Activity

Hiking

Hiking is simply walking outdoors together, and for a young child it is one of the first ways the wider world becomes something you move through rather than look at. A trail means uneven ground, weather on your face, a pack on your back and a distance that has to be covered step by step. A calm, well-made series about walking outdoors gives children the shape of that experience before their own legs can carry them far, and often sends them out the door wanting to try it.

For 3-year-olds

At three, a hike is whatever happens in the first hundred metres: a puddle, a beetle, a stick worth carrying home. Distance means nothing yet, but being outside with a trusted grown-up means everything. Look for outings that stay close to home and unhurried, where the camera lingers on small finds instead of racing to a destination. Quiet nature sounds and a slow pace matter more here than any story about reaching the top.

S01 E11

Little Bear

Exploring

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

Little Bear and his friends Duck, Cat and Hen decide to go exploring and set out to find the special tree where Mother Bear and Father Bear once carved their initials. Along the way they cross the woods, drink at the water, chant an explorer's oath, and reach a cave where a strange sound makes them imagine a monster and run home. Mother Bear explains the noise was only an echo, and together they return to find the tree with the carved initials still there. The story plays out in a gentle watercolor forest world.

See all Hiking shows for 3-year-olds

For 4-year-olds

Four-year-olds grasp the whole arc of a trip: you get ready, you go, you come back. This is the age for watching someone fill a backpack, check the sky and pull on boots, because preparation suddenly makes sense. Look for a walk with a clear beginning and end, and small hitches along the way, a wrong turn or tired legs, that get sorted out without drama. Seeing a character keep going when it gets dull is worth a lot.

S02 E11

The Berenstain Bears

Go to Camp

Calming

recommended age co-watching from 2

At Grizzly Ted's summer day camp, Sister Bear and her friend Lizzy spend their days swimming, hiking, and doing crafts, until the counselor announces an overnight sleep-out on Skull Rock. Sister secretly dreads sleeping so far from home and hides her worry until Lizzy gently draws it out of her. Together they decide to practice with a night in the backyard, and Sister succeeds. She heads to the real sleep-out feeling ready, sharing a campfire story and searching for shooting stars.

S01 E03

Doug Unplugs

Bots of the Forest

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

Doug, a young robot, visits the Rebots warehouse with his dad and becomes curious about a pair of hiking boots, which leads the two of them onto a real hike in the autumn woods. When their robomaps lose signal after a moose scares them off the trail, they get lost and fear they will never get home. Two human hikers, Kath and Barb, teach them to find their way using trail blazes, a compass, the setting sun and the North Star. Back safe at the trailhead, Doug puts blazes up around the warehouse so everyone there can find their way too.

See all Hiking shows for 4-year-olds

For 5-year-olds

Five is when the route itself becomes interesting. Children this age like maps, signposts, trail markers and the idea that a path was chosen for a reason. They can also hold on to why we stay on the path and leave things where they lie. Look for walks where characters plan together, notice landscape changes and solve something real on the way, a stream to cross or a fork to decide on, rather than being handed the answer by an adult.

S01 E01

Lyla in the Loop

Find Mom's Phone

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

Lila and her family are on a camping trip when Mom's phone, holding all their hiking photos, goes missing. Lila leads Mom back along the trail, using landmarks they passed, rock towers, a eucalyptus tree, ribbons, a log bench and giant mushrooms, to retrace their steps. She finds the phone on the rock where the family had lunch, and they hurry back to camp before dark. The episode ends around a sunset campfire with the family singing a camping song.

S01 E03

Dot

Dot's Treasure Hunt Adventure

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 3

Dot, her friend Hal, her mom (Mrs. C) and her dog Scratch spend the day geocaching, using a map app and riddle clues to track down hidden caches in the woods and by a pond. At each one they sign the logbook and decide whether to swap a small treasure. When Hal's backpack floats toward a storm drain, Mom climbs over to retrieve it. The hunt ends with a group hug and Dot deciding that her family and friends are the best treasures of all, before she signs off.

See all Hiking shows for 5-year-olds

For 6-year-olds

By six, effort is part of the appeal. A hike can mean an uphill stretch, a summit and the satisfaction of having earned the view, and children this age can sit with that build-up. They are also ready for the layer underneath the walk: what lives here, how the land was formed, who walked it before. Look for outings with a genuine goal, honest fatigue and setbacks, and factual detail about the surroundings that holds up to a curious question afterwards.

S01 E05

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

I Am George Washington

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 4

Xavier, Yadina, and Brad use a secret museum to travel back to 1743 Virginia, where Yadina hopes a young George Washington can teach her to be a good leader for her troop hike. Watching George guide his group politely, helpfully, and with encouragement, and after a few mistakes with her whistle and an upside-down map, Yadina learns that a leader takes care of their team. Back home she confidently leads her friends to build a mini Mount Rushmore. The episode closes with a short segment about a character racing in the Wright brothers' first airplane.

See all Hiking shows for 6-year-olds

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Hiking

For 3-year-olds

Little Bear

For 4-year-olds

The Berenstain Bears

Doug Unplugs

For 5-year-olds

Lyla in the Loop

Dot

For 6-year-olds

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

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