Tips

Every trail guide gives you the same packing list. We wanted to know what families actually need, so we went through the “what to bring” notes on all 145 hiking adventures in our database - 103 of them have specific packing notes attached - and counted what shows up. The results are not the list you’d write from memory. Here’s what the data actually says. Water is not tied for first. It’s first by a mile. Drinking water appears in 76% of hiking packing notes - 78 out of 103. Nothing else is close. Hiking shoes or boots are second at 45%. Sunscreen is at 20%. Snacks are at 19%. ...

The hardest part of taking a toddler outside isn’t the toddler. It’s picking the place. Get it wrong and you spend two hours carrying a 28-pound human up a staircase you didn’t know existed, while the stroller you hauled from the car sits folded against a tree. So we went looking for the pattern. Every one of the 364 adventures in our database is tagged with a difficulty rating, a minimum recommended age and a stroller-friendly flag. Cross-referencing them turned up one finding that changes how you should search. ...

Your family’s first camping trip doesn’t need to be an epic backcountry expedition. In fact, the best first trips are short, close to home, and simple. Here’s everything you need to know to make your first family camping trip a success - from choosing the right campground to what to actually bring. Choose the Right Campground The campground you pick makes or breaks a first camping trip. Here’s what to look for: ...