A family holiday in the mountains offers all sorts of ways to bring children closer to nature. With the proper preparations and equipment, a family hike is an unforgettable experience that your children will talk about for years to come.
What age – which route?
What children can manage at what age and how to motivate them
1 to 3 years
Small children in this age group can be taken on hikes in “child carriers”, i.e. carrying frames that go on your back. Please don’t forget that this only allows them limited
movement. Depending on the weather, they are therefore more susceptible to becoming cold, overheating or getting sunstroke. As such, the right clothing is extremely important.
Put a warm or sun hat on the child and take breaks at least once an hour to allow children over the age of one to move around freely out of the carrier. Limit hikes with small
children to a maximum of three to four hours.
4 to 6 years
This age group is just waiting for you to awaken their love of hiking. You should therefore start by keeping routes to between two and four kilometres or one hour. By doing this, you can expect your children to actually walk the whole way rather than having to be carried home. Please note that backpacks for preschoolers should be no heavier than one kilo. There is no need to constantly entertain four to six-year-olds as they like to explore areas for themselves.
to 12 years
Children in this age group can cope for two to three hours, with distances of five to ten kilometres and with backpacks weighing three to five kilogrammes. But it’s at this age that children tend to cover a lot of the route at speed, running back and forth, off the trail into the forest and back again. Towards the end of the hike, they often hit a “go slow” phase due to sheer exhaustion. A tip: it’s often good if your children have friends with them as they keep each other in a buoyant mood. 13 to 16 years This is the most difficult age for hiking. In theory, teenagers can walk 20 kilometres, keep going for five hours and carry five to seven kilogrammes. However, it’s not just the hiking itself that appeals to this age group; they also like to combine this with adventurous activities such as rafting or mountain biking.
