Hikes with Kids // Admiralty Point and Burns Point // Belcarra Regional Park

 Lukka loves getting inside trees, ever since he was little!

This past weekend we got a rare dry November Saturday so we quickly chose a hiking trail we'd never done (Admiralty Point) in a place we love (Belcarra Regional Park) for an easy trail that did not disappoint! This trail is rated as easy and starts off in a public parking area near picnic tables and a decent bathroom. The trail is marked well and rated well, though others who've reviewed it have said otherwise, so check before you go. 

 a rare 'just us' photo

We hike at a quick pace, and I am often the slowest one. What I lack in swiftness I make up for in eagerness, since I am the one always dragging the family out on weekend hikes. The kids, however, must have had just enough time off from our last hike because they were practically running and jumping the entire trail, and I didn't hear nearly any complaint (until later) from my resident 'hater'.

 beautiful view from Admiralty Point

This is a great hike for kids and I'll tell you why: it's relatively short, it's easy but there are sections of exposed root & rock and incline/decline to keep things interesting, and it ends at a beautiful natural playground complete with boulders to play on and a grassy area to climb around. Thankfully we went when the tide was very low, so they could actually play on the rocks and jump from one to another. If the tide was in I don't think they'd be able to do that, and they wouldn't perhaps have liked it as much. Perhaps worth checking the tide before you plan a kid-friendly hike out here?

 always the mountain goat

After we had reached Admiralty point (maybe 35 minutes?) we let the kids romp around before egging them on to do another length of the trail, another 1km up to Burns Point, which had a similar view and not as much rock to play on. I liked going the extra way because I hardly felt a quick hour was good enough exercise-wise. If we're going fast and easy, I want to at least do two hours to make it worth the time! So, I think we hiked total of 7 or 8 km in just under 2 hours with stops for the kids to play.

 my little hiker

Ani is my little worker bee on the trail and she really enjoys hiking. She was feeling quite content in this photo above as she had nearly run the whole way up. After hitting the top of Burns Point we realized it had started snowing (!!) and we didn't wait there too long just in case things picked up. It was really chilly, but thankfully not wet. These are my two favorite conditions to hike in, as I sweat easily. Keeping things cold but moving quickly pretty much ensures I am going to be a nearly perfect temperature, which rarely happens!

 a teeny tiny chrysalis 

The kids always notice things on the hike like weird fungi, scat, bones, etc. This little twig that Ani is holding has the world's tiniest chrysalis on it. It was SO little. I have no idea what made that tiny shell, nor could I find much on it with a simple google search. Anyone have any ideas?

that tiny white in the middle of the trees is Ani!

Belcarra Regional Park is a great place to start for easy hikes, especially if you're going with kids as they are relatively short, too. There are great views all around and the little area it's in is so cute, too, so once you're out of the park, you can hit up a cute coffee shop as well and warm up with some hot cocoa. Another good kid-friendly hike is Jug Island, which we did last Fall.