4 unbeatable techniques to get your kids to love hiking

Are you already familiar with the great classics, such as the botanical trail starting from Le Lavachet, or the orientation tables accessible via the Tovière and Grande Motte ski lifts? Then you’re probably keen to take your children’s hiking experience a step further.

Here are 4 tried-and-tested techniques you can use and abuse!

Maëlle Lepoutre, from the Vanoise National Park, shares her experience with us:

“Often, a child who is reluctant to walk is a child who is bored, not a child who is tired. So we need to find ways of breaking down the apparent gloom of putting one foot in front of the other”.

All you need to do is choose a walk with many points of interest (a stream, a lake, a geological curiosity to observe, a wild animal to watch out for with binoculars…). To inspire you, find ideas for walks and lots of information on points of interest for hikes starting from Tignes.

The Parc national de la Vanoise is a 535 km² protected area (heart of the park), inhabited by numerous animals who live there peacefully, sheltered from human disturbance (noise, etc.). Here you’ll find the largest colony of ibex in Francebut also chamoisand haresand raptors (including the rare but majestic lammergeierwith a wingspan of almost 3 metres!) Don’t forget to pack a pair of binoculars in your rucksack so you can observe them from a distance – a guaranteed hit with children young and old! Or perhaps the youngest visitors will be drawn to the many marmots lurking along the trails? Or even a diligent butterfly count among the flowers – the simplest things are often the best.

An unstoppable technique for budding botanists… or simply Indiana Joneses in search of the grail! Arm yourself with a guide to mountain flowers, and set them the goal of finding as many as possible to take photos of, and then create a virtual herbarium when they get home. A third of France’s flora can be found in the Vanoise! An exceptional diversity that promises an exciting treasure hunt (without picking the plants): by color, by variety, by level of rarity… It’s up to you to choose the rules of the game according to the age of your toddlers. A few examples of the flowers found along the hiking trails from Tignes: glacier buttercup, edelweiss, genepi, houseleek, knotweed, fireweed, gentian, forget-me-not, bellflower, knapweed, trollea, arnica…

Maëlle explains why this technique should be used as a last resort:

“I recommend getting away from the consumerism of rewarding yourself with a blueberry tart, and focusing instead on emotion and memories, enjoying the route and the scenery”.

Even so, this little helping hand can save the last kilometer of your hike when your teenager is about to protest because of mistreatment (in other words: a stomach that cries famine), or when your youngest daughter’s mood turns stormy. Many refuges line the trails of the Vanoise National Park and Nature Reserves (refuges du Palet, de la Leisse, de la Martin, du Fond des Fours…), so don’t hesitate to include them in your walk for a well-deserved snack break!