Some families ski.  Others ride bikes.  We walk.  Well, if I want to make it sound more impressive (and I do), I should say that we hike.   I’m not sure exactly what separates the hikers from the walkers.  Location?  The occasional use of a long stick for balance?  Who really knows.

Why hike with your kids?  There are lots of reasons, here are five of them:

1. You can’t beat the price
Normally hiking is free except for the occasional parking or park entrance fee.  Just try to find another family activity with a price tag like that.

2. It’s age appropriate
By this I mean its appropriate for any age. My kids are two so they won’t be rafting the Colorado any time soon, but there is no reason why they can’t walk along a stream with me. Before they were walking, I pushed them in their jogging stroller on accessible trails and when I am old and gray they can push me.

3. Hiking is fun!  No, really
If your kids are anything like mine they will have a blast climbing boulders, throwing stones into lakes and streams, and running down gravel paths. Anything involving rocks seems to make them happy. But if you have a child who isn’t digging dirt (or rocks) then make the hike into a game with a scavenger hunt. Have them look for flowers, wildlife, and insects. Help them realize there is more to nature than dirt and trees.

4. It gets you closer to nature

Sure you can drive through a National Park and enjoy the scenery, but to truly get a feel for the landscape,  you need to get out of the car. Riding a mountain bike is a great way to see back country but you may whiz right on by a pocket of gorgeous flowers, a nest hidden in a tree or a lizard sunning itself on a boulder. These are the things that get kids excited about.

5. It’s great exercise
Let’s face it: as a nation, we’re fat. A hundred years ago we built muscle by plowing fields and scrubbing laundry. Now the most defined muscle in our body is the mouse clicker (Yes, it’s a real muscle. Look it up).

Personally I would much rather get my exercise enjoying the beauty of the great outdoors than in a gym scowling at the beauty with the rock hard abs on the next elliptical machine who obviously has never experienced the joy that is pregnancy.

July 3rd, 2009 | by Sharlene Earnshaw 6 comments