Customer Reviews

Vermont, New Hampshire, & Maine (Best Hikes With Kids)

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What better way can you think of to connect with your kids other than actually getting out and doing something with them like taking a hike? We're not talking hiking to a fast food restaurant to get an unhealthy meal and a little toy that will soon be lost in the shuffle or end up in your yard sale or chewed up by your dog. We're talking long term benefits, emotionally and physically.

According to the authors, hiking is "healthier than television, cheaper than downhill skiing . . . is within everyone's capabilities and will appeal to toddlers and teenagers, preschoolers and parents." This book also gives pointers on how to make hiking fun and enjoyable for the whole family. There are eighty-five hikes listed: twenty-four in Vermont, twenty-nine in New Hampshire and thirty-two in Maine.

There is a map legend in the front of the book. Scattered throughout the preliminary pages are boxed materials listing the pages containing "best hikes" for seeing a natural waterfall, following a stream, brook or river, beach walking or coast walking, investigating a pond or lake, swimming at a swimming hold or public beach, investigating caves, boulders, or unique geologic features, a summit or scenic vista (many with towers), for visiting a nature center or visitor center, loop hikes, overnight camping, with leashed dogs. You can effectively tailor your hike to your entire family, including your dog if you so desire!

Each hike listed has four main sections to browse and consider:

1. Before You Go . . . referral to a USGS map of the area and a telephone number to access current weather conditions

2. About the Hike . . . a day or overnight hike, how challenging it is for children, dates the hike can be undertaken, how long it is in miles, hiking time, high point/elevation gain and symbols to indicate what to expect

3. Specific directions on how to get there

4. A dialogue on what to expect while you are on the trail

This is a marvelous book! Whether you want to grab your picnic basket and take a leisurely stroll or do some serious hiking, the choice is yours. My choice would be the Ocean Trail, a mere 0.6 miles to Thunder Hole, one of my childhood favorites.

Bought this book in June 2011 and took my three small children hiking in VT in July. The trail I took them on in Groton State Park was supposed to be "easy" and the author said "even grandparents will want to join.". Ha! After a very vigorous hike through the woods, we lucked out that we were near a road and I was able to trail-run back to the car to pick up the family. Had this not been the case we could have been in real trouble by trusting the advice of this book. These hikes might be OK for kids over 10 but regardless, definitely do your homework independent of this book before you go.

I have had such wonderful luck visiting the spots highlighted in this book and the sister book about Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island Connecticut, Massachusetts, & Rhode Island (Best Hikes With Kids) that I now seriously plan my vacations around it. I have only done the hikes approved for small children, but my daughter did several when she was two with no whining at all. It's also one of those books that is nice for fantasizing when you're feeling trapped inside.