Botanical Adventure

We spent a morning in the Tilden Park Botanical Gardens recently. The gardens are so lush from all the rain. Plus we were some of the few there on such an early morning, made for a peaceful adventure.

Hope to return to those gardens soon. Always a refreshing experience.

Let's Play Outside! Nature Games for Kids

I have had several opportunities this week to dream-up some fun nature activities to do with children while on a hike or afterward. I know that can be difficult to get children involved while hiking and especially keeping them focused on positive aspects of hiking like the pretty trees, the sky, the birds, and not the negative aspects like "my feet hurt," "I'm thirsty..." etc. So, here's a little list of some fun games you can incorporate on your next outdoor adventure.

Nature Sudoku Scavenger Hunt: draw a large grid that is three rows x three colomns on a piece of butcher paper that you can roll up and stow in your backpack. On the grid write the following numbers in this order:
Row 1: 9;1;5
Row 2: 4,3, 8
Row 3: 6,7,2

Now, have the children look around them, or while on the hike, to see if they can spot items in nature of the same quantity that is listed in each box on the grid. Example: 9 leaves, 1 pine cone, 5 rocks.

ABC Hike: This game is a lot like I Spy but instead of like colors children are looking for items in nature that start with each letter of the alphabet. See how many items you can find for the letter X!

Gnome Homes: While hiking collect natural items such as twigs, grass, leaves, berried, acorns, and other items. After the hike let the children's imaginations fly, as they build small gnome homes under a tree in your yard.

Gratitude Stone: This is a fun game to incorporate into a week about giving thanks. While on a hike ask the children to find a stone that will become their very own personal token from the hike. It can be any shape or color but must fit nicely into a pocket. After the hike explain that the stone is called a Gratitude Stone and that it should be kept in their pocket for the next week. Every time they place their hands into their pocket and touch the stone they must think about something or someone they are grateful for. It can be anything. Grateful for the air they breathe, their family, their dog, etc. After a few days ask them what they are grateful for. It will be amazing what they come up with!

Hidden Hiking in Moraga- Valles Vista Staging Area

In the back-country of the small town of Moraga an amazing array of trails lay in wait of discovery. Take the King Canyon trail off of Canyon Road in Moraga to do a nice 7.5 mile loop following the San Pablo canal and to the San Pablo Reservoir. The trail is mostly shaded by scrub oaks and is perfect for a spring outing. This is a no-joke hike, so plan on a full day of basking in the sun and taking in some truly lush scenery. Peaceful, dog-friendly, and a lovely array of wildflowers. Children will have fun doing a nature scavenger hunt, or collecting natural items to take home and create their very own nature collage or mandala. Happy Hiking!

Hiking Redwood Regional Park

Redwood Regional Park is such an unusual and unexpected place to find tucked away in the Oakland Hills. Suddenly you are away from the urban sprawl and find yourself among towering giants. The hike was on the longer side of 4.5 miles. Long enough for E to catch a nap. It was a shady trail the whole way and would be perfect for late spring and summer treks. Also, awesome for a wee one's delicate skin. E just loved hanging out in the hiking backpack! I picked up the white sun hat he's wearing from Target last summer. The Velcro strap has made it so easy to take on and off. Plus it's SPF 50!

It was a little confusing where to park. We ended up parking way out in an overflow lot, since it wasn't marked well. It just added maybe a quarter of a mile to our overall hike. E did really well for most of the hike and only had one melt down toward the end. He was very thirsty! Bring lot's of water because this is a hilly hike for sure. Layer yourself as the beginning you will be cool and the end you will be toasting up!

You can check it out on weekend sherpa for more info on the hikes and how to get there.

Happy Trails!

Hiking Mt. Tam

The view from West Point Inn

The fog came rolling in and covered the Golden Gate Bridge

My Father-In Law Takes in the view

I love Weekend Sherpa and their constant supply of amazing outdoor information for the SF Bay Area. A few weeks ago we took the Mt. Tam hike up to West Point Inn. We saw breath taking vistas and panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco. Basically, it was the most beautiful hike I have been on in a while. We parked at Pantoll Camp grounds. There was an $8 fee for parking in the lot or it was free if you parked on the street. We started our hike from Pantoll and did a moderate climb up to the West Point Inn where we got a drink, took a breather, and ate a snack while looking out onto some of the ocean and city. Completely worth the hour and half drive! We plugged Emory into the baby backpack and put a big sun hat on him and he was perfectly content for the entire trek. I hope to return to Mt. Tam soon!