From poopy diapers to teary–eyed tantrums, hiking with kids can require extra effort and patience. But bonding with your tiny explorer in the great outdoors can also be lots of fun. That’s why we’ve rounded up five tyke-tastic trails. Short, accessible, and engaging, these paths are perfect for pint-sized adventurers to tackle when the temps start to drop and the leaves change.
Talking Tree Trail
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Tulip poplars aren’t known to be chatty. Neither are bitternut hickories. But if you travel to Holmes Educational State Forest in Hendersonville, N.C., you’ll find a gregarious grove along the Talking Tree Trail.
An easy, half-mile jaunt, the footpath features seven kiosks where whippersnappers can press a button and listen to a chipper, pre-recorded message about a different tree species.
“I’m a white oak,” one kiosk trills. “Did you know my relatives helped America win its independence from England? The American colonists seasoned and used my wood for their ships because, when I’m older, my wood is watertight and very durable.”
Susan Fay, supervisor of the 235-acre state forest, says this stand of lecturing lumber has been around since the 1980s and gives children the chance to learn about forestry in, well, a forest. There’s also a treehouse-style Forestry Center with audio-visual exhibits on-site, should your aspiring arborist want to dive deeper into woodland ecology.
“It’s a great way to get kids to connect with the outdoors,” says Fay. “Our hope is that they’ll be able to look back as adults and remember how much fun they had.”
Beartown Boardwalk
Renick, West Virginia
Sure, Disney World is great. But if you want to skip the long lines and overpriced soft serve, head to Beartown State Park instead.
Located on the summit of Droop Mountain in northern Greenbrier County, this 110-acre nature area might just be the most magical place in West Virginia. That’s thanks to the mind-bogglingly big boulders and deep, dark crevices you’ll find there.
Geologists say these unique rock formations were carved from sandstone hundreds of millions of years ago during the Pennsylvanian Period. Today, visitors of all ages can safely experience their grandeur from a half-mile-long boardwalk that meanders through, up, and over the chasms and cliffs.
According to Mark Davis, a West Virginia resident who often visits the park with his six-year-old daughter, Olympia, the hike is super accessible and awe-inspiring.
“The size of the rocks is an impressive feature for kids,” he notes. “They are certainly larger than any rocks we typically find around our urban area, and to have them all in one place makes it like … a castle or a fairyland.”
Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail
Afton, Virginia
If your kiddo grumbles and groans at the mere mention of a weekend hike, the Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail may change their tune.
Clocking in at about three miles (exact mileage depends on whether you start at the east or west trailhead), this relatively flat walk leads to the Blue Ridge Tunnel, an underground passageway constructed in the 1850s. Since dynamite wasn’t invented until 1867, laborers had no choice but to chisel through the solid granite, using hand drills and black powder. All in all, the project took nearly eight years.
Though once a vital corridor between the Shenandoah Valley and the rest of Virginia, the tunnel was decommissioned in 1944. Seventy-six years later, in the fall of 2020, it was opened to pedestrians and bikers.
Jerry West, director of Nelson County Parks and Recreation, says the tunnel has become a popular spot for young families and school groups. Kids love the novelty of using flashlights to hunt for salamanders and crawfish. Meanwhile, parents love the stroller-friendly path and quick accessibility from either Afton or Waynesboro.
Green Trail at Conestee Nature Preserve
Greenville, South Carolina
Let’s face it: When you’re hiking with young children, getting them to the trailhead is half the battle. That’s what makes Conestee Nature Preserve so appealing.
“The biggest advantage we have over other hikes in the area is our accessibility,” says Josh Zalabak, the organization’s development officer. “We’re only six miles from downtown Greenville.”
But convenience isn’t the only reason families flock to Conestee. As a 640-acre nonprofit-owned and operated wildlife sanctuary, this property is teeming with painted turtles, river otters, green tree frogs, and other critters that can be spotted from several miles of well-maintained trails.
If you want to see prothonotary warblers and great blue herons with your burgeoning birder, Zalabak suggests exploring the 1.5-mile Green Trail. “The Green Trail offers different views of the wetlands,” he says. Plus, there are several ways of hopping off the footpath and returning to your car, should your toddler get fussy.
Conestee is also in the process of building a nature playscape—an acre-sized recreation area that replaces traditional playground equipment with natural amenities like boulders, creeks, and logs.
“The idea is to encourage kids to play outside and use their creativity,” Zalaback says, noting the space should be open sometime this fall. “Kids will truly be able to choose their own adventure.”
Canyon Loop Trail
Lumpkin, Georgia
If you don’t have enough PTO to visit the Grand Canyon with your kids, visit Providence Canyon State Park instead.
Colloquially known as “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon,” this 1,000-acre recreation area looks like something you’d find out West, with its massive chasms and towering sandstone spires. To glimpse these geological oddities, Assistant Park Manager Reba Bolton suggests hiking the Canyon Loop Trail.
Though this trail is on the longer side (about 2.2 miles), there’s plenty to keep your rugrats entertained. You can play a game of “I Spy,” looking for the 43 different colors of sand identified in the park. Or keep your eyes peeled for abandoned cars and remnants of an old homestead.
Walking the Canyon Loop Trail offers plenty of teachable moments, too. If your kiddos are old enough, you can explain that the dramatic gullies began forming in the 1800s when farmers cut down trees and tilled the soil. In the centuries since, water has shaped the landscape into what they see today.
Of course, if you’re trekking with your toddler, it might be more age-appropriate to look for the plumleaf azalea—a very rare plant species that calls this rough terrain home.
Cover photo: Walk amongst the massive rock formations at Beartown State Park. Photo courtesy of West Virginia Department of Tourism.
