Best Hikes with Young Kids in Washington with Marissa Pedersen

Marissa Pedersen joins Jennie to share her top tips for hiking with young children in Washington State as well as some of her favorite hikes with young children in Washington.

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Transcript

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Jennie, welcome to the Washington State hiking podcast. I'm your host. Jennie Thwing Flaming, and I'm your co host. Craig Romano, Craig and I are happy to have you here. We provide practical and timely, seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners and potential hikers and trail runners of all skill and ability levels that is helpful, accurate, fun and inclusive. Thank you again to our sponsor for the month of April, Snohomish County tourism. Thank you so much for supporting the Washington State hiking podcast. Welcome everybody. We have a special guest today, Marissa Pederson. And Marissa is a born and raised Washingtonian like me, and she also has a website, postcards to seattle.com where she writes about travel and outdoor adventures and hikes. And she also recently, just at the beginning of April, published her first guidebook, which is the moon guide to Washington. Congratulations, Marissa, that's a big deal. Thank you. Yeah. And today we are talking about hikes with kids, because Marissa is a mom. Her kids are now six and three, and she has hiked with both her kids since they were babies, including sometimes by herself. And so she's gonna share some of her wisdom. First, we're gonna talk about hiking with kids in general, and then she's gonna share five of her favorite hikes she's done in Washington with her kids so far. So Marissa, welcome to the Washington State hiking podcast. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's great having you. So can you start off by just telling us a little bit about kind of you as a hiker, maybe before you had kids, and kind of what led you to commit to hiking with your kids once they were born? Sure, I've been hiking years and years. So I've been hiking for quite a few years. I've done hikes all over the world. When I used to travel all over the world, tons of good ones in Washington, like 17 Mount St, Helens, tough ones like that. So when I had my first kid six years ago, I was definitely worried about what this would mean for my hiking. Yes, obviously it's hard when you have a little one. I didn't want to leave my son, so I figured I would take him with him. So I think I went on buy nothing or Facebook or something. He got a pretty cheap hiking backpack and just started taking him when he was a baby, and did a lot of trial and tribulations. Some hikes went well. Some hikes were a little bit harder, but I feel after six years, I have a good amount of tips hiking with babies and toddlers and now elementary school to hopefully encourage people to continue hiking. It's not always easy, but it's fun, and it's fun to see my little boys do what I do. So yeah, that's that's so fun. I love that. Okay, so tell us some of your tips, like some of the things that you've learned about successful, happy hiking with kids. You can never guarantee what mood they're in. So that's but I feel like the biggest tip is, start small. Don't go on a huge hike right away. It's really tempting. It was tempting because when my son, my first son, was five, six months, spring was starting. All the wildflowers were starting. But a lot of those hikes are really far in the mountains, really long drives. And so I was smart enough to say, You know what, we're not going to push like, a five hour drive to go on some eight mile hike with a baby. Yeah. So I decided to do hikes around the area, because I'm in the Edmonds area, so So I basically just stuck to hikes were close to home. Stuck to hikes that were shorter. And honestly, for my comfort, sticking to hikes that were close to a city just having comfort of having cell service, yeah, if I needed to go to the store and get something, everything was right there that was the best to start with, yeah. So, so, like, not only not as long of a drive, but also easy to pick up things that you forgot, right kind of lower stakes overall, right, and easy to abandon the hike if needed. Like, easy to get back to the car if needed. It's not like a five mile hike back to the car if needed. Yes, yes. That's that is really, that's really, really wise. How about like, as your kids got older, how did you kind of make decisions about, like, how to adapt what you were doing, or, How did you judge like, what your older son was kind of ready for? How did you figure that out? Um, just a lot of trial scene. Because sometimes, especially the toddlers, like older toddlers, preschoolers, they have energy and they get really. Excited, and then they'll go really fast in the beginning and then be really tired at the end, so try to pace it out. I feel like I kind of have different tips for different stages of Babies Toddlers. Because with the baby, the easiest thing was, since they take naps for a long time, like three hours, sometimes especially when they're little, if it's possible to time a hike with a nap, that's easy, because then they will fall asleep, and you can continue hiking and where, hopefully you have a supportive backpack. And again, there's a lot of cheap ones for sale. You don't need to go to REI and get some $300 baby carrier, yeah, but a hard frame is good, because then you can put the baby down safely, make it still keep napping, and then you can take a break, because you will get tired. You will need a break too, and get your things. Yeah. But I had a really good one for getting the brand, but it had the chest trap and then had hip straps, and the hip strap could fit my phone that could fit my water and like a little snack, so I didn't have to constantly take off my backpack with the baby, because I can get heavy. Yeah? You know, I love that tip. That's not, I'm not a parent, and that's not something I would have thought of, is like, the importance of being able to set them down, yeah, so you can use your hands right to, like, get your own snack, or snack for them, or whatever. Okay? And then, as they get older, um, toddlers, they can't go too far. I've heard something like one mile per however many years old they are, I'm not sure. It depends on the kid. Of course, if they never hike, they're not gonna hike. I still don't think a three year old can hike three miles, it seems quite far, but again, you go at a slow pace. Yep, I would say something generally flat for toddlers, for sure, and one to two miles, and then also still having a carrier to get them at the end. Yeah, I made that mistake a few times. I think I started following some like hiking mom Facebook groups. Oh, they're so inspirational, and they were, but they have been hiking like every day with their kids since they were little, and so always having a backup plan, because it's not fun carrying like a 3040, pound child down a hill when they're tired, so still having a backpack. So when I had the two kids weeks now, I have two boys. My husband and I got two backpacks because I tried once to do a hike, carrying the baby, the new baby, and then have the toddler walk. And then just didn't work. They had to, like, carry the toddler and the hips a lot, yeah, having backup support. Don't, don't push yourself too far, right? So are you saying you wouldn't necessarily recommend taking a baby and a toddler by yourself, no, unless you really know that your toddler can do it, and it's a really short one. But toddlers are unpredictable. They get really excited and then really upset. So no, but as they get older, when my oldest son got into preschool, then he could pick the hikes and so finding pictures. You can find pictures of stuff they like, but also something exciting at the end. So waterfalls, big kids for kids, yeah. So we've done a ton of waterfall hikes, because who doesn't love a waterfall? Yeah? So having the motivation say, Oh, we're almost there at the end, as a waterfall, or something like that, or a lake, like Lake is fun in the summer, or a trail that has just fun things along the way, like really big trees to see, or something that, you know, is along the way, just some kind of motivation, because after a while they're done, yeah, I'm going, Yeah. And, you know, I think that's a good point too, about waterfall hikes, because not only are they cool to look out for anybody, but they often have those cool like logs or creeks, or, you know, cool rocks and right, like that, yeah, mud to play in all that stuff. I've also heard that you can kind of bring your own things, like little, not toys, but little things you can put in the trail, like make, like a little gnome toy you have, or something along the way. I don't quite know how the prep works for that, cause I feel like one person has to put that ahead of time, and then this, as the kid goes along, they can find that on the trail. But I've also heard other things, like, let's hike 50 more feet, or something, something relatable to a kid, they don't quite understand feet, and then they get a little treat, like a snack or something like that. So food motivation, I guess, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it, yeah. That's cool. Yeah. It's good to know that. Like, there are some kind of fun, more complicated things out there. But also, what I'm hearing you say is that it doesn't have to be this big ordeal, you know, you can use some of their favorite snacks and things like that and stuff that they're interested in. Yeah, cool. Okay, well, we're gonna take a short break, and then when we come back, we're going to talk about Marissa, favorite hikes in Washington with kids. Our sponsor for the month of April is Snohomish County tourism. Get access to the great outdoors only minutes from downtown Seattle, due to its temperate climate, Snohomish County Washington is the perfect destination for family adventures and outdoor fun throughout the year, Snohomish County offers an abundance of family friendly fun, including walking and hiking trails, many of which are also great for biking. Visit one of our many parks and enjoy an afternoon of picnicking, people watching. Or wildlife watching, if your little ones need to take a spell to explore the great indoors the region's biggest Children's Museum. Imagine Children's Museum and the original Bucha headquarters are both located in the heart of downtown Everett, whether you're seeking outdoor or indoor adventure, Snohomish County boasts an endless landscape of beautiful places to explore, and they need our care. For more information on how you can recreate responsibly, Leave No Trace and protect our natural resources. Visit Seattle North country.com you can also follow Seattle North Country on social media at Seattle North Country, that's one word, no spaces, dashes or hyphens. You can also tag Seattle North Country, or use the hashtag visit snow co to get your snow co adventures featured on their social accounts. Snohomish County tourism. Thank you so much for sponsoring the Washington State hiking podcast. You we are back with Marissa Peterson from postcards to Seattle, and the author of the moon guide to Washington. And we're talking about hikes with kids in Washington State. So Marissa between living in Washington pretty much your whole life, and researching the guidebook, the moon guide, and living in Snohomish County, like I'd love to hear out of all of those different experiences, what are say your five favorite hikes to do with your kids. I always say a good one to start with kids is other than Seattle Discovery Park, since it is a network of trails, you can choose to continue. You can make it longer. You can stop and again. Like when I started, like I said, you're close to the city. You're in the city. Essentially, your car is closed, everything is closed. And there's a lot of fun things there too. There's you go see, like, the lighthouse, yeah, the water. There's so many different ways you can go, yeah. So you can always start with, like, the shortest trail, do a little loop, or just come back the same way and then extend it if it's going well or not. So I love that one up north, north of Seattle, we have meadowdale Beach Park, so that's a nice one too. There is a hill coming back, but it's fun because you go down, there's big stairs to go on some bridges, there's a lot to see, yeah, especially a lot of like birds and things in the spring and the summer, and then you end up at the ocean. And so that's fun. So that's a great place for snack. Kids have a lot of fun there, and then they come back. So I love meadowdale. If we're going to go to Olympic Peninsula, Mary Mayor Falls is great. It's, I'm trying to think what it is a mile and a half that sounds right, something about that, but it's mainly flat. It's almost essentially flat, except for the very end, when you get to the waterfall. Yeah. So that's so easy to do. There's a lot of big trees to see along the way, and then you have the giant waterfalls, and that's a good place to take a break as well, yep. And even that. You know, when I did tours, that was a hike we used to do on our tours for the same reason, right? Like that, it's relatively short, so it was three miles round trip. And unless you go, it's completely flat, unless you go up to the top. And I think, I think any hike that's good for a tour is also good for young children, right? Again, unpredictable. You don't quite know what's gonna happen. Lots of things to see along the way. Great. Yeah, that's a fun one. Another waterfall one you could do, Wallace falls, yep, out of highway two. That's that's nice because you can choose which waterfall you can stop at. The first waterfall you can go to the last, if it's going well, yeah. Going well, yep. And you're just essentially walking along the river for a long good portion of it. So there's a lot to see, like, there's a time to see. I took my son when he was a toddler there, that was really interesting. We made it to the middle waterfall, and then I could tell he was done. It's also nice, because when you're coming back, it's downhill, so it's easier, versus you start downhill. Yes, yes, yeah, that is good. And then if you wanted to go over the mountains to Wenatchee sage hills, is really good one. I took my youngest son there. He was a baby during, I think was end of May, when all the beautiful wildflowers are out there. And so that's a network of trails that's so easy to just start and stop whenever you need to there's so much to see. I think even him, he was looking around a lot at everything we saw there. Yeah, and then you're right in the city. We got dinner there, like, it was perfect. Yeah, so, and Wenatchee is so it's so different from the west side of the mountains. Like, I'll even as an adult, always find that so fascinating. It's like there's different plants and different views. And Wenatchee is a great town. I love Wenatchee. We go there like they have so many good breweries, which would be another podcast. But yes, I love Wenatchee in general. Yes, we should. We should do a breweries of Washington podcast. Yes, you would be the right person to do that one. So we will do that in the future. Yeah, love it. Do you have? Do your kids have? Uh, like in those places that are a little further away from home, say, like Wallace falls or sage hills near Wenatchee or on the Olympic Peninsula. Do you have any places that are really great to go with kids, like, after that you've been to that you felt like were really good for them, that come to mind as far as food or activities, either Wenatchee, we've been stopping it all the time. So we do a lot of road trips as a family, and then writing this book, The guidebook to Washington, I did some of the trips on my own. Exploring is basically every corner of the state is in this book, yeah, but the family came for a lot because, like, they like to do that. So Wenatchee is just so great when you're coming from the east side. So we with the boys. We have their little bikes in the car. So we always try to find like Wenatchee has, like the Waterfront Trail, yep, going in there, just getting their energy. I think is the amazing Wenatchee Valley brewing. They are very kid friendly. They have, like, an outdoor area. They have a kids area, which is very rare, so that's good. They have good food. Finding a brewery that actually has a full menu is important with kids, yeah, then they're happy, and everyone's happy and satisfied. No, Wenatchee is great. There's a lot to do there. Yeah, cool. Is there anything on the Olympic Peninsula? I know that when I was a kid, I really loved the Dungeness Spit as well. I mean, that's more hiking. That's not, you know, for you, but I love that. And also salt Creek, oh, yeah, I really loved, um, we've stayed in Port Angeles a few times. Yep, there's, I mean, there's fun stuff to do. There's getting the name of it. There's a little, it's not an aquarium. There's a center on the water right there, kind of Canada, yep, I'm gonna say it printed something, Life Center. I'm saying, I'm gonna say it wrong. But it's really small, but it's really fun. They can do a touch pool and things like that, close by or next door. There's an arcade that was nice. We were there one day on a rainy day. So there's a lot and there's so many restaurants. There so many restaurants, so that's really helpful too, definitely. Yeah, I know the place you're talking about. It's like, right by the ferry that goes over, like you were saying, over to Victoria. Yeah, those are all, you know. Another thing I was thinking while you were talking Marissa, is that a lot of those are waterfall hikes, and we talked about all the reasons Those are great. And another one is because it doesn't matter if it's raining, right? You know, it's like, oh, you're in the forest and you're looking at a waterfall, right? It's raining, big deal, yeah. Is there anything else you want to share Marissa with everybody as far as advice or your wisdom around hiking with young kids? I think always have extra snacks, have too many snacks, and have extra water, because, like, running out of those things are not good, and then just instilling a sense of pride in your kids after the hike is done, we'll take, I mean, I take a bunch of pictures naturally because of my job, being travel writer and all that. But now, especially my older one will love to look through pictures of things we've done. You did that and you want that far so they get excited and tell other people about it? Yeah, because I want them to want to hike when they're out of the house. And yes, they're older, yeah, when you can't carry them anymore. Cool. Well, Marissa, thank you so much for coming on today and sharing all this great kid friendly hiking info. Thanks for having me. You.