AboutSuzan Jackson Expertise My specialty is enjoying the outdoors with children. I can answer your questions about camping, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and other outdoor activities with kids. I have 2 boys, ages 5 and 8, who have been enjoying the outdoors with us since they were infants. My website (www.outdoorfamily.net) provides a variety of articles about enjoying the outdoors with children.
Experience I have been camping and hiking since my own childhood. My husband and I have included our sons in our outdoor activities - including camping, hiking, backpacking, and canoeing - since they were infants. See my website (www.outdoorfamily.net) for articles about enjoying the outdoors with children.
Question hi Sue,
We have 4 children, ages 11, 7, 5, and 15 months, and we live near Boston, MA. I would love to do a hike for Mother's Day, but I'm not sure what would be a good choice. We are ok with driving for an hour or two to get to the hike. Is Mt Monadnock too much for a 5 yr old? (We have a good baby backpack, so it's not an issue for the littlest one unless the hike is really long.) What would you recommend?
Also, my 11 and 7 yr old girls would like an easy-to-assemble tent for camping in our back yard. (We have an excellent LL Bean tent, but it is too big and difficult for them to put up.) I saw in an earlier post that you recommended the Campmor site - do you think this is a good tent? Or is it still too big? http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___24450
thanks for your help,
Kristi
Answer Dear Kristi -
What a wonderful way to celebrate Mother's Day, with a hike with your kids! Sounds perfect to me.
I'm not familiar with the hiking options in your area, so I can't comment on any particular hike.
A general rule of thumb is that kids can usually hike roughly the same number of miles as their age, when the hike is mostly flat. Of course, climbing a slope requires more energy, so you'd want to reduce the length of the hike.
My older son did his first peak hike (to the top of a mountain) when he was 4 years old. It was South Bubble Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine,and the trail was a 2-mile loop (there and back) with about a 500 ft. elevation gain. That was just about right for him.
We've always found the "Best Hikes for Children" series of guidebooks to be really helpful - great for finding good hikes of about the right difficulty. Here's the guide for your region:
The tent you mentioned looks pretty nice. It sounds easy to set up and has a full rain fly to keep it dry. Be sure to get a groundcover cut to the exact dimensions of the tent (Campmor sells those, too).
