Hiking offers so many different possibilities other than it representing an excellent form of exercise. It is, after all, more of a test of endurance than a walk. It, rather pleasingly, takes place in the areas where the air is purer and challenges us on terrain that is different from just the flat monotonous ground found in cities and more urban spaces.
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To make hiking more enjoyable still, we might want to consider some outdoor hiking games. Whilst this article can provide you with some activities, you can of course, think of some of your own too. The more ideas the better, after all.
Hunting for Treasure
How about hunting or scavenging for treasure during your hike? You don’t have to hide it beforehand and risk it being found by another hiker, you can simply make a list of objects that you want other adults or children to find that are already naturally present. Then there could be some kind of final reward, which could have been buried in advance to be dug up or be contained within your picnic. If you have planned or arranged the treasure hunt yourself, you can make it enjoyable and ensure that it is safe for your children and their friends.
A treasure hunt combined with a hike would make a great idea for a children’s party and no doubt make your children the most popular in the school after the hike. We all want our children to be popular and get on with other children. Activities such as this make for wonderful bonding exercises for the young and old. This is whether it is a children’s party or a work activity for employees. Children enjoy a treasure hunt, though, and we owe it to our children not to deprive them of one during their childhood. Treasure Island springs to mind as a book that might inspire youngsters to engage with such activities during your hike together.
Tree Rubbing
This is about taking tree rubbings from the trunk of a tree. It does not harm the tree because you are simply shading with a pencil while holding a piece of plain paper against the rough and textured bark of the tree. You will get different patterns from the bark of different trees. It is a fun and educational way to have your children learn about trees. They can think about the shape of the tree’s leaves at the same time. It is inexpensive in that you only need a pencil and paper. Remember to take a pencil sharpener as that will need sharpening quite frequently if you take lots of tree rubbings.
Once declaring the environment safe, perhaps you could have youngsters come back to you with their tree rubbings, having noted the location of their trees, and then have everyone try to guess which tree the rubbing was taken from. That sounds like fun.
If you are hiking in the countryside, you should be able to guarantee that there will be plenty of trees to choose from. If not, you may need to change the game or the location.
Plan your hiking activities around what you see or know about. Plenty of trees will naturally be growing and have remained in many rural locations, and so they will be there to find as long as you choose the right route.
Games with Sticks
In wooded areas, there should be lots of sticks to find. These could be made into a game where you stack the pieces high and then try and pick them off using another stick or two and without disturbing the others. This could keep youngers entertained while you have some quality time with your partner and put the world to rights about the planet. That is something that you are likely to think about more during a hike because you are, after all, among nature.
Time Trials
If you take a stopwatch along, or just use your ordinary watch, you could have running races between two points of reference. You could time which sibling achieves the distance the fastest. This could include coming back with a certain object, as with a treasure hunt. You can make your own rules. Make sure there is fairness, though, as children dislike unfairness, as you will know. So, you may want to give younger siblings a head start with races. Also, ensure that the ground is suitable and that you choose a flat patch for the racing, not to end up with any twisted ankles.
Bat and Ball
Games with a bat and ball are ideal where you have a large open space. There should certainly be no windows to worry about breaking. You just need to make sure that there is no water nearby that is too deep to retrieve the ball from. So, take with you a bat and more than one tennis ball in case you should somehow lose a ball or two. That would be so disappointing for your children when they had just started to enjoy playing the game that they had already been looking forward to.
By abandoning the bat and just having a larger ball, you could play football using natural objects for goalposts and other marker points. Just be respectful of your environment while having fun playing ball games.
In conclusion, coming up with activities to make a hike more exciting will encourage siblings to tag along. Physical games, such as those mentioned above, can complement exercise, or mental games could allow everyone to have some relaxation time between hiking. You could always have a quiz about the environment while outdoors. You could ask questions about the environment where children find themselves. It will give everyone a break from hiking, as stopping for a picnic would. Now there’s an idea!