If you consider yourself an adventure dad, chances are you don’t need a lecture on the virtues of outdoor exploration. But when you’re used to hoofing it through the woods solo or with a group of buddies, you might not be sure how to get the most out of outdoor adventures with your kids. Luckily though, kids tend to love playing outside; and days spent in the natural world are among the most valuable you can spend with them – including your kids in your favorite outdoor pursuits will help them build confidence and leadership skills, give them a chance to share in your passions, and strengthen your relationships as you grow and learn together. To help you maximize this valuable time, we’ve compiled a list of tips for getting the most out of kid-centric outdoor adventures –

Or at least, get them involved in the planning process! This will get them excited for the upcoming trip and help them build confidence in their decision making abilities. Plus, planning is a crucial skill for outdoorspeople, and it’s never too early to start practicing. Allowing your kids to choose major points of the itinerary (like the location you’ll be exploring, the activity you’ll be doing, etc.) is the best way to make sure that they’re enthusiastic and fully engaged with the adventure. And the more enthusiasm they have, the more fun you’ll all have together.

Be as open minded with your objectives as you can – if you set out to summit a mountain but the kiddos are more enthused by the streams and rock formations on the way up, your goals might need to be adjusted on the fly: maybe you’re no longer aiming for the summit, but for a leisurely day exploring the trail! Of course, the kids might just be losing track of time. So keep checking in with them about their objectives, and offer the encouragement and guidance needed to achieve them. If they’d rather stop at every turn to ask you questions about plants and wildlife than make it all the way to the top of the mountain, that’s fine! Let their curiosity rather than a “checklist mentality” be your guide.

This goes hand in hand with the previous tip – offer encouragement where it’s needed, but don’t push too hard. It’s important to be mindful of the fact that your children’s physical needs and abilities are going to be very different than your own. They’ll almost certainly need to rest more, eat more, drink more, and move at their own pace. With younger kids, you should even plan some naptime into your schedule. It’s fine to present your kids with a challenge, but they won’t enjoy being pushed past their limits – it’s uncomfortable and doesn’t do any good for their self-confidence. Plus, it’s no fun! And fun should always be the goal. Make sure any challenges you set are both obtainable and enjoyable for everyone.

Physical engagement is a crucial component of all outdoor sports and activities. And oftentimes (if not always) getting dirty is a necessary part of physical engagement in the outdoors. There are even those of us who measure the success of an outing by the layers of grit and grime plastered on our hands at the end of the day. Give your kids safe boundaries, but allow (no, encourage!) them to explore every puddle, patch of dirt, and pocket of mud within those boundaries. Outdoor clothing and equipment is meant to get dirty, and they’ll outgrow their current gear in no time anyway – all the more reason to let it get grubby!

There’s no better way to preserve the natural world than by instilling respect for it in the next generation. Lead by example – kids are extremely impressionable and will pick up on your good habits and bad habits alike. Teaching them about basic LNT principles and other outdoor ethics is a great way to get them to start thinking about the way they relate to the environment. And as the children of adventure dads, this is likely going to be a lifelong relationship that’s worth putting some effort into from the get-go.

It’s a cliché, but it’s true – nothing is better than seeing the world through a child’s eyes. Sharing outdoor experiences with your kids is a great way to reconnect with that sense of wonder at the natural world which turned all of us former outdoorsy kids into lifelong adventurers. Take the opportunity to appreciate the little things, and pay attention to the way children marvel at all the tiny details that adults can take for granted. Sharing in that pure wonder and enjoyment of nature could be the best part of spending time outdoors with kids. And it’s this kind of experience that every adventure dad should strive to create for his adventure family.