Get Outside & Connect: Take a Hike!

Get outside to go on a hike in spring, summer, fall, and winter!

Hiking is a great way to get outside and connect with what matters. My family and I love getting outside to hike in all seasons and want to encourage you to do the same. It’s fun going on explorations into nature on trails near and far, so get out there and enjoy yourself on some local trails, or head off on an adventure to hike somewhere new! You might also enjoy this list of outdoor activities.

Get Outside and Connect: Outdoor Activities for Kids and Adults

This week’s activity is to get outside and take a hike! This can be any local hike of your choice. You are also welcome to go on an adventure a bit farther from home.

If you live in the city you may need to go for a bit of a drive to get there. I promise it will be worth it. Even if it is still really cold out where you live. There’s nothing better than bundling up for a walk in the wilderness.

Hiking with Kids

Taking a hike is a great way to get outside for some exercise with friends and loved ones. It also provides a rich learning experience for both kids and adults. Don’t forget your cameras, nature journals, and nature study supplies!

Learning opportunities for Children on a Hike:

• Identify and discuss wildlife in the area.
• Go birding or try some of these bird-watching activities while you are out on a hike with the kids.
• Investigate plants, bugs, or rocks. [Bring binoculars and/or a magnifying glass if you have one.]
• Look for the first signs of the seasons; spring, summer, winter, and fall!
• Skip stones and rocks and play stone-skipping games.
• Touch and feel the natural world for a rich sensory experience.
• Collect items to make a nature sensory basket or take them home and explore them in more detail.
• Identify and discuss any natural resources in the area.
• Collect items for your nature journal or a nature table.
• Bring along a compass and topographic map of the area you are hiking to learn more about the area and go exploring.

How to Deepen the experience:

• Write feelings and impressions in your nature journal.
• Draw or paint something you see.
• Spend a few minutes in silence or meditation.

The above are all just suggestions you can do any of them, none of them, or something else entirely–it’s always up to you.

Take a Hike with the Whole family (or Classroom)

My family and I love getting out into nature and going on hikes together. And we have hundreds of beautiful pictures of many beautiful hiking trails we have walked.

Here are a few old photos taken of a family hike we went on with several years ago in Upper Bidwell Park and Horseshoe Lake in Chico, CA.

So what are you waiting for? Get outside to enjoy nature and the great outdoors on a hike today!