11 Surprising Benefits of Hiking With a Baby

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The thought of spending time out in the wild with your little one can be daunting. However, if you prepare well, hiking with a baby can be a truly rewarding experience. Contrary to what most of us think, hiking with a baby comes with several benefits.

Here are 11 surprising benefits of hiking with a baby:

It gives you both fresh air
It’s good exercise
It gives you a change of scenery
You can bond with your baby
Your baby can take in the different sights
It can be peaceful
It’s easy to do with a baby
You can try to find a baby hiking group
It’s something to look forward to
Hiking is good for cognitive development
Hiking helps with loneliness

The rest of this article will discuss these benefits in greater detail. Be sure to read on if you want to learn more about hiking with your little one.

1. It Gives You Both Fresh Air

One great benefit of hiking with a baby is access to clean, unpolluted air. It’s likely that you usually take trips to the mall or grocery store (and do other indoor activities) with your baby, so going for a hike is a great way to take in nature and get some much-needed fresh air.

The good thing about fresh air is that it cleans the lungs, which is true for both adults and babies. If you’re indoors most of the time with your baby, you might not be getting enough clean, fresh air.

Another benefit of fresh air is that it energizes you. If you’re dealing with built-up fatigue, a hike could help refuel your body and put you in a great mood at the same time.

Tagging your little one along also allows you to detach from the usually stressful home environment and recharge your parental batteries before getting back home.

2. It’s Good Exercise

This may not come as too much of a surprise, but hiking is a great way to get exercise. Many people assume you need to hit the gym or go for an intense run to get enough exercise, but that’s not the case.

One reason hiking is a great exercise is that it often involves walking up hills and elevated trails, which burns more calories than walking on a flat surface. Since you’ll be walking on an incline for some parts of your hike, you’ll be getting plenty of exercise.

Plus, you’ll have the added weight of your baby, so this will help you burn even more calories and help with your strength. Of course, there are many other ways you can exercise, but you have the added benefit of enjoying beautiful scenery when you’re hiking.

If you’re someone who goes to the same park or walks around the same block every day, you’re likely looking for something new and different. There are many hiking trails you can take on with your baby, so you’ll have the opportunity to see many new sights.

3. It Gives You a Change of Scenery

I already briefly mentioned that hiking gives you the chance to change your surroundings, but I’ll talk a little more about that in this section.

It’s essential to change you and your baby’s surroundings every now and then. Visiting the same places and doing the same things every day can negatively affect you and your baby’s moods, hence the need to experience some change.

Changing up your daily routine (with your baby) can increase your overall happiness, allowing you both to take a much-needed breather. This is particularly true if you go on a trail you’ve never been to before as you’ll get to experience new sights!

4. You Can Bond With Your Baby

Hiking with your baby allows you to bond with one another because it’s generally a peaceful and quiet activity with little to no distractions. Forget about phones, lots of people, and other kinds of technology getting in the way—when you go hiking, it’s just you and your baby enjoying the experience.

Of course, you can bond with your baby in many ways, but hiking has the added benefits of peace, tranquillity, and no distractions. You will be hiking with your baby while enjoying beautiful sceneries and a breath of fresh air, which can help strengthen your bond, especially if hiking becomes your go-to bonding activity.

Since it’s a new environment for your baby, it’ll be fun for you to show him/her all these exciting things.

And if you want to take a break at any point or feed your baby, you can find a log or a comfortable, well-shaded area to sit down. Feeding and resting with your baby on a hike is a great way to bond with each other and create memorable experiences!

5. Your Baby Can Take in the Different Sights

It is vital for you and your baby’s mental health to experience new scenery now and then. According to Pennsylvania State University, infants learn about the world and society by exploring different places and surroundings. So, bringing your baby on a hike will allow them to learn and develop their senses.

There are many things for a baby to take in when hiking, including:

Trees
Flowers
Plants
Insects
Animals

Being subjected to these things is excellent for your baby’s development because it helps them learn about different things in nature and the wider world.

If your baby is constantly going on the same walking route and to the same grocery store/mall, they won’t be learning anything new.

6. It Can Be Peaceful

Hiking can be a highly peaceful activity if you choose a quiet trail. Having a relaxed environment is essential for many new parents, especially if you want to catch a break from the day-to-day activities. The calmness and peacefulness of the trail could even make your baby feel more calm, resulting in a nap.

On many hiking trails, the only thing surrounding you is nature. However, this isn’t always the case as some hiking trails might be popular, especially during the summer, so you should be prepared for that scenario.

But even if there are other hikers around, there will be an air of peacefulness that you can’t experience when on a regular walk around the block.

This is mainly because it gets you away from busy city life things, such as:

Noisy traffic
Pollution
Buildings
Lots of people

Giving your baby the chance to experience the peacefulness of a hike (away from busy city life) is an excellent way for them to unwind and gain a new perspective on the world.

7. It’s Easy To Do With a Baby

Many exercises and activities can be challenging with a baby, but hiking is pretty easy once you have all the things you need. One important thing you’ll need is a carrier to hold them comfortably. With the right accessories, you can hike comfortably in the knowledge that your baby is completely safe and out of harm’s way.

It’s also vital to bring essentials like milk supply for your baby and some food (for you and the baby if old enough). Once you have all these necessities, you can enjoy a stress-free afternoon or morning hike with your little adventurer.

It’s nearly impossible to carry your baby on your back when partaking in activities like running or swimming due to safety reasons and discomfort.

With hiking, however, you can take in the beautiful scenery while enjoying a peaceful walk with your baby, which shouldn’t prove too hard if you choose a strategic location.

Remember to take things slow when hiking with a baby. You should also target short hikes in friendly locations to avoid overwhelming your little one when out on the trails.

8. You Can Try To Find a Baby Hiking Group

If you’re interested in meeting other families and their babies, you might want to join a baby hiking group. Although you may not be lucky enough to find like-minded parents that love the outdoors in your region, there is a chance you might stumble into one on the trails!

An example of a baby hiking organization is Hike it Baby, which has trails all over the country. By visiting their trails page, you can see if there are any available hikes in your region.

Joining a baby hiking group is a fun way to meet other families with similar interests, and it also gives your baby a chance to meet other children. And these hiking groups aren’t just for babies—you can also tag your older children along!

Being a new parent can be challenging, especially if none of your friends have children yet. It can make you feel out of place and lost, so finding a group of like-minded people could be just the thing you need.

9. It’s Something To Look Forward To

Hiking doesn’t just have to be a one-time thing. You can incorporate it into your routine, which gives you and your baby something to look forward to.

Of course, you don’t have to go on hikes every day, but going once or twice a week could give you something exciting to think about and brighten your mood throughout the week.

It’s essential to have things to look forward to, especially if you’re at home a lot with your baby. Although you love spending time with them at home, it’s no secret that it can get dull quickly.

Knowing that you have something exciting happening each week without having to leave your baby at home will reduce your stress and boost your overall motivation levels. So, it’s a no-brainer to incorporate fun hikes into your weekly routine.

10. Hiking Is Good for Cognitive Development

Being outdoors is essential for a child’s cognitive development, so bringing your baby hiking will give them a head start with brain development!

And if your baby is old enough to walk or crawl, you could even let them explore certain parts of the trail independently (while keeping a close eye on them, of course). This allows babies to have first-hand experience with different things like plants and insects.

Plus, direct interaction with nature makes children aware of the different things present on our planet. These are things your baby wouldn’t be able to experience if they were at home all the time or going to the same park every day.

Although it’s a good idea to allow your baby to explore independently, it is essential to ensure they don’t put anything in their mouth. Babies and toddlers like to put lots of things in their mouths because mouth exploration is a fundamental part of their overall development (known as baby mouthing).

As long as you’re aware of this and always watch your baby, there shouldn’t be any issues. But if your baby is under a few months old, you should keep them with you the entire time.

Even if your baby isn’t old enough to explore independently, simply being able to take in the new sights is enough to develop some cognitive abilities.

11. Hiking Helps With Loneliness

It’s extremely common to experience loneliness if you have a new baby. You may even be experiencing postpartum depression, a common type of depression that occurs after giving birth. Some things can help with these feelings of sadness and despair, including going out for walks and hikes.

Getting out into the fresh air and going for a hike with your baby will help take your mind off negative emotions like loneliness and sadness. And if you choose a busy hiking trail, you may even get to meet other hikers along the way.

People who see you hiking with a young baby will most likely be friendly, especially if they’re out with their families as well. Who knows, you might end up making new friends and form a small hiking community in your region.

Plus, your body releases endorphins during any intense exercise, which helps make you feel better and fight off feelings of sadness and depression. And it’s not like you’ll be hiking alone—you’ll have your little one there with you to keep you company along the trail.