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Getting Started - 30 Great Trail Activities

Let's face it. Kids can get restless, even on a trail. Keep them busy and happy with the following:

  1. Let them pick the route: start at home and have your children choose the trail, the length and the snacks!
  2. Sing a song! Learn a song and sing it while you hike. If you're walking an abandoned railroad bed try "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Find a spider web and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." The song doesn't have to pertain to the hike, any song is fun while you hike.
  3. Scavenger Hunt: Who doesn't love a scavenger hunt? Prepare a checklist of items that they need to see (not collect). Remember the leave no trace philosophy when planning your scavenger hunts.
  4. Storytelling : Gather them around and tell one of your best hiking stories. Not a natural storyteller? A book will do!
  5. Take some time out to read! Bring along books for breaktime
  6. Fishing Teaching your children to fish can be fun. Get them their own little poles and have at it. The boys, and some of the girls, will even enjoy playing with the worms! If you catch any fish you can then show the kid's how to clean and fry them over the fire.
  7. Nature exploration : Let kids explore the great outdoors! Insects, flowers, trees, rocks and minerals, and birds are all great teachers!
  8. Nature Rubbings: Walk around and gather various textured objects such as leaves, tree bark, rocks or shells. Cover with construction paper and rub with crayon to make an imprint to keep. Return the natural item to where you found it.
  9. Build a campfire : If you are hiking in an area where campfires are permitted, gather round, tell stores, eat S'mores! Let children gather the firewood.
  10. Take a Night Hike : Explore the forest at night and engage amateur astronomers in some star gazing
  11. Bouldering & rock scrambling
  12. Skipping stones: teach your children the long lost art of skipping stones
  13. Swimming: Choose a trail that offers swimming near by, better even if you can hike into a lake or swimming hole
  14. Sketch: Bring along a sketch book and have children choose a natural item or scene to draw
  15. On the trail journaling: bring along a diary or journal and have your child make notes of what they are seeing, hearing and feeling
  16. Plant/Bird/Wildlife Checklist
  17. Blindfolded Walk: If you're on a relatively flat, safe trail such as an abandoned railroad bed, blindfold one member of the group and have others give verbal instructions.
  18. Identification: Have someone close his or her eyes. Place an object in their hands and ask them to identify what it is.
  19. I Spy: One person thinks of something that everyone can see and gives a clue such as "I spy something round and hard." The others try to guess what it is. The winner then gets to choose the next "I Spy."
  20. Twenty Questions: A person thinks of some object or person. The other players ask yes-or-no questions to discover the identity of the object or person.
  21. Where Was That? After walking for several minutes, ask children about the order of things you passed. How much do they remember?
  22. How Far? Have each person guess how far he or she has hiked. For older children, show them how to orient the map and locate your position.
  23. Cloud Pictures: Take a break. Look into the sky and describe to each other what you see in the clouds.
  24. Chain Story: One person starts a story, but stops in the middle of a sentence or idea. The next person must continue the story then break to let the next person continue, and so forth.
  25. Yes or No: A person can ask any question of any other person, but the words "yes" or "no" cannot be used in any answers. Actually any words can be prohibited. It makes children think before they speak.
  26. Name a Class: Have a person name all the presidents of the U.S. that they can think of, or all the baseball players, etc.
  27. Photography: There are many inexpensive cameras out today. Get the kid's their own camera and let them take it on the hikes. They can make pictures of flowers and animals they might see on the hike, and then when they get home they can try to find information about the items in the pictures. Children will also just enjoy making pictures of the family, bugs, and anything else to do with the camping trip.
  28. Go snowshoeing! That's right, get out and enjoy the trails in the winter.
  29. Build a snowman: If you are camping in the winter and have enough snow, you can let the kid's build a snowman. This is always a fun thing for children, and will keep them busy and happy for a while.
  30. Bring a friend! You can always bring a friend to keep your little one entertained! Everything is better with a friend!

 

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