21 Best Essentials for a Nature Hike With Kids

This post shares 4 questions to consider as you plan for outdoor adventures with kids, 15 essentials for nature hikes with kids in Wisconsin, 5 bonus supplies to add for a longer hike, as well as 3 apps that we use to enhance our outdoor adventures!

Here in Wisconsin we are still deep in the throes of winter. Although we’ve had very little snow (until just last week!), we have had many days of sub-zero temperatures – days where no one wants to leave the house for even a minute. However, I know that it is only a matter of weeks before we will start to feel the first hints of spring; before the birds reappear and the river across the street begins its slow thaw.

Now I do love these cozy days at home, and I have loved our nights of board games together and read alouds on the couch and hot chocolate simmering on the stove; but at the same time I am starting to look forward to getting outside and exploring our new neighborhood even more.

As I think towards the spring season and spending time at the local parks and nature centers, I want to make sure that we have a plan and all of our adventure gear on hand – because that will make it even more likely that we will in fact take the time to get outside, and when we do, that it will be a positive experience.

Not to say that we can’t learn something from a negative experience – and those will undoubtedly happen, no matter how well we plan – but it’s still good to think through our plan, so that we will hopefully have more good moments than bad!

As a general rule, it’s wise to study up on the flora and fauna in your specific area so you know what to look out for! Consider these questions as you prep for a season of spending time outdoors:

• Do you have any poisonous snakes or insects in your area? How would you treat a bite from one of these?
• What poisonous plants do you need to look out for? Can you (and your kids) identify them?
• What kind of (non-poisonous) insect bites are you likely to encounter? Do you have a way to prevent them, or ease symptoms afterwards?
• Will you encounter any edible fruits or vegetables – and are you aware of any potential look-alikes that could fool you?

Once you’ve done a bit of research on potential problem creatures or plants, it’s time to make sure you’ve got the essential supplies you’ll be needing! Some of these essentials will be the same no matter where you live (water and snacks, always!) but others will not apply to you if you live in a very different climate.

Here’s what I like to bring along for outdoor adventures with kids in southern Wisconsin, where we live, but please think through your own specific climate and add or subtract as needed! This list is just meant as a starting point to spark some ideas.

21 Essentials for Outdoor Adventures in Wisconsin

• Water. Running out of water is a quick way to ruin your hike, playground stop, or nature walk. Now that our boys are older they can easily carry their own water bottles, and one of the easiest ways to do that is with a water bottle carrier (I have this one and am planning to get a few more for the boys soon!).
• Snacks. Running out of food is probably the second best way to quickly ruin your outdoor adventure. Often I will bring a small backpack to put the snacks in and have one of the kids carry it for me. It’s a great idea to get them used to carrying a small pack when they are young, so they come to expect that and know that it’s part of the gig!
• Bandaids. I try to keep a small stash of these in my purse, some in the car, and some in our first aid kit. The Welly brand is far and away the best – get some and try them if you haven’t yet. You’ll be amazed at how well they stick and hold!
• Bug spray with Deet. I know some people aren’t comfortable using this because of the harsh chemicals, but here in Wisconsin the tick situation can be quite severe at times. We’ve already had one bad experience with Lyme disease, and if we’re going to be areas with ticks, I would much rather use a little bug spray to prevent getting ticks than deal with all the repercussions of Lyme disease again.
• Tweezers. Good for pulling out ticks or splinters.
• Benadryl. Just in case of a reaction to bee or hornet stings!
• Antibiotic cream. In case of any bad scrapes or cuts.
• Large picnic blanket. This stays in our van year round, and we’ve used it more times than I can count. Tip: get one that’s bigger than you think you’ll need – no one likes to cram together on a tiny blanket!
• Small camp chair. This also stays in our van 99% of the time, and it’s really nice to have along on a picnic for Mom or Dad to use. I have one that’s very similar to this one on Amazon.
• Baby wipes. We are very nearly (fingers crossed!) out of the diaper stage, but I still love having baby wipes in the car – they are such a handy way to wipe faces or clean up little messes!
• Hand sanitizer. We try to use this before eating, and I like the spray-bottle kind for little kids – the gel often seems to just slide right off before they can rub their hands together.
• Sunscreen. Living in a colder climate, I don’t think of this as often as I should, but I know it’s important and we are trying to do better about using it consistently.
• Small nets or buckets. Let me promise you this – if there is any water in the vicinity, be it only a puddle, it will draw your children to it like a magnet. Furthermore, the day when you discover the most amazing pond life will be the one day when you forget to bring nets and buckets. Be smarter than me and just keep them always in your van during the warm weather season! We’ve successfully caught some pretty large bullfrogs with this net (it’s not small, but the long handle is great) but a smaller net like this one could be better for little kids to dig around in the water with. It’s also great fun to just scoop up a bunch of pond water into an ice cream bucket and see what tiny little insect life is inside!
• Extra pairs of warm gloves and hats. This may be different for you based on your location, but around here there’s a much higher chance that someone will be too cold (rather than too hot) on any given day. Even in the late spring and early fall I will often grab a few hats, mittens, and a sweatshirt or two to have along – because one extra layer can sometimes make all the difference between heading home early or staying for another hour.
• Magic Energy Pills. Okay, what I mean by this one is that I often will bring along a little treat for the kids – perhaps some Yum Earth suckers or gummy bears – and I *might* pull them out if we are in need of some Magic Energy at the end of a long hike. It really does help, and literally “sweetens” the deal for kids who might be getting worn out and crabby. Of course, this is not a necessity, and I don’t want the kids to expect it every single time we’re on a walk, but as an occasional treat it can be quite helpful. You could do the same thing with dried fruit or another healthier option, as long as it’s something special that the kids are excited about!
• A book to read. I don’t always get a chance to use it on our adventures, but I try to keep a small-ish book in my purse or the van so that if we happen to land at a place where the kids are all happily occupied with something, I can sneak in a little reading. It feels awfully luxurious when it does happen!

Bonus: If We Do A Longer “Real” Hike, We Might Add…

• Compass or whistle. I would say that there are very few situations where these are actually *necessities*, but kids sure do love to have them! A whistle can be helpful if you have older kids running ahead and you want to be able to tell where they are.
• Knife. Again, we’re probably *not* going to be slaying a bear with our pocketknife, or cutting down logs to build a shelter to spend the night in, but older kids love the responsibility of having a real blade in their hands. They might want to cut down a walking stick for a younger sibling, or cut up some kindling for a little fire if there is a safe place to do that. I’ve used pocketknives to open up snack packages as well, which is not nearly so exciting, but still a solid practical use for them.
• Good shoes. Most of the time our kids don’t know or care what’s on their feet (hiking through the woods in flip-flops? Why not?!) but if we are planning to do a long walk (or go up any elevation), I will try to make sure they have something with a little more stability and comfort on their feet.
• Map. Paper maps are great fun, and it’s such a fantastic learning experience for a child to figure out how the flat map is representing the three-dimensional world around them.
• Baby carrier. With our youngest coming up on three and a half, I believe we are officially out of the baby carrier stage, but there was a time not long ago when we never left home without one. My advice – if you think you’ll use it, spend the money on a quality carrier! We made the mistake of buying a cheap one with our firstborn and it ended up being so uncomfortable both for him and for me. We never used it again after the first try! After that we bought this Ergobaby and it was amazing – so extremely comfortable, even for long hikes, that we used it for all the rest of our kids and never once looked back.
• Our favorite cooler backpack. We’ve used this consistently for four years now, and it holds a surprising amount of food! It’s comfortable to carry and keeps food cold really well.

3 Free Apps To Help You In Your Adventures

If you’ve been around here for a while, you may be astounded by the fact that I am recommending technology – after all, we have intentionally reduced our screen time for kids, and I have even written about how to minimize and balance screen time for older kids.

However, there are times when technology – yes, even our phones – can be an amazing tool for enhancing our life! I use these three apps frequently when we are outdoors, and they have been so helpful. Granted, you could probably find paper versions of all of these, which – though slower – would work just as well.

And you could even start a philosophical argument about how waiting for this information and having to work for it makes it more valuable and helps it stick better in our brains – and yes, you’re probably right, but the fact remains that I do not have paper versions of these tools and we are satisfied with the speed and accuracy of the apps. Judge me if you will.

1. PictureThis (plant identification): this one is free to download, though it advertises a paid upgrade every time you open it; but it’s easy enough to cancel that ad and then move on to taking a photo of whatever plant you’re wondering about and getting it identified quickly and accurately!
2. Picture Insect (insect identification): same deal – you cancel the upgrade offer, then take a photo of an insect and it will tell exactly what it is and all sorts of interesting information about it!
3. Stellarium Mobile (night sky identification): this one gives you real-time info about exactly what you are seeing in the night sky when you point your phone up in any direction. It’s been so much fun this winter to run outside after dinner on clear nights and see how many planets we can see (our record so far is four in one night!).

No matter where you live, no matter if it is the middle of New York City or in the empty plains of Montana, there is nature around us to explore. We purposefully make it a priority to spend time outside together (maybe this year we’ll finally get to 1000 hours outside?) and I can honestly say that we have never regretted a single outdoor adventure we’ve taken – and I don’t think you will either.

Finally, I am going to remind myself that we don’t have to plan anything grand or exciting; even a short walk around the neighborhood can refresh our spirits and brighten our day. Sometimes the simple adventures are the best – not least because they are the easiest to pull off! Depending on the ages (and number) of our children, outdoor adventures with kids can be hard, but they are so very worth it – and a little prep goes a long way.

Let me know in the comments – what essential supplies have I missed? What else do you bring on your nature walks with kids?