Getting active and out amongst nature is one of the best ways in which you can connect with your family. You can breathe in some fresh air, move your body, and soak in the stunning natural beauty of the world. As a big (big!) bonus, going on a walk or a hike is also very much screen-free – giving everyone in your little clan a much-needed break from the digital world.
There are also so many fun and exciting ways to get more out of a family walk. These can make your hikes more exciting, rewarding, and memorable. If you want to keep your hikes fun and exciting for everyone, try out these top tips.
• Sign Up for a Charity Hike Challenge
A fantastic way to get into hiking regularly is to challenge yourself – specifically, by signing up for a charity challenge. This is a great way to build up to a long-trek hike, like the Northumberland hikes that can be over 25 miles long.
Since you’re doing this as part of a charity challenge (in this case, supporting cancer treatments and research), you get a training packet and support, as well as guides to make sure you safely get through the course as a family. Doing a challenge together that you need to tackle as a family is a great way to bond, get fit, and start a wonderful new tradition.
• Make Your Hike a Scavenger Hunt
If your kids are perhaps too little to handle a big hike, no worries. There are many ways that you can make your long walks fun and exciting for them, too. A great way to do this is to make the walk into a scavenger hunt. You can either let them go wild and choose what they’re hunting for, or make a list for them.
Top tip: get some clear tape and wrap it loosely around their wrists, sticky side out. This way, your little ones can pick up flowers, grass, and other bits and stick it to their wrists and show off their finds!
• Try Out Geocaching
Geocaching is another fun challenge that you can do with the whole family. There’s a whole community of geocachers out there, so you’ll be joining a very fun and often hidden world of treasure hunting. Not only that, but you and your family can make your own geocache challenges for others to find. This is a fun, low-stakes way to revamp the hiking experience.
The best way to enjoy a hike is to fully take a break away from phones and to pay more attention to the world outdoors. A great way to do both is to swap out the phones for cameras. These can be film, or digital cameras (even second-hand ones will do the trick).
You can make a camera scavenger hunt for the kids, or just let them capture the world and work on training their eye on their own.
• Take Educational Breaks
Do some homework yourself and learn more about the plants, animals, and even the history of the hikes you make so you can take fun, educational breaks. This is a truly wonderful way to teach your kids about the land, so they not only get some exercise, but learn to grow an appreciation for nature.
About the Author
Since graduating from King’s College London, Cassandra has gone on to work in media, writing about lifestyle, sustainability, and non-profit causes. She’s regularly worked with notable brands in health, tech, and the non-profit sectors, delivering helpful, entertaining advice, guides, and news to those seeking ways to get more out of life. In her free time, you can find her out and about with a camera in hand, looking at new angles of the world.
