Hiking with babies can be a lot of fun!
Here are 9 important pieces of baby hiking gear to bring along when hiking with a baby. Bringing these 9 items along will keep your outing fun.
Keep in mind that these items are in addition to the 11 essential items to bring hiking that you should already have with you. It is also important to be aware that all babies are different and what works great for one may not work for another. With that caveat out of the way, I feel that these items will help you enjoy your outing and not be worried that you are forgetting something. Hiking with babies is a lot of fun and definitely beats another trip to the local playground.
Baby Hiking Gear – 9 Must Bring Items
One important thing to keep in mind is the title of this post, which indicates this list is for babies. These are the 9 items I suggest bringing along when hiking with a baby, not a toddler or a child. In other words this list is only for babies up to about 1 year of age.
Baby Hiking Gear – 9 Must Bring Items
On the left is a good baby carrier and then when they get older you can graduate to a bigger pack!
Baby Carrier – the most important thing that you need to bring along when hiking with a baby is some kind of carrier for the baby. There are lots of different types out there, but we always used the Baby Bjorn. It was easy to put on and it held the baby snuggly up against you chest.
Diapers – Obviously you need to bring along a bunch of diapers. Just like you wouldn’t leave the house without the diaper bag, you now have to transfer most of the items from the diaper bag into your backpack. One suggestion is to keep a few clean diapers in ziplock or other plastic bags. Then when you need to change the diaper you already a spot to put the dirty one.
Wipes – or as I always think of them, but wipes. These are so incredibly important when hiking with infants for the obvious reason of changing a diaper. They are also useful for wiping off faces, hands, or anything else that gets dirty, such as a dropped pacifier.
Extra pacifier – Not all babies use these, but if you do I would strongly suggest bringing along an extra one. When hiking it is easy for one to get dropped, lost, or too dirty to salvage.
A small blanket or towel can come in handy when hiking with babies or kids.
Small blanket – In the beginning we would bring along a small changing pad, but over time we began to just switch that out with a small blanket. The small blanket serves many uses.
It can be a great place to take the baby out and lie down on when you take a break from hiking, such as by a lake, river, or peak. Or it can also be very convenient to use to change the diaper on.
Sometimes if it became very hot out we would use the blanket as a cover over the baby in the carrier to create a sun-shade.
Food – This could mean just bringing along Mom so that she can breast feed. Or it may mean bringing along a pre-heated bottle that is ready to go.
Plastic Bags – bring along server good plastic bags that can be used for dirty diapers or trash, or to hold fun things you find on the trail.
Extra Clothes – personally, I got in the habit of always brining along an extra set of clothes to change the baby into. You never know when something may happen, such as a blowout and you need to change clothes. I recall one unfortunate time hiking with my baby when she had a blowout and I had to change her clothes. The worst part was it took her crying for a long time until I realized what had happened. I simply thought she was tired and would fall asleep…whoops.
Rain Cover – you should try and find a baby carrier that has some kind of rain cover that is compatible with it. If though your baby is still only a few months old and is in a carrier on your chest then you could just bring along a big raincoat for yourself (one that is big enough to cover you and your baby on your chest.). A raincoat over your and your baby is not ideal, but it will work for a short time to keep your baby dry and happy.
Click here for your FREE PRINTABLE packing list now.
FREE PRINTABLE PACKING LIST OF BABY HIKING GEAR
Getting out the door is hard enough with a baby without having to think of everything you need to take. Thus, I wanted to make it easy for you to and created a printable packing list. This list means that you don’t have to remember everything when you take your baby hiking.
Instead you can just pull out this list and then pack what is on it. Hopefully, this will make it easier for you to get out the door and on a trail with your baby.