Family-Friendly Walking Ideas for Summer
This post is part of our Summer of Simple Walking series. Check out the intro post for more information and links to other helpful posts.
We all adore our children—but we’ll all admit that having them home for summer break makes everything more chaotic. Our schedules seem to change from week to week (and sometimes from day to day). We’re constantly racing to some camp or practice or playdate. And we just keep running out of snacks. (Seriously…how do these kids survive the school year without non-stop snacks??)
During our Summer of Simple Walking series, we’re focusing on shifting our perspective—on making walking easy, fun, and (most importantly) flexible and staying consistent. Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need to work around your kids and their schedules. You can make them a part of your walking routine!
While you’re trying to keep the kids busy and entertained and off their screens this summer, walking can become more than just something you need to do for your own health and wellness. It can also be fun family time. It can keep the kids active and get them some fresh air. It can get them away from their devices for a while.
Walking can be an adventure!
So this week, we’re taking a look at some fun, simple, and realistic ways to make your family a part of your walking routine.
1) Turn Walking into an Adventure
Going for a walk can be fun—but it’s more fun when you make it an adventure!
Instead of just going on a walk around the block, plan to explore new places on foot. It could be a new park (make sure it has a playground!), a beach, a garden or arboretum, or some quaint downtown neighborhoods. It could be a trip to the zoo or your favorite museum.
For a little extra adventure, do some searching online to create a list of new places to visit. There’s a pretty good chance that you’ll find some fun family-friendly activities within a short drive from home. You might find yourself exploring castles or magical forest trails or candy factories—and you’ll end up making memories while getting some extra steps as a family.
2) Make It a Challenge
When school gets out for the summer, my daughter knows that she’ll end up going on a whole lot of walks with her mom. I know it’s not always the most exciting way to pass the time—especially when you’re a teenager—but for the past few years, we’ve come up with some different challenges to add a little extra incentive. One year, we walked with friends—and for each 5k the girls walked with us, they’d each get to pick a bead for a fun, colorful bracelet. One summer, we decided to visit as many different parks as possible—and we tried out the trails before visiting the playground. We’ve also done a 100-mile challenge—with a fun medal for a prize at the end.
Sometimes, adding a little extra challenge (and a small prize when they achieve their goal) can motivate your kids to turn off their devices and get some exercise.
3) Let the Kids Bike (or Skate) Along
My daughter was in second grade when the pandemic hit, shutting down school and the pool and the gym where she played volleyball. I had just started my regular walking routine the fall before—and not only did I not want to give it up, but I also wanted to keep her active while everything fun was closed. So she got to pick an activity while I walked around the neighborhood each morning. When we started, I’d walk while she’d come along on her scooter. Later, she moved into rollerblading. Sometimes she’d ride her bike. Each day that spring (and into the summer), I got my steps in. We both got plenty of fresh air. And she was able to stay active and off screens for a while.
Whether your kids love biking or skating or scootering, it’s a great way to get them moving—and it’s a great challenge for you, too, since you’ll be racing to keep up.
4) Go on Photo Walks
Sometimes, getting your kids to go on another walk might take some trickery and distraction—and I have definitely used this little trick often. You see, if kids have something to look for, it will distract them from the fact that they’re going out and getting some exercise with their mom. So before you set out, task them with finding the most interesting sights on your walk and taking pictures.
This could be:
– some colorful flowers
– something unexpected or unusual
– wildlife
– interesting cloud formations
– fun lawn ornaments
If you’ve got multiple kids, you can even make it a competition and have friends and family members vote on their favorites. Or you can print out your favorites and create an album of pictures from your walks. Whatever you end up doing with the pictures, it’ll help keep your kids engaged and entertained on your walk.
5) Create a Scavenger Hunt
Another way to turn your walk into an adventure for kids is to create a scavenger hunt of things you might find on your walk.
Create your list based on where you’re walking—whether on a wooded trail or through the neighborhood on through city streets. Items could be:
– a garden gnome
– someone walking a dog
– a pink flower
– a blue door
– a green car
Other ideas:
– a color hunt (find something red, something blue, something orange, etc.)
– an alphabet walk (find something the starts with each letter of the alphabet)
6) Make It a Family Challenge
I’ve heard of several different companies that do step challenges—where you put together a team and compete against other teams of coworkers to see who can get the most steps. Because sometimes you just need a little friendly competition to motivate you to move more.
An age-appropriate challenge could be anything from tracking daily steps to tracking mileage to tracking minutes walked. You can create a printable tracker and color in miles/steps/minutes throughout the summer—and give fun prizes for the winning adult and child.
If you don’t want to compete against each other, you can work together to track your family’s total miles. Or challenge another family to a family competition.
7) Enjoy an After-Dinner Stroll
There’s just something about getting out for a walk at the end of another busy day. It’s a great way to unwind—and to connect with the family. It’s also a great way to get some fresh air and movement at a cooler time of the day. And walking after you eat aids in digestion, too!
An after-dinner walk doesn’t have to be a long walk. Even just a short stroll around the neighborhood is a great way to catch up and share something about your crazy day.
8) Go on a Treat Walk
Sometimes the promise of an after-walk treat can make for good motivation. For me, that’s a cool, refreshing iced coffee. For some, it might be ice cream—or (my daughter’s personal favorite) a slushie.
Plan a walk to your favorite coffee shop—or an ice cream shop. You can also pack snacks and enjoy a mid-walk picnic. Or plan some other fun stop along the way. Or just promise popsicles or snow cones or another favorite treat once you get home.
If you’re like me, you don’t get a whole lot of “me time” during the summer—but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still get your steps in. It just means turning your walking routine into a family walking routine. The occasional walk can battle boredom, encourage movement and exercise, and give you some extra time to connect with your kids and your spouse.
It might even become something that you all look forward to.
What are some of your favorite family-friendly walk ideas for summer?
