With its unique nature, the Black Forest is a real paradise for every hiker. There is a lot to discover, from vineyards to breathtaking gorges to fantastic panoramic trails, because the network of hiking trails is well developed and varied. The Black Forest is therefore perfect for a hiking holiday with the whole family. If you want to hike with children - especially with small children - you sometimes need a lot of patience, because hiking is not one of the favorite activities of all children. In the following, you will find some useful tips on how hiking trips can become a real pleasure and an unforgettable experience for both young and old.
Hiking: also possible with babies and small children
If you think that hiking is only possible with children who can already walk persistently, then you are wrong. Even with babies and small children, you don't have to do without hiking tours. A buggy would be unsuitable here, however, because at the latest in impassable terrain or on hikes with gorges like the Wutach Gorge or the Lotenbachklamm, a hike with a buggy would come to an end very quickly. With a back support frame, a so-called Kraxe, you are more independent and the baby or toddler can experience thrilling tours and see everything well without having to walk. What are the other advantages of such a child carrier and how you can find the right model very well summarized here.
Choose exciting tours for children
There is one thing you should be aware of: children often do not particularly like boring tours without exciting highlights, because they do not yet have a trained eye for the beauties of landscapes. So plan your hikes so that there is something exciting for the children too. The selection is sometimes not that easy, because parents often orientate themselves on the blue tours (easy paths) on hiking maps. Often these are described as suitable for children, but this does not say anything about how exciting the tour really is. This only means that this tour is safe for children. So it is better to take the tour planning into your own hands and see which highlights could be interesting to knit a tour around. It is especially nice for children if, for example, the following highlights are on a route:
- Barefoot paths, e.g. the Muggenbrunn barefoot path
- Climbing gardens and high rope forests, e.g. the Adventure forest Kenzingen
- Playgrounds, for example the "Felsele" adventure forest
- Adventure trails, e.g. the Feldberg gnome trail
- Attractions that sweep you away, for example the Toboggan run on the Hasenhorn in Todtnau
There are also special ones in the Black Forest Children's hiking trails.
Barefoot Park Muggenbrunn 
Feldberg gnome trail -
Hasenhorn toboggan run in Todtnau
No hassle on hiking tours with children
If you go hiking with children, it is best to plan about twice the time as stated in the hiking guide. For adults, of course, that means they may have to step back a little, but your kids will thank you. So the children have enough time to marvel at the things that they find fascinating even on the hiking tour: colorful flowers of various plants, rare beetles or anthills on the roadside. If you go out with children, you should get into it exactly, because if you plan the route a little shorter beforehand, you will not be disappointed afterwards and there can be no hectic rush at all. Always try to empathize with the children and see the hike through their eyes.
Awaken the spirit of discovery on hiking tours
If you want to awaken the spirit of discovery in children while hiking, why not include a captivating treasure hunt, for example. You don't even have to hide a treasure yourself, you can do it Geocaching use for it. Just check the geocaching app in advance to see if there are any exciting caches on your way that you can integrate into the tour. Geocaching can now be practiced almost all over the world and of course there are also numerous caches hidden in the Black Forest. In the meantime, there are even various child-friendly caches that turn otherwise boring tours into mysterious adventures for children in no time at all.
Conclusion: excitement and fun when hiking with children are the most important
Pure hiking can quickly become boring for children. You should avoid this if you want to have fun on the tour through the Black Forest yourself and don't want to keep hearing sentences like “hiking is stupid” or “I don't feel like it anymore”. Make your hikes varied so that there is something for both young and old. In this way, great moments can arise on the hikes through the Black Forest, which the whole family is guaranteed to have fun with.
