Suggestions for Kids first trip

[rannmoody]

Hi all, new to the board and hoping for some help. We're looking to take our young kids on their first backpacking trip. Hubs is an EMT and an Eagle Scout, I'm experienced in back country car camping and a first responder. The kids can hike 3-5 miles in a day and they've done river hikes with decent elevation change but only with their camelbacks. We prefer to be away from other people and as small an environmental impact as possible. We've moved away from hubs' familiar territory and need some help picking a good starter trail. Their first trip will be 2 nights 3 days. We live in Calaveras county and would drive 4 hours or a bit more to camp. Thanks for any help!

BTW Anyone know if my info that Yosemite won't let anyone under 12 backpack is true?

[Tom_H]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Here is a recent similar thread:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7353" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's always fine to ask questions, but searching the archives is also a good way to find answers. Good luck on your trip planning.

Tom

[rlown]

BTW Anyone know if my info that Yosemite won't let anyone under 12 backpack is true?

You must be looking at the "guided" trips that look like official Yosemite pages. I don't think there is an age limit for backpacking in Yose if you are doing it on your own.

Per Tom_H's recommendation, that's a good thread and a great place to start.

[balzaccom]

Given where you live, I have a couple of easy suggestions

Clark Fork off Higway 108 is a great little hike--about five miles--and you'll have the place to yourselves, with a lovely creek for the kids to play fish, hubby to fish, and a very relaxing time for all.

Sword Lake (in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness) or Bear Lake in Emigrant Wilderness are also pretty good options

If you want to stay on Highway 4, you could always hike to Noble Lake on the PCT. IT's about 4-5 miles, a lot steeper than Clark Fork, and with more people, since it is right on the PCT. But it might work.

We have reports on all of these hikes on our website..and some other good starter hikes as well.

[tim]

There are no age limits for taking kids backpacking anywhere in the Sierra as far as I know. I've done it with kids as young as 4 and met people with even younger kids.

As I said in the thread Tom_H mentioned, my first trip with kids (now 3 trips in total) has always been Lake Aloha in Desolation Wilderness. The boat ride is fun, and the hike in is only 3 miles. You can then do some nice day walks to great lakes for swimming. However, its busy at weekends. A couple of other 3 day/2 night possibilities I did in 2012 with my youngest son (who turned 7 last summer):
Indian Ridge and North Dome in Yosemite (our trip report: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7702" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) (though go early this summer as water will be scarce) and Pika Lake out of Mammoth (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8103" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Both are only 3-5 miles per day and fairly easy to get permits for.

We just got back from a 3 day trip to Paradise Valley in Kings Canyon, which is gorgeous but probably a bit too much for a first trip.

[rannmoody]

Thank you for the link, I had searched for threads to do with kids while bouncing between the different hosts for this forum and obviously failed at finding it! I appreciate the help very much and am excited to have all the great recommendations!