Toddler Hikes - San Antonio Creek Trail, Santa Barbara.

Yesterday (02/15/2014, Saturday) I took James on a little hike. After getting some local advice, I heard that San Antonio Creek Trail should be pretty good for little legs, and since James is only 21.5 months old, I thought that the flatter the trail is the better.

I really want to get James into hiking. There are so many beautiful places to hike in Santa Barbara and up and down the California coast. I am hoping that if I get him into it now that he will want to remain active through out his life. I feel like hiking is also a fabulous family activity and a great way to learn how to appreciate nature.
I, myself, LOVE trail running. Maybe some day James would like to try that as well. Either way, I want him to be active and healthy and be outside as much as possible.

Running Free!

Climbing on the Rocks.

This rock was a little too big!

James absolutely loved being on the trail. Other than the rocky spots (where a river at one time was), the trail was fairly easy for him to navigate. The inclines weren't too difficult for him to walk up and the declines only required a little hand holding to stop him from losing control. The only thing that I didn't like too much was that there were plenty of spots where he could have fallen down the ravines if I hadn't been paying attention. But I just had him hold my hand and kept explaining about staying on the trail. He'll get it eventually!
Another thing that was a little cause for concern was the poison oak. There wasn't a lot on the trail, but when it was there, it was right on the trail and at perfect toddler height. We had a little scare where I thought he had touched some, but so far there are no symptoms confirming this, phew!

Poison Oak.

We didn't make it the entire way around the trail. But I thought he did very well and probably walked about a mile total. Once he got tired, he just put his arms up and said "Up!" and had me carry him for just a few minutes. The hike successfully tired him out and after eating a healthy lunch he took a solid nap. We will definitely be doing this hike again in the near future!

Taking a break on a rock to eat some sweet oranges.