Tips to get your family out on an Adventure!

“How can families better prepare for taking young children and teenagers camping, hiking, biking, boating and traveling in general?”

·       Start them young!

·       Be excited - they might be unhappy to go, so you might need maintain  positive attitude until your moving on the trail.

·       If they are little - you cant expect them to hike the whole time, so expect some carrying.

·       Be prepared! Sunscreen, water, insect replant and food!

·       Dont even go if the weather isn't nice. Try to plan for success!

·       Involve the kids in planning, show them the map discuss routes and take their input seriously.

·       Go with other families, having a friend can be invaluable.

In the Backcountry

• First time out? Choose a campsite destination not more than a mile or 2 from a trail-head. If for some reason you need to bail out, you won't have too many steps to retrace.
• Take a kid's perspective: Say your child spots an interesting insect along the trail. To you, it's just another beetle—you're thinking about the 2 more miles you need to hike to the lake. To your child, it's a really cool beetle—he's wondering why Mom or Dad is so worked up about getting to some lake. What to do? If your goal is to have your child associate backpacking with fun, at times it's good to adopt your child's priorities.
• Adjust your expectations: We've heard tales of families attempting difficult, off-trail backpacking expeditions. These can be tedious and exhausting for kids. If the trip is unpleasant, you run the risk of giving kids a negative impression of the outdoors, an attitude that can take a long time to reverse.
• Share the load: Give kids a kid-size pack and let them carry a few lightweight items. Snacks, water, a sleeping bag, perhaps, or their rain gear. Adults, meanwhile, should play Sherpa for younger kids so the journey doesn't exhaust or discourage them.
• Self-sufficiency: Kids like to feel a degree of self-sufficiency. So, for example, instead of having a family water bottle, give each child his or her own water bottle (or hydration system) so they can choose the time they want to drink.
• On the trail: If you have 2 or more adults in your party, it's usually smart to have one in the lead and one serving as the caboose, with kids in the middle.
• Share chores: Enlist your child to take part in camp chores. Try asking your child to be in charge of keeping things neat and clean. Kids seem to grasp the concept of caring for nature more intuitively than adults, so this is usually one assignment that's a perfect fit for kids.
• Be safe: Make sure your kids always carry a whistle (teach them to blow it if they become separated from you) and have easy access to a flashlight or headlamp. For the younger ones, attach a lanyard to both the whistle and light and tie them to one of the child's belt loops.

·        HAVE FUN!!!!!