One of the things that I love about living in the Dayton area is all the chances we have to get outside. Sure, there is no beach and we don’t have any mountains, but we do have lots of bike and hiking paths- and we LOVE them!
It’s probably our favorite family activity to head out on some new hiking trails. When my parents were here, we had the chance to go on two super fun hikes.
First, we visited the Brukner Nature Center for the first time. It’s about 45 minutes away from us, but well worth the drive as we could have spent all day there! The Nature Center has indoor nature exhibits that are super fun and interactive. It also has a small collection of animals that they have rehabilitated. They have lots of birds, a coyote, a skunk, a bobcat and a fox! The kids loved seeing these animals up close and personal…although the coyote was a little bit terrifying! It kept pacing around its cage, then stopping and HOWLING, but not directly at us. It was like it didn’t even see us standing right in front of it, and yet it was howling so loudly. A little scary, but so cool to see up close! We were running low on time, so we only took one small hiking trail, but what we saw was fantastic as far as hiking trails go! I also LOVED the little bird atrium room. I could have stayed in there all day and watched the birds. In fact, that room inspired my birthday present- a bird feeder! Now I can sit at home and watch the birds come to me.
We also had a chance to head to John Bryan State Park. This is probably our favorite spot to go for a real hike around here.
Hiking usually gives the kids some fresh air, it helps them get out some pent up energy, and it lulls the baby to sleep every single time. Don’t worry, I fixed his head after this picture, I just think it’s adorable how babies fall asleep like this.
This park has tons of trails, camping spots and even rock climbing spots. There is a river and a gorge.
We have found that our kids are great hikers- mostly because we practice so much! We’ve discovered that our general is that we can go about one mile per age of the child. So Kiah can hike 2 miles, Tera can hike closer to 4. Of course, 4 miles would literally take us ALL DAY, but she could do it! Usually we hike between 1-2 miles with all five of us. Ezra weighs about 20 pounds now and it will be time to pull out the hiking backpack soon!
Other favorite hiking spots around here:
Clifton Gorge (connected to John Bryan, but a different address and different trails)
Koogler Wetland Prarie Reserve This is our families best kept secret. It is about a 1 mile loop with boardwalk or flat ground the entire way. There is almost no one there, but we always see LOTS of animals. About halfway around there is a stream that is PERFECT for kids to wade in.
Glen Thompson Reserve (this is one that has the beautiful yellow flowers in bloom in late Spring)
We love hiking! Timothy has Fridays off so he always takes Everett hiking and to a playground on those days. Since I’m currently home on maternity leave, all four of us go somewhere. It’s so much fun! We haven’t actually tested how far Everett can walk because he likes the hiking backpack so much.