Our monthly post to highlight the best writing and most useful tips written by Outdoor Parents the previous month! This month I am including new writers I found on the Backpacking with Babies and Kids and the Bicycle Touring with Kids Facebook pages – they are great resources and I highly recommend joining them if you are interested in those activities.
You won’t typically find gear reviews or travel guides here – on this site we focus on the skills and inspiration to help you get outside and stay outside with your kids. We also believe that everyone should feel welcome in the outdoors, so we share articles by parents and outdoors-people of color to make sure everyone is learning each other’s perspectives.
Hopefully, this encourages you to plan your next outdoor adventures, reflect on what you were able to accomplish over the past month, or what you learned and would do differently. Enjoy!
You won’t typically find gear reviews or travel guides here – on this site we focus on the skills and inspiration to help you get outside and stay outside with your kids. We also believe that everyone should feel welcome in the outdoors, so we share articles by parents and outdoors-people of color to make sure everyone is learning each other’s perspectives.
Hopefully, this encourages you to plan your next outdoor adventures, reflect on what you were able to accomplish over the past month, or what you learned and would do differently. Enjoy!
View of the Mokeumne Wilderness from Bear Valley Ski Resort. Washoe land.
Backpacking:
- What is in our backpacks? | BC Backcountry Family A peak into what a family of 5 brings on a 7 day backpacking trip.
Climbing:
- After the Fall—Climbing Back from a Near-Fatal Accident | The Big Outside This is a story of a father falling while climbing with his son, but it also digs into the bigger question that I think outdoor parents face when taking our kids on adventures which is the risk of accident for everyone.
Cycling:
- Bike Riding While Pregnant: 9 Things You Need To Know | Rascal Rides A great summary of options to consider when you’re pregnant.
- A Mini-Guidebook to Cycle Touring with (Two) Young Kids | Life in Magic Land A comprehensive look at cycle touring with kids – very inspiring!
Diversity & Inclusion:
- Skiing in Color by Lamont Joseph White | Mountain Mom and Tots An interview with an artist who has made some beautiful skiing and snowboarding artwork that challenges the standard depiction that only white people play in the snow.
- Inside the Movement to Abolish Colonialist Bird Names | Outside Online Names are so important and many times we forget the history and meaning they have to different groups of people. It’s got me wondering what the Mi-Wok and Washoe people call the birds where I live before they were renamed.
General:
- Finding Affordable Outdoor Gear for the Family | Tales of a Mountain Mama More tips to supplement our list of ways to save money getting gear for your kids.
- 6 Ways to Get Outside with Immigrant Parents | Melanin Basecamp Now that you’re getting outside with your kids, maybe you get convince your parents to join (since they probably really want to be with your kids).
Snowsports:
- How to Teach a Kid to Snowboard | Born to be Adventurous A detailed summary of gear and tips on teaching your kids.
- Ice Cleats for Kids and Adults for Winter Hiking | Tales of a Mountain Mama We haven’t had to get ice cleats for our kids yet, but this is a great resource if you need them.
- North Shore: The 2021 snowcave trip | BC Backcountry Family
Instagram:
- thebackpackingmom: “Reminder: You do NOT need all the fancy gear or the most epic plans to find adventure.”
- playfrontier: “These are the hikes that toddlerhoods are made of!”
- thebackpackingmom: “I want you to look at these pictures and know that this is 100% what it looks like to take kids adventuring.”
- alaskawildlings: Kids on a glacier!
- alaskawildlings: If her kids can play outside all day in Alaska, I have no excuses for not getting my kids outside.
YouTube (in case you learn better from videos than blogs):
- Tips for Hiking with Kids | Backcountry Pilgrim Good tips in video format, except for the first tip of buy new things for kids before each trip. I prefer to keep a set of special items that can only be used on hiking or backpacking trips.
- Hiking with Kids: How to Build Stamina and Still Have Fun! | Wild Tales of… A good set of answers to the question we have gotten several times: “how do you get your kids to walk so far?”.
