Kid-Friendly Hikes in Utah

Lately, I've been racking my brain to come up with family activities that 1) keep us away from others 2) don't break the bank 3) burn a 3 year old's endless energy. Hiking has been the answer. We typically hike early in the morning and a lot of the time, we have the entire trail to ourselves.

Here are some of the hikes we've done over the last month or so (we aim for 1 hike a week):

1) Battle Creek Falls- Pleasant Grove, UT
Distance: 1.5 miles roundtrip
Monday, May 18

Oldie, but goodie. We've done this hike a few times. This time, James walked all by himself. The end is steep near the falls, but James did it!

2) Jungle Trail- Draper, UT
Distance: The trail is only about 0.1 miles, but you have to go 0.4 miles to get to the trail
Monday, May 25

It took us over 45 minutes to find the actual hike which was a bit frustrating. Once we did, James was in heaven exploring the little huts.

3) Dripping Rock- Spanish Fork, UT
Distance: 0.7 miles roundtrip (The paved trail continues further)
Thursday, June 4

This felt pretty far away from us which made me wonder if it was worth the drive. The surrounding mountains were beautiful. The water was quite nippy around 9:00am, so if we were to go again, I'd recommend going when it's hotter outside, so the water isn't so frigid. On our way home, we stopped by Krispy Kreme and got free doughnuts which was a highlight.

4) Suspension Bridge- Draper, UT
Distance: 2.3 miles roundtrip
Thursday, June 11

This was by far my favorite hike we've done this year. I think James and Andrew would agree. It was beautiful and James enjoyed running on the bridge, even though it kind of rocked back and forth. This hike was definitely more popular than the others we'd done. We went fairly early and still saw a fair amount of people. By the time we finished, it seemed to be getting even more crowded. Nana and Papa joined us on this hike which made it extra special. When we got back in the car to the leave, James said: "Why did we have to leave the hike? That was so fun!"

5) Rocky Mouth Falls- Sandy, UT

Distance: 0.8 roundtrip

Thursday, June 18

We had done this hike years ago before we had kids. It was cool to be back! The trail started with stairs which were steep for James and ended with rocks that were slippery. It was helpful to have my parents along! There was much more water than last time we went which meant that we had to walk in some water near the end. Isabelle and James were fascinated with the waterfall and went really close to it. It was an extremely chilly morning and Isabelle's hands were freezing. Cheez-its and fruit-snacks were great distractions for the kids. There were breathtaking views and on the way back, we took a mini detour on the Bonneville Trail and found the cutest bridge.

With Andrew starting a new job Monday, our 8:00am hikes won't work anymore. We will have to get creative with when we go and I hope we keep it up. I love the adventures we've had as a family outdoors. Hiking has turned into one of the biggest highlights of my week.

Spontaneous

We made a last-minute decision at about 2:15 on Wednesday, May 27. We decided to go to Washington to visit Andrew's family and see his mom since she's returned from serving her mission. Our decision was prompted by a couple of things: 1) Our BIL was having a bday party that weekend 2) Andrew was given a verbal offer from a company. 

We thought it would be fun to stop in Rexburg along the way to see how things have changed since we've left. Also, breaking up the 12 hour drive sounded awesome. We booked a hotel in Rexburg, and I left to teach at The Piano Place. Andrew frantically packed while I was gone and we left Thursday morning. 

Upon arriving in Rexburg, we picked up a Little Caesar's pizza. In Andrew's words: "The Rexburg Little Casear's is the best Little Caesar's. They've really figured out how to make the pizza the best." We ate the pizza in a park and then quickly checked into our hotel. (James had to pee and Andrew needed internet for his 3rd interview with a company.) James had a massive meltdown when the hotel receptionist told us that the pool was closed. We were all pretty bummed and I felt dumb for not checking on the pool before booking. 

The kids enjoyed exploring our spacious hotel room and James asked if it was our new house. The kitchenette sparked his imagination and he unwrapped plastic cups and used the microwave to "cook" us food. Both kids were quite upset by the bathing arrangements and it took Isabelle a couple weeks to like bath-time again. (The shower scared her.)

I decided to take the kids to get an oil change while Andrew had his virtual interview. What are the chances that Rexburg lost power during the interview? Andrew scrambled after losing his connection during his interview and quickly set up a hot spot to call the manager back. Guess what else the power-outage meant? I couldn't get my oil change. After the interview, Andrew took the kids to get frosty's and I napped. 

Someone loved her Frosty

In the afternoon, we went on a walk on campus. James especially liked walking through the gardens. It was weird to be back on campus and it was deserted. We were both a little surprised by how little change there was. Yes, some of the dorms were torn down to make a parking lot, and there was a ton of high-density new housing, but it still was recognizable. Cafe Rio is now in Rexburg which would have been a game-changer for me.

The Hinckley Building. I spent most of my time there.

Same spot we took our graduation pic, but 5 years later

After our walk, we went to get an oil change again. (Due to the spontaneity of our trip, one was due.) The workers let us stay in our car during the oil change! What! This is one of the best things that has happened due to Covid-19. I hope I can stay in my car during oil changes with my kids strapped in their carseats from now on. We were looking forward to getting takeout from our favorite restaurant, "The Hickory." Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we remembered and the prices were higher. We ended the night watching a movie. James enjoyed having his very own queen-sized bed. (Note: I think we were the only people staying in our hotel which was cool. We never saw any other guests.)

Friday morning, we left bright and early to drive the rest of the way to Spokane. We arrived at Brent and Deena's at 12:30. Friday night we had a BBQ in their backyard. It was fun to see Tavia, Blayre and Ryan, and their kids who also joined us. Brent and Deena have lots of land and after we ate, we played frisbee golf. (Not my jam if you know what I mean, but still fun.) Andrew's great at it though! Grannie joined us later in the evening.

Saturday was Ryan's birthday party. We spent some time earlier in the day at Blayre and Ryan's house and then Logan and Julia's. Logan and Julia also have a frisbee golf course on their spacious property and Andrew had the time of his life. James loved having endless cousins to play with and a backyard to run around in! He especially LOVED the riding lawn mower and ATV. The birthday party was a hit with lots of yummy food and tons of family. There was a volleyball tournament and the rain waited to start until we'd had a few hours of sunshine.

Izzy and cousin Rhett

Izzy with cousin Lucy

Izzy and cousin Alysee

Sunday, Blayre and Ryan blessed baby Saydee. They weren't originally going to bless her this weekend, but with so much family in town, they decided to. It was neat to be there for the blessing and to have home church and a big lunch with Andrew's family. All of Andrew's siblings were together! Birch and Sara came from Yakima and Tavia and a few of her kids drove from Boise. We played games the rest of the afternoon. That evening, Debbie was asked to lead a virtual fireside about her mission, so we watched that.

Andrew with his siblings and mom

Matching hair with Blayre.  I wish Malia lived with me, so she could do my hair daily

Monday we had dentist appointments with Andrew's brother. It was extra nice that Logan was able to get us in because we don't currently have dental insurance. We left immediately after our appointments with plans to drive through the night. Don't worry, we did stop at Jack and the Box on our way out of town. (Andrew's fav and there isn't one in UT.) The kids slept almost the entire time which was a relief. It was interesting to travel during a pandemic (lots of bathrooms and fast food restaurant lobbies were closed). We have been very cautious since returning and have kept our distance.

James is already missing "Uncle Deena" and everyone else. A couple of days after we returned, I was telling James our plans for the day. He interrupted me and said, "Mom, let's go get gas and drive back to Jacob and Malia's house." We did a lot of driving for a short period of time, but I think it was worth it. I'm just trying not to think too much about that drive because we'll be doing it again in August for a reunion.