I love to take a family hiking trip to the Rocky Mountains.  Like everything you do with your family, they can be either fun or frustrating.  Here are some tips to make sure that your next family hiking trip is a fun one.

I recently wrote a guest post for Family Focus Blog on making family hiking trips fun.  This is a summary of that post.  Anything we do with our kids can be fun or frustrating.  More often than not everything we do is a little bit of each.  The trick is to make sure you, as a parent, have a good attitude and are doing just enough to keep the scales tilting more towards the fun side.  Following a few simple tips will help you and your kids have a fun outing, which will also strengthen your bonds as a family.

The Goal of the Family Hike is Fun

As a parent, we need to remember the focus of the hike should be on taking our time and exploring the natural world.  We need to adjust our expectations and not consider a hike a success or not based on how far we went.  Be comfortable with going slow, taking breaks, and smelling the flowers on the way.

Have Fun Along the Way on Family Hiking Trips

Be sure to stop and have fun along the way, doing whatever your family may enjoy doing.  You could stop at the boulders and let your kids climb around on them.  Or take a detour to the creek or river and play in the water for a few minutes.

Tips for Parents on Family Hiking Trips

Prepare ahead of time by packing everything you need on the hike.  Parents, you could learn about some nature facts about the area ahead of time to share with your kids on the outing.  This would help you all appreciate the area more than just passing through it.

 

For the complete post you can visit the Family Focus blog here.