hiking with the kids

Hiking is a main part of our summer life.  Before kids I used to tackle a 15 mile hike in a single day.  Now it is more like 4 miles or less but with kids it still takes as much time as those long treks. The amount of time outside revolves around how much fun we can squeeze into our adventure before nap time. 

A couple of weeks ago the weather was amazing so we packed up the kids, called a friend to join us and headed off to Grand Teton National Park.  Our 3 year old loves boats (who doesn't!) and since the season had slowed down we decided to take the ride across Jenny Lake to hike to the 80-foot high waterfall called Hidden Falls.  I am sure we were quite the scene - Me, with a 3 month old strapped to my front, my husband walking while our 3 yr old toddled along the trail and our friend carrying her 2 yr old in a backpack.  The trail was easier than I remember.  Did they move it?  Seemed shorter or not as steep.  Maybe I am in better shape than I thought?  The hike turned out great.  The trail has some tricky areas with slightly steep steps but nothing our son couldn't handle.  We looked for huckleberries (found 4 total), saw (dried up) raspberries and picked up some good walking sticks along the way.  The trail was mostly clear of other hikers allowing us to meander our way to the waterfall.  The area at Hidden falls offers good spots to relax under the shade of trees.  We parked ourselves on a couple of boulders, unpacked our lunch and cooled off from the misty breeze that comes off the waterfall.  Hiking down was a little more difficult for our son as he doesn’t handle the decline as well.  With hand holding and slow moving, we made it down to the dock for a short wait until the boat returned for our journey home.  Once back at the dock there is a nice stretch of “beach” available for toe dipping in the lake.  The kids immediately shunned their shoes for rock jumping in the cold mountain-fed water.  The hike begins at Jenny Lake Visitor Center, which offers parking for all sizes of vehicles.  The boat is a fast and fun way across the lake but if you choose, you can follow the trail around the lake, which is 5 miles round-trip.  Overall, once at the trail head the trek is less than 1 mile each way.  For those more adventurous, keep climbing the trail to Inspiration Point.  Great views of Jenny Lake below with the surrounding valley.