Ideas for helping kids enjoy hikes and scouting new areas.

[CMF]

One thing we do with ours(7,9,12) is have a scavenger type hunt. Deer tracks, a scrape or rub, mushroom, butterfly, whatever is expected in the area we are in. The less likely it is the higher the point value(determined by me/wife). At the end they end they add it all up to see who wins and we give them 5$ or something to spend at dollar store.
We also run trail cameras and that gets them excited to see what is on them.

 

[CameronIdaho]

This Saturday my 7 year is joining me for a scouting trip and he is all excited to go scouting to "see big bucks" and get junk food snacks. I hope we can at least see some wildlife to get him hooked! Haha

 

[BronkoRob]

Again, great advice. I’ve got some New ideas. My 8 year old son isn’t nearly as excited about getting out as I am.

when we go out we do geocaching. He likes the treasure hunt aspect of it, the take a thing/leave a thing part, and I let him navigate when we get closer to the cache. Depending on where we go, he does carry around his little BB gun to take pot shots at random things. When things aren’t going well or he isn’t into it, I don’t do much pushing before we call it quits.

i don’t want to crush his sole out there and really make him hate being outside and if he gets into it, he gets into it, if it’s not his thing, so be it. Looking back at myself, I think it took me into me teens to have the patience you need to scout and just stare into the wild for hours and hours. So I try to keep it entertaining as well, which might be counter productive when it comes to looking for animals.

 

[rclouse79]

My son is 11 and is on his second hunting season. This year is a complete 180 from last year. His first year felt like he was dragging through the woods and didn’t really want to be out there. This year he has been kicking butt and seems to be having a lot more fun. I credit a lot of that with him joining the middle school cross country team. He just got done with that and is doing wrestling now, which I think is one of the most physically demanding sports out there. Hopefully he gets in good enough shape that I can just use him instead of renting a pack animal.

Edit: And don’t forget the snacks. Lots of snacks.

 

[STAGHOUND]

Get them some glass.

 

[hh76]

Keep in mind that all the brush that we push easily through is rough on a 4' tall kid. Take your time and make sure to stomp down the thick stuff.

My 10yr old is happiest when he gets to call the shots. If I can get him a map and some gps waypoints, he'll gladly lead the way just about anywhere. When I make him follow me, he complains a lot!

Every kid I've hiked with has loved to stop and build a fire to heat up lunch. We usually make that the destination for our hikes.

 

[NorthIDHunter]

I don't have any real advice, as I have experienced some similar things. I do know that for the most part 7 and 5 are still pretty young. Mine are 5, 8, 9, 12. They all love adventures and honestly can walk 200 yards and then be completely lost in a world of imagination, I found it hard to let them "stop" and not pushing to some end goal, not that that is a bad thing, but when they were younger they were much more interested in "exploring" even it was just a creek bottom 200 yards from the truck. We quickly learned though that it gave my wife and I some "alone" time.

I really like the idea of having them pack their own snacks and pack their own water. I was actually looking at different options for kids day packs and or water hydration packs.

 

[Fry]

Since this post got raised from the dead, ill add another:

Candy. When they get a little sluggish give em some starburst or skittles. No chocolaye thats borderline healthy. You want pure highly refined sugar treats.

Toys. We carry some beach toys for them to play in the mud at a creek crossing or at the end of the trail. This makes it fun to them. Sometimes we make it a few miles, sometimes half a mile. But we let them play, they are outside in the dirt.

We collect things and put in a bucket - leaves, sticks, acorns (try to avoid rocks cause they are obviously heavy).

We also play a game called stone the hippies. The kids have a picture of a granola vegan in teva sandals hiking and if they see one while hiking they get to throw everything in there bucket at them. Kind like a scavenger hunt. Wife hates that game, but im only kidding. Or am i…

 

[black dawg]

They all change what they like to do somewhat every year. Alot of short hikes is way better than one long one. Have one kid that if there are fish at the end of the trail, regardless of length of walk or difficult or weather we are going. No fish, they will go but complain.

 

[Newtosavage]

Not sure if this is what you want to hear, but I'd say don't sweat it. My son (now 27) didn't really enjoy outdoor things when he was young. I took him hunting as much as I could, trying not to overdo it, but he hated fishing. Fast forward 20 years and after moving to Colorado he took up backpacking with some friends and discovered he loved it. He backpacks all the time now, often by himself, and has all the latest lightweight camping gear. He probably has more nights logged in the backcountry now than I do. And this was a kid I could barely get interested in the outdoors when he was young.

Plant the seed and then let them navigate their own way. Chances are they will become young adults that finally appreciate what you were doing with them.

 

[Newtosavage]

They all change what they like to do somewhat every year. Alot of short hikes is way better than one long one. Have one kid that if there are fish at the end of the trail, regardless of length of walk or difficult or weather we are going. No fish, they will go but complain.

LOL that's my youngest daughter. I couldn't get her to walk through a puddle of water, but if I told her there were lots of fish at the end of a 2 mile hike through the marsh, she's game. Crazy, but it is what it is.

 

[DylanE]

My kids (7 and 4) didn’t love hikes, but I got them into mushroom hunting and now it’s like a treasure hunt for them.