Tips for Hiking with Kids
The Benton Mackaye Trail is a great way to explore hiking with the family. Here is a great guide to make it a fun, successful trip!
Ten Tips for a Great Hiking Experience
1. Have contingency plans. One kid might have the ability but just plain stops and won’t go further. So are some family members going to go on, while others wait or walk back? What’s the plan?
2. Take plenty of water and snacks. Carry a water filter and show the kids how to use it.
3. Carry small trash bags so the kids can clean the trail as they hike. However, bending over and picking up something in the woods may be harmful. Have kids point it out and Mom or Dad, wearing gloves, checks for things that bite and put it in the bag of the little one who saw the trash. Biggest bag at the end of the hike wins. Be aware … after about a mile, Mom or Dad or both will end up carrying all the bags.
![A hiking sign in a forest near Blue Ridge, GA.](https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=5959fd820fac199ea5aed9244d2c41d0 320w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=24449e6f2ad7930edd8eedb3877d6552 540w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=bc8ea2ad10387bf3381c6c7c9d76d2c4 768w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=a4c0fcef47aa2de602d2fe0461d858df 1024w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=1716974fc545b3aca332eaab8adcdbc6 1200w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=ec55ec5989f3cd3d8956e100948d8e8d 1440w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=43f28a216cf1ecc27c60a8b896fa4986 1920w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=9af5a34bd54fb9cf0bec2a935c3338d9 2560w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Hiking-Sign-BMTA-and-Fall-Branch-Falls.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=6db37d853a6aa4c1e1203b8fa0b9b31a 3594w)
4. Have a change of clothes, dry shoes and towels in the car.
5. Point out “walk arounds” and encourage them not to use them. A “walk around” is where the trail has been obstructed by a tree or standing water and a hiker will walk around creating a wider trail. This increases erosion. Also discourage kids from taking a shortcut across switchbacks. This is dangerous and leads to severe erosion problems.
6. Encourage them to remove sticks and branches on the trail so that it will make it easier for the next hiker. Oh, and kick those “rollers” off the trail. A “roller” is a small, round branch that, when stepped on by a hiker, will roll and possibly cause the hiker to fall or sprain an ankle.
![](https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=a7ca4ecb41b3d39314b9671668e15984 320w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=6b7e43656ede40972f624e7cd3fc2722 540w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=b7f3ed887fe97f714b322b455c1a67e2 768w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=47888a48dcd94e1e1026bf2a8c8374e4 1024w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=bc1ee21b5279c0f6bd085081fdc847f8 1200w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=8d4ed8753ad09d26a577bd1e2549043b 1440w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=066a37f144d4bee7dbf76bbff2c17ccc 1920w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=927f55a0a2f9234e23cb26df25679840 2560w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/blog-images/Kid-hiking-on-trail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=248b69d50922a6f3f039d0cbe98c064f 3024w)
7. Carry a small first aid kit, whistle and bug spray.
8. No flip flops … everyone should wear sturdy shoes.
9. Feel and smell the leaves and wood but please don’t pick the wildflowers. There also is a fair amount of poison ivy in the Cherokee National Forest. Point it out and tell your kids not to touch it.
10. Point out obvious signs of trail maintenance, like trees cut out of the path or trails dug into the side of the mountain. Explain that these trails are taken care of by volunteers – that means they come out in the mountains and woods to work on the trails and don’t get paid.
Kid-Friendly Hikes
Here are a couple of hikes to start your adventure! Be sure to pack a picnic, both these hikes have great picnic spots.
Formed in 1980, the nonprofit Benton MacKaye Trail Association (BMTA) was tasked with constructing, maintaining and preserving the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) – to leave “a footpath for generations to follow”.
Benton MacKaye Trail Association invites your family to become a “Family Member”. Go to MEMBERSHIP for details.
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