Best Hiking Food for Kids

Packing food when you’re hiking can be a challenge. Let’s face it – kids are picky and getting it right even at home can sometimes be a challenge. When choosing the best hiking food for kids there are a few things to consider, so let’s just dive in.

How Long Is Your Hike

The length of your hike will impact the amount of food you need to bring with you, but packing heavy for a long day’s adventure isn’t ideal either. When considering what foods to pack for your kiddos, think about calorie dense choices that will keep their bellies satisfied and full. While some salt is also beneficial to keep electrolytes up, overly salty food will have your kiddos plowing through the water supply faster than you can walk.

Archer Mini Grass Fed Beefsticks - Hiking

Depending on the day, hike, and space in the bag, sometimes I will pack apples or oranges. These are an excellent hiking snack for their electrolytes and hydration, but they aren’t calorie dense, so they are generally a treat food. Another maybe food would be sandwiches – they take up a lot of space (really a wrap would be a better option but a PB&J wrap just isn’t going to go over well, at least in our family).

How Old Are Your Kids

Younger children can be pretty picky. This fun little fact of life can make packing food for little ones challenging for sure. But here is something else to consider – the older your children get, the more of their own food they can carry.

Some of my children often ask to bring foods on a hike that I would never personally pack. Usually because it’s something like a bag of chips that is completely unrealistic for hiking considering the limited backpack space. If my child is willing to carry their own backpack (and I know that they won’t quit mid-hike), I let them make some snack decisions for themselves. Ultimately I tend to know their limits and realistic expectations better than themselves and always have the final say in what they do or don’t bring. This is especially true with my under 10 crew whose eyes and excitement levels are generally bigger than their actual abilities and willingness on the trail.

Motivating Factors

Sometimes kids just need a little extra motivation to keep moving. I find that food can do just that. I will often keep what I call “emergency chocolate” in my bag to give them a little extra pick-me-up in both sugar levels and spirits. This could also be something like a lollipop, candy or gum.

You could also consider keeping a special treat in the car to be consumed upon your return. Something like an ice cold kombucha packed into a cooler, or maybe even a popsicle. As little legs start to get tired, the reminder of what is awaiting them at the end of the hike can offer a nice little boost of energy and help dull any complaining.

The Best Kept Secret

The best kept secret to packing hiking food for your kids, that they will actually enjoy, is this:

Kids are a lot less picky when they’re hungry.

Foods that my children don’t normally reach for become much more appealing on the trail. Naturally they’ll go through all of their top picks first (sometimes within the first 10 minutes), so when that last half of the hike comes around and they’re out of snacks, guess what suddenly looks appetizing! (This is also my secret to getting rid of snack foods that have been opened but nobody ever seems to want to finish. I’m tricky like that!)

Low sodium beef jerky
Beef sticks
Nuts
Trail Mix
Granola
Peanut butter crackers
Plantain chips
Slices of cooked sweet potato
Dried fruit/fruit leather
Peanut butter pretzels
Granola bars
Homemade protein balls
Apples/oranges

Last and certainly not least…

Don’t forget the “Emergency Chocolate”. If it’s too hot out, be sure to replace it with another treat like gum, lollipops, fruit snacks, or hard candies.