Kid Friendly Hikes on Vancouver Island & The Gulf Islands 🌲🥾🌼

FAMILY FRIENDLY HIKES

VANCOUVER ISLAND & THE GULF ISLANDS

Hiking with kids can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors and burn off some pent up energy, theirs' not ours of course, and Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands have their share of family friendly hikes.

These hikes range from a quick jaunt, suitable for the younger crew, on up to hikes that take several hours and are more suitable for teens. With so much landscape to choose from, you can start in the forest and end up at the ocean, or go in search of a hidden waterfall or cave. No matter where you find yourself on Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands, you are sure to find a suitable place to take a hike with KIDS!

Some tips for hiking with kids:

1) Choose a hike that has variation in the terrain and scenery. Things like large boulders, running streams, bridges, and staircases, break up the monotony. Your hike is not going to be successful if your kiddos are instantly bored.

2) Start small...your first family hike is not the time to try to climb Mount Everest. Start out slow and work your way up once you see how it goes. Half way through a 10km hike is not the time to find out your kids truly hate hiking!

3) Dress in layers, I cannot reiterate this one enough. There is nothing like a kid that is too hot, too cold, or soaking wet to kill the mood. Remember that if there are creeks or puddles, your child will be in them, so pack some extra socks. If you have a child like mine, that falls all the time, then extra pants may be a great idea too.

4) Overpack snacks and water! I don't think I need to elaborate on the water situation, but just remember snacks make good bribery...yep I said it! If hiking isn't going as planned, or you are having meltdowns and tantrums, obviously the kids not you 😉, a backpack of snacks just might do the trick.

5) Be prepared, like over prepared prepared! Make sure you have a backpack full of tricks. I am the mom who overpacks, but it's not like you can hit the corner store when you are out in the woods. I always make sure I have band-aids, toilet paper, sunscreen, bug spray and some sort of bear repellant. DON'T FORGET THE SNACKS!

6) Take along some outdoor wilderness supplies to make the hike more exciting for older kids. Things like binoculars, magnifying glasses, and compasses are a great way to take your hike to the next level.

7) Set up a plan on what a child is to do if they some how get separated from the rest of the pack. I always put a whistle on a lanyard on my youngest two, there are specifically loud ones that are perfect should they get lost. Just make sure to hide them when you are not hiking, those things can blow your eardrums, or make you lose your mind, whichever comes first.

Out hiking is also the perfect time to teach your kids how to geocache, I mean come on who doesn’t like a treasure hunt. Geocaching is a great way to make a hike more interesting, or step up the game for older kids when you have to hike for the ability of littles. We have a whole article on geocaching that you can read HERE.

We’ve divided the hikes by region on the island, click on the links for more information