Hiking with kids in Stuttgart and the area surrounding it is fun. But parents need to be prepared in order to make a trip into nature a great experience for everybody. That’s why I teamed up with one of the best know authors of hiking books in the region – who happens to be my dad ;-): Dieter Buck. Together and in cooperation with the public transit association VVS, we wrote a hiking book for families. It does not only hold trips in the Stuttgart region that can be reached easily with public transport – and are suited for kids when it comes to length and destination. The book also offers an individual story or quiz for every tour to entertain your children along the way.
A “warning” straight ahead: The hiking book I point out in this post is written in German so if you don’t understand at least a bit of German, you might want to skip this article and browse through former posts in order to find great destinations for hiking with kids in Stuttgart and the area:
Hiking from Waldenbuch to the hidden Lake Schönbuch
Hiking in the Schönbuch Nature Park
Did you know we have a waterfall in Stuttgart?!
On the Möhringer Witch Trail on a sunny winter day
Zavelstein Castle at the beginning of the black forest
Bärenschlössle Stuttgart – the cute litte castle in Stuttgart-West
But if you do understand German and if you want to have a great time outdoors with your family, this book is for you.
“Auf geht’s Kinder!” holds 24 tours in the Stuttgart region that start and end at train stops, operated by the public transit association VVS. The length of the tours vary between 2 km and 11,5 km. Some of the trails are extremely easy and short and thus suitable to bring a stroller, like the one leading through Höhenpark Killesberg. Others are more advanced, steeper and cover rougher terrain and will entertain older kids. This is true for the trail leading up to the ruins of Reußenstein in Göppingen for example. And a lot of tours are somewhat in between.
The destinations and highlights of the tours vary as well: You will find ruins and castles, grottos and caves, playgrounds and climbing high rope courses and more. But as I mentioned earlier, the book offers even more: As the child of a hiking enthusiast I know myself that hiking can be veeery boring for kids. Even if a fun attraction waits at the end of the trail, walking there is veeeery boring.
That’s why my dad and I came up with the idea that we want to entertain the kids throughout the whole hike. So we included stories that play along the trail. Like for example the story of the raven Tecki who knows the true story of the ruins of castle Teck – but who’ll only tell it when the kids solve three mysteries. Or the story of the little bandit Josef who needs to hide his loot somewhere along the Blaustrümpfler trail in Stuttgart and take care that he doesn’t get caught by the police – the help of the young hikers is highly appreciated here. Other tours offer quizzes where the kids need to spot for example a sign, solve a task or get active themselves. Thus, the hike doesn’t get boring and if fun for the whole family (and you can train your kids German at the same time ;-). Win-win!)
So if you want to go hiking with kids in Stuttgart and speak a bit German, check out this book! 🙂
More information:
You can buy the hiking book “Auf geht’s Kinder!” in most bookstores in the region or order it online on amazon. [Affiliate link]
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