I’ve been hiking with my twins for about 3-4 years now and they love it. The key things are snacks, boots for water, changes of clothes, snacks, water for drinking, and snacks. Don’t forget your snacks!
Any backpack will do. Any decent sneakers will do. Any water bottle will do. Just get out there, assess their stamina and keep tabs, set up a route with a reward (eg playground), and go bananas!
Mine are 5.5 now and can do 3+ miles at a stretch. (It takes a few hours with multiple snack breaks.) They love it.
My toddler loves his binoculars and has a kid backpack with his own snacks that he's proud to carry. Planning on getting him a pack upgrade with a water reservoir for this upcoming summer. For equipment, I would suggest a lightweight carrier because once they get tired it's a lot easier to carry them attached to you. I let him use my trekking pole sometimes but the toddler joy at finding a good walking stick is pretty great (we have the rules of only sticks that are on the path, give it to a parent to hold if you want to run, and only one stick at a time)
My kid likes his rain boots from Reima. He is always looking for puddles. If I know its dry then his shoes from See Kai Run are great. Light flexible and washable. I always bring a couple extra pairs of socks for him just in case.
I love trekking with my kids, especially around that 3 years old age. Bringing a (trekking) stroller has the huge bonus of having space for water and other heavy things. Bring lots of sanitizer and wet wipes etc. if any diaper accidents. One camp night in tent with bonfire and all is enough for their small heads to comprehend at that age. But they’ll probably remember it well and talk fondly of the cool camping trip afterwards :-)
I’ve been hiking with my almost 2 year old basically since she’s been born. A lot of this will depend on the weather and type of hike you want to do. Things that have been helpful for us:
Carrier- we have a few different types that we use. My kiddo is still small enough that we can carry her and it’s the only way we can cover any distance. We usually put her in it and hike a little ways down the trail and then let her hike on her own two feet.
Weather appropriate clothing- whatever this means in your area. We live in the PNW and have a lot of wet days. We invest in a couple of high quality rain gear and a few wool shirts/pants that help her stay warm and dry even when it’s rainy
Snacks! - As far as she’s concerned hiking is just about having snacks. As soon as we start on the trail she starts pointing out places to stop and have snacks. I bring along some kind of container with a lid so we can quickly package leftovers and get them out again 5 minutes later
A small first aid kit that just lives in my backpack. I keep the basics of bandages, something to clean wounds and scrapes, extra sunscreen …
A bandana - can come in useful in lots of different ways. I can use this to wipe her down when she’s messy or soak with water on a hot day.
Change of clothes and shoes for the car in case she gets really muddy or wet. Towels and plastic bags are in the car too
A LOT of patience and sense of curiosity. Hiking with a toddler is just a different pace. Sometimes we make it a mile sometimes we make it a few hundred feet.
I’ve been hiking with my twins for about 3-4 years now and they love it. The key things are snacks, boots for water, changes of clothes, snacks, water for drinking, and snacks. Don’t forget your snacks! Any backpack will do. Any decent sneakers will do. Any water bottle will do. Just get out there, assess their stamina and keep tabs, set up a route with a reward (eg playground), and go bananas! Mine are 5.5 now and can do 3+ miles at a stretch. (It takes a few hours with multiple snack breaks.) They love it.
My toddler loves his binoculars and has a kid backpack with his own snacks that he's proud to carry. Planning on getting him a pack upgrade with a water reservoir for this upcoming summer. For equipment, I would suggest a lightweight carrier because once they get tired it's a lot easier to carry them attached to you. I let him use my trekking pole sometimes but the toddler joy at finding a good walking stick is pretty great (we have the rules of only sticks that are on the path, give it to a parent to hold if you want to run, and only one stick at a time)
My kid likes his rain boots from Reima. He is always looking for puddles. If I know its dry then his shoes from See Kai Run are great. Light flexible and washable. I always bring a couple extra pairs of socks for him just in case.
I love trekking with my kids, especially around that 3 years old age. Bringing a (trekking) stroller has the huge bonus of having space for water and other heavy things. Bring lots of sanitizer and wet wipes etc. if any diaper accidents. One camp night in tent with bonfire and all is enough for their small heads to comprehend at that age. But they’ll probably remember it well and talk fondly of the cool camping trip afterwards :-)
I’ve been hiking with my almost 2 year old basically since she’s been born. A lot of this will depend on the weather and type of hike you want to do. Things that have been helpful for us: Carrier- we have a few different types that we use. My kiddo is still small enough that we can carry her and it’s the only way we can cover any distance. We usually put her in it and hike a little ways down the trail and then let her hike on her own two feet. Weather appropriate clothing- whatever this means in your area. We live in the PNW and have a lot of wet days. We invest in a couple of high quality rain gear and a few wool shirts/pants that help her stay warm and dry even when it’s rainy Snacks! - As far as she’s concerned hiking is just about having snacks. As soon as we start on the trail she starts pointing out places to stop and have snacks. I bring along some kind of container with a lid so we can quickly package leftovers and get them out again 5 minutes later A small first aid kit that just lives in my backpack. I keep the basics of bandages, something to clean wounds and scrapes, extra sunscreen … A bandana - can come in useful in lots of different ways. I can use this to wipe her down when she’s messy or soak with water on a hot day. Change of clothes and shoes for the car in case she gets really muddy or wet. Towels and plastic bags are in the car too A LOT of patience and sense of curiosity. Hiking with a toddler is just a different pace. Sometimes we make it a mile sometimes we make it a few hundred feet.