7 Fun Games and Activities to Do With Kids When Hiking (So They Don't Get Bored)

Fun Things for Kids to Do on a Hike

Hiking is a great activity for kids as it gives them the opportunity to explore while burning off some of that wonderful kid energy. It also gives children the opportunity to learn something about nature. Unfortunately, there are times when one or more kids start to get bored and want to go home, while the others want to keep going.

There are fun games and activities for kids to do while hiking which will keep them having a good time. Some of the most popular include Follow the Leader, I Spy, and storytelling. However, there are a lot more exciting activities to keep kids entertained. Here are some of the favorites my kids enjoyed doing.

1. Go Geocaching

If you're not familiar with geocaching, it's a form of treasure hunting. Containers or "caches" are literally hidden all over the world with parks and hiking trails being particularly popular places to hide them. Many of them have trinkets inside that you can trade.

Just download the geocaching app and see if there are any hidden on the trail you'll be hiking. If so, the app will give you the approximate location of the cache and will sound when you are near. At that point, you'll need to Iook around to see where it's hidden. While searching, you can teach the kids some hiking safety tips.

I suggest looking for medium and large containers because most likely, the small and micro ones won't have any trinkets in them. Be sure to bring some trinkets for trading so each kid gets a chance to get a piece of treasure.

If your kids enjoy this activity remember, they are hidden everywhere so you don't just have to be on a hiking trail to find one.

2. Enjoy Birdwatching

Birdwatching gives your kids a break from hiking to rest, while enjoying looking for colorful birds. If possible, give them binoculars. If you don't have any, have the children make their own pretend binoculars before you go by gluing together two empty rolls of toilet paper side by side to create the look of binoculars. You can actually turn this into a fun craft by letting the kids decorate them.

While hiking, wait until you hear the sound of birds nearby to give your kids a better chance of being able to find any. When they do, see if you can identify what kind of birds they have found. You might even bring a bird book with you to help the kids identify the birds they see and learn something about them such as what they eat and how they build nests.

3. Make a Hiking Scrapbook

You can either do a one time scrapbook or if you plan to go hiking several times, make the scrapbooking an ongoing craft project with your kids. Not only will children have fun creating it, it will also serve as a great remembrance of hiking together.

Each time you go hiking, let the kids take pictures of things they find interesting. Bugs can be particularly interesting to kids and this can give you the opportunity to explain why bugs are important in nature. At the same time, you can take pictures of them having fun. After hiking, let everyone pick out their favorite pictures to be printed up. Once those pictures are printed, everyone can help put them into the scrapbook.

4. Eat Healthy Snacks

Kids seem to always get hungry when they're out so come prepared with water and snacks. Kids can burn a couple hundred calories an hour walking, so it's best to give them a chance to break and refuel. Although they would love to get their hands on some cookies, they're better off eating something healthy.

Healthy Hiking Snacks

• Trail mix
• Cheese sticks
• Apples
• Crackers
• Bananas
• Beef jerky
• Granola bars
• Raisins

5. Start a Rock Collection

Children love rocks so turn this into a hiking activity. Give each child a plastic jar and (unless it's not permitted) allow them to look for interesting rocks as they hike and collect them in the jar.

Encourage them to explain why they have chosen each rock. They're bound to come up with some funny reasons! Once home, wash all the rocks and the jar so everything is clean and they now have new rock collections to entertain themselves with.

6. Play Rhyming Games

This game gives kids a chance to exercise their brains while hiking. To start, have one of the children call out the name of an object that they see. Then, each child takes a turn coming up with a rhyming word.

For example, if someone picks a rock, then everyone has to call out a word that rhymes with it such as dock, clock, lock, etc. Keep going until no one can think of any other words, then the next kid gets a turn to call out an object that they see. Keep playing until everyone has had a turn.

Besides being fun, rhyming is good for childrens language skills.

7. Play a Hiking Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are lots of fun because it gives kids a chance to further explore their surroundings in nature while competing to see who can find all the objects on the list first. It's very easy to set up.

Give each child a list with objects to find. If some of the kids don't know how to read yet, draw pictures of the items. Once everyone has their lists, hand out crayons or pencils so they can cross items off once they find them.

Each individual item can only be found once so if someone finds an acorn, (for example,) the rest of the kids will have to find different acorns before they can cross them off their list.

Scavenger Hunt Suggestions for a Hike

• Tree stump
• Squirrel
• Gray rock
• Anthill
• Brown bird
• Animal tracks
• Pine cone
• Feather
• Berries
• Acorn
• Log
• Butterfly

Encourage kids to ask questions about the items they find. They may want to know what kind of animal tracks they've found, if the berries they find are safe to eat or what kind of bird the feather came from.

Busy Kids Are Happy Kids

As you can see, there are quite a few activities to keep your kids amused while hiking as well as learning a little something about nature. As long as you have some fun things to do, along with water and snacks, your kids are sure to have a good time while on the trail without getting bored.

© 2023 Janis Masyk-Jackson