My 7-year-old son loves to be outdoors. We often go to the park or just go on walks. Additionally, he loves the river. Can anyone recommend places to walk, trails, short hikes etc?
I would recommend Lew Howard Park near American River Canyon. There is a nice hike that would be perfect for someone his age and a cool creek that runs thru it; he could make a little dam and do all that cool boy stuff. There is no way you could become separated at that park and very safe.
Have fun! J.
Hi V.,
Have you taken him to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery off of Hazel Ave.? Across from that is the Nimbus Dam and a very beautiful park with ducks & geese. There are bike trails, and single track (dirt trails) that go along the river east from the Dam. I recommend the dirt trails -more runners, walkers instead of bikes. Pack a lunch because there are many park benches along the way. Have a great time!
Old Sacramento is a lot of fun to walk around, as you get to see the boats and trains as well. You can cool off for a small fee at Discovery Museum or the Railroad Museum, or just by walking into any of the shops, who seem to love window shoppers!
Have you heard of Letter Boxing? It is a lot of fun and gets you out doors. We started last summer with our nieces and they loved it. It is like geo chache. You find clues and look for a box. In the box is a journal and a stamp. You create your own stamp and place it in the journal and stamp there stamp in your journal. It is fun and sometimes challenging. Here are two good links for letter boxing,atlasquest.com and letterboxing.org. Check it out
My son and I love to go to Lake Natoma. At the CSUS Aquatic Center you can rent kayaks and canoes by the hour. The Aquatic Center provides all life vest, paddles, etc. In the summer we normally go on weekend morning for a couple of hours before it gets too busy or hot. I pack a lunch and we have a picnic. The Effie Yeaw Nature Center is a nice afternoon trip. They have lots of different activities throughout the spring and summer, plus great nature trails.
I know the perfect book for you! I found it at Borders when I had the same question: "Best Hikes With Children Around Sacramento" by Bill McMillon & Kevin McMillon. The edition I have was last updated in 2002 but the info has been accurate. While I was at it I also picked up "365 Outdoor Activities You Can Do With Your Child" by Steve & Ruth Bennett and "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv. That last one is kind of intense!
Good for you (and all the other responders)for supporting your children's love of the outdoors.
V.,
If you are near Folsom, there are some absolutely beautiful trails hidden all over town. One of my favorites goes over the "Volunteer Bridge", just next to Creekside Apartments. If you park in one of the non assigned spots in the apartment complex (just off Oak Ave Pkwy on Creekside) and walk towards the creek that runs parallel to (but out of sight of) Blue Ravine... you will find this amazing pathway that goes right next to the creek, over bridges, under streets. You can walk on it as far as your son's legs will carry him! Let me know if you check it out, I think you'll love it!
Hi V.!
Maidu Interpretive Center in Roseville has a nice little walk and museum (small entrance fee), plus a (free) trail outside as well. Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael is also WONDERFUL and loaded with trails, by the river, too. There's a small parking fee there. Lake Natoma in Orangevale is another; the Fish Hatchery is out there, too and there are trails near it as well -and it's right by the river. Also, any American River trail access (Howe Avenue, Gold River, etc). There's the Nature Preserve out past (or in/near?) Elk Grove, too. We took our son out there when he was about 7 or 8, spend a wonderful day (or 1/2 day) hiking, bird watching, exploring, etc. You might even go for a long walk around and in Land Park, feed the ducks at the pond, while you're there (maybe walk through the zoo as well, or even FTT or Funderland as an additional treat). I'm probably blanking on as many as I could recall, but I hope that helps. I'm not sure which area of Sacramento you're in, so I tried to name some here and there.
Someday, when you're up for an out of town trip and if your son is also an animal lover, you HAVE to go to the Oakland Zoo (if you've never been). It's a hike just walking through it all (set in the hills and it's a large zoo) and the whole area where it is has a lot to offer an outdoorsy family (including the sky tram thingee you can ride over the zoo on --kind of like a ski lift).
Enjoy!!
M. B
Have you ever tried geocaching? Our kids (and the neighborhood kids) love it. The age range for our neighborhood kids is 2 years to 13 years but all the adults have a blast too. Basically you use a handheld GPS system and along with some coordinates you can get online from sites like Geocaching.com and go treasure hunting with kids. When you get to the coordinates there is usually a little container with a notebook to log that you were there and some trinkets for you to trade with your own little trinkets. The real "treasure" the fun of it all trying to find the coordinates with your GPS and a map. The trinkets are small, cheap, free things like keychains or toy cars. There are caches located all around the world both in urban and rural settings. What is so great is that the kids get to work out a problem together while being outdoors. It especially fun to watch them forget about the search and get caught up in watching the world around them. One time they just stopped to count how many geese flew in one V formation. This is a fun activity to do in small groups as well and it is a great way to see areas of your community or nearby areas that you would never normal think of going to. You can purchase and take classes for geocaching at places like REI but classes aren't necessary.
