Exploring National Parks with a kid who doesn’t like to hike
When we had the chance to extend our summer vacation by one day to see Acadia National Park, we did it in a heartbeat, but when one kid doesn’t like to hike, exploring a National Park can be challenging.
Alex, our youngest, is not a fan of hiking or being out in nature, and we’re not completely sure why because we love the outdoors. When we ask, he says, “I just don’t like it.” over and over again. It is perplexing because he will do 6 and 7 miles of walking per day while in a city – San Francisco, London, Paris, Tokyo, no problem, but even a 3-mile easy hike in a natural environment is a big turn off. It’s part of the reason we haven’t ventured to a ton of National Parks yet (although we’ve been to eight of them so far, with several involving great exercise for me and Nick carrying him piggyback, which is now impossible because of his age).
So, in planning for our trip to Acadia, we decided to employ a few tactics to ensure we would enjoy our trip and that Alex would, too. Here are a few tricks:
Opt for a short hike to help your child become more comfortable and ease into the outdoors.
Ultimately, with Alex’s OK, we decided to do a short hike. There are plenty of family-friendly hikes at Acadia at sea level where you can explore tidal pools and have minimal elevation changes. That, however, is not a hike we chose.
We did the Great Head Trail, which is about 2 miles long, although we diverted a bit and made it more like three-plus miles.There is a fair about of bouldering, which we didn’t really account for, but it definitely made for a more interesting hike. We hoisted Alex up and down when we needed to, and we cheered him the entire way, which really gave him some confidence. The views at the top were amazing – the blue ocean contrasted next to the rust-red rocks and deep evergreens was a feast for the eyes. Plus, hiking while hearing the rush of the waves beat against the rocks married two of my favorite things.
It was not a popular trail at all, and we only passed three other groups the entire two hours. The trailhead is accessible by Sand Beach, which is a great little inlet of beach in between the rocky crags jutting into the ocean (and a great way to incentivize – feet in the water and shell seeking after a hike? Yes, please!).
TIP: Go early or utilize the shuttles. Acadia is becoming quite popular and it doesn’t have capacity for all of the tourists during its heavy seasons. We were one week shy of their highest traffic and by 11am it was hard to find parking spots. There is fairly ample and allowable parking on the one-way roads, but you may end up adding some distance to your hikes as a result, which could be a game-changer with a kid who doesn’t like hiking.
Participate in the Junior Ranger Program or create a scavenger hunt of your own
For Alex, at least, he loves competitions and adventures where he is crossing things off a list or is searching for clues or answers. So, the National Parks Service’s Junior Ranger Program is a great way to keep my non-hiker’s mind busy while exploring a Park. Pick up a Junior Ranger activity book at the Park Visitor’s Center. Fill it out and turn it back in to receive a badge. My boys love doing it. They end up learning something about the Park and its environment, too.
You can also create your own scavenger hunt with a prize. You can just make a list of things to do: hike 1-mile, go kayaking, talk to a park ranger or things to see: the beach, a reptile, yellow flowers, etc.
Drive around the park and stop at overlooks and places where you can do super short hikes with big reward.
In lieu of big hikes, make sure you’re still able to see some of the best parts of the Parks. The nice thing about Acadia when you have one kid who doesn’t like to hike is that there is one road that goes all the way up to Cadillac Mountain (the highest point on the eastern seaboard), with several overlooks and sections with short hikes to the coastline). One fun and incredibly picturesque one is Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole is right on the shoreline in an area where water crashing into the rocks has created some small caverns. When the waves rush in, the water and air are trapped and make a thundering clap and water spurts out. There are stairs and a landing where you can watch and listen. And we got a huge surprise bonus view because we also saw whales off the coast playing in the water near some whale watching boats. We could have watched them for hours. Finding wildlife to distract from a hike cannot be underestimated.
Incentivize, as appropriate, with food and gifts.
“Just a little farther and we can stop for lunch.” I may have uttered these words more than I wanted to, but it worked. Luckily, we had planned to have lunch at the aptly named Jordan Pond House Restaurant (right on Jordan Pond, which looks more like a lake). It was previously a saw mill, and it’s now the perfect spot to have a meal while at Acadia. The outdoor seating is just dreamy – tables out on the lawn with a stunning view of the lake.
And, they serve the famous Maine popover which had been eluding us so far on our trip. Popovers are a cross between a muffin and a croissant – flakey, puffy and delicious after a morning of hiking around (I could justify the carbs with what we burned bouldering up a small mountain).
At the same location as the Jordan Pond House is a huge gift shop. “We can stop at the souvenir store when we’re finished.” may have also been mentioned a time or two during our hike to keep those feet moving and the mood light.
So, visiting National Parks with a kid who doesn’t like to hike is still worth the trip. We would rather expose the boys to even a little bit of our nation’s great Parks versus not going at all. And, little by little, we hope to change Alex’s views of the outdoors and hope that some of these tricks will help him want to spend more time exploring nature.
