneeds is a passionate hiker and traveler that love the outdoor and enjoys what nature has to give, whenever he can he love to write and give tips & honest reviews to help others get out there and just seek more unforgettable experiences