Kids 1st 14er

[erocker14]

Hello-

We are coming from Texas. No mountain and lots of traffic. My Kids are 10. Can you please recommend a good 14er for us to summit in late July or beginning of August.
Kids have no experience climbing a mountain. I summited Quandary maybe 10 years ago and also Democrat, Lincoln and Cameron around Kite Lake. I am sure that I will also have a hard time as I have aged a bit.

Also another question. What's a good place for a Colorado family vacation. River rafting, horse back riding and yes we must summit a 14er.

Thank you.

[Monte Meals]

In my opinion, it is really important that your
kids have a good time with their first mountain adventure.

Try something simple like a hike around one of the lakes
(or fishing) on a drive to the top of Pikes Peak.

Or drive to the top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain
National Park and go for hike along one of the ridge walks.

If you want to get a bit more wild - Snikau is easy
and has fantastic views.

Most important, make sure that your kids have fun.

[TRIPLE D MAN]

Handies or Huron

[Cruiser]

Stay in Salida or Buena Vista with the fam and have a go at hiking Huron. Be sure to stop in and feed the chipmunks in st elmo while you're in the hood.

[jrbren_vt]

I would take them up one you have already been up and know what to expect.

[huffy13]

Grays and Torreys were my son's first 14ers when he was 11 and Handies was my daughter's first 14er when she was 10. Those were perfect for first timers at that age. I also think Huron would be great, Quandary is a good, straightforward hike. Sherman is pretty easy, but not as scenic a hike, but it's still worth doing. Buena Vista is a good mountain town that has whitewater rafting, hiking, good food and other family type activites. Salida and Breck are also great options.

[larkinrx2]

at 10 years old begs a few questions.

how active are they and how motivated are they? do you want them to climb something or do they want to climb something?
remember doing quandary? now mentally think about what it will take to keep them motivated to do it.

speaking from experience that plenty of snacks and breaks helps, this turns it into a long day for everyone to have to keep them motivated through and to also be responsible to keep the group together and responsible enough to call it if your group needs to turn back from lack of motivation, weather or other issue from a hike at elevation.

the funnest hike in these instances would be the shortest hike. does it have to be a 14er? do you have to summit?

Sherman is fairly quick from the fairplay side, has the mine ruins to see which my kids enjoy and is reachable from breckenridge if staying, back track to idaho springs for rafting.

princeton if able to drive up to the towers is short, hot springs close by, rafting near 285 turn off south of BV, easy to stay in BV or salida

handies or uncompaghre maybe if down by lake city area with 4x4 to make to upper TH routes, no clue about rafting

a lot of recommendations for more enjoyable hikes/outings that may summit something but not necessarily a 14er is dependent upon where you are staying near?

[Trotter]

Hello-

We are coming from Texas. No mountain and lots of traffic. My Kids are 10. Can you please recommend a good 14er for us to summit in late July or beginning of August.
Kids have no experience climbing a mountain. I summited Quandary maybe 10 years ago and also Democrat, Lincoln and Cameron around Kite Lake. I am sure that I will also have a hard time as I have aged a bit.

Also another question. What's a good place for a Colorado family vacation. River rafting, horse back riding and yes we must summit a 14er.

Thank you.

Dont take them from no mountain climbing ever, to a 14er. Theres tons of smaller, more enjoyable mountains in colorado to start on, especially as a kid.

[two lunches]

drive up to the Devil's Playground on Pikes Peak and head to the summit from there.

Colorado Springs is a great family destination- you can visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and take them horseback riding through Garden of the Gods. there are oodles of companies that will do river rafting from CO Springs, as well, but if you're driving up from the south, i would just raft on the way up- maybe around the Royal Gorge?

[Conor]

I'll share how MY kids work. 1) they love milkshakes. And we always end on a high note with a milkshake. 2) they don't care if a mountain is a 14er, 13er etc. It's all the same to them. 3) they love camping, so pairing the trip with some car camping goes a long ways.

My kids seem to love the Desert and easy canyons more than peaks. Its like a playground for them that goes on and on. Little wildhorse/bell is something they would do every day. My baby at age 4, handled it well with a shoulder carry across the back (where it is "boring").

With that said, start easy. Maybe igloo?

If you're going to float, the Arkansas is always there. My family does a trip down the colorado from rancho del rio. We rent the raft from them and they also transport back to the beginning. I have a lot of canoeing experience, not a lot of rafting. I felt comfortable rowing the boat myself in conditions where the river was flowing more than it is now.

[timisimaginary]

we must summit a 14er.

switch that to "we'd like to summit a 14er, but will turn around if necessary due to weather/altitude illness/tiredness/cranky kids/etc" and you'll be on the right track. the phrase "must summit" doesn't belong in any climber's vocabulary, no matter their experience level. but especially for a first timer, it's more important to keep it enjoyable and safe than to reach an arbitrary point on a map.

[mtree]

Sounds like this is your plan and not theirs. Good luck with that.

The kids don't care about scenery or a pile of rocks. At least Mt. Sherman has lots of mine ruins to explore. That can be fun. Unfortunately, the snow will probably be gone by then. Snow is fun. You could also camp and fish nearby. Water is fun. So is mud. Remember, rocks are not fun. Rocks are rocks. Except maybe the pretty ones.