This is a re-post of one of my favorite frugal activities in the summertime. Such a fun way to enjoy a day as a family, and if you have bikes, you won't spend a penny!
Are you looking for a fun summer activity, but don't want to break the bank? One of our family's absolute favorite frugal summer activities is trying out local bike trails in our community, and this year all our kiddos are finally old enough to ride their big kid bikes all by themselves. (We've spent the last twelve years pushing, pulling or toting one along with us, so I'm thinking we've finally arrived. . . WOOHOOO!)
If you haven't tried out a bike trail yet with young children, here are a few suggestions:
- Find local bike trails in your area at TrailLink.com. Â (If your family doesn't own bikes for everyone, or your little ones are too tiny to enjoy the ride, remember you can always take a walk on some great trails as well!)
- Plan your trip during the coolest part of the day.  By planning your trip in the early morning or evening, you'll avoid the heat of the day as well as miss naptime for the little ones in your family.  Around our house, an early evening bike ride makes for a very good night's sleep too! 🙂
- Pack appropriately for your trip. Â You'll want to take water bottles (carry a sack backpack if your bikes don't have racks for water bottles), helmets, bug spray, a few band-aids and some antibiotic ointment (just in case!), as well as a camera for pictures along the way.
- Plan the length of your trip based on the ages and bike-riding ability of your children. Â Our youngest just started riding a two-wheeler this Spring at the age of five, and she pretty easily handled four miles on her first long trip. Â Before setting out on a “longer” trail though, you may want to do a test-drive around your neighborhood to see how they do before planning a longer trip though! Â In case you do go further than your little ones can make it, many trails include places to stop along the way so you can usually send someone back for the car if you need to.
- Know what kind of surface you'll be biking on before you go.  Many trails have both solid and rocky surfaces, which may be difficult if you have little ones who are new to riding (or riding with training wheels.)  You can check to see if the trail that you're planning to ride is on a paved or gravel surface by looking on TrailLink.com for trails that are either wheelchair accessible or allow inline skating.  Most likely those ones will be an easy ride for your little guys!
- Plan a fun treat at the end of the trail! While we love the ride, one of our favorite parts is a special ending somewhere along the way.  Many trails include playgrounds at the end of the loop, and you can always swing by McDonald's for $1 Sundaes, Wendy's for $1 Frosties, or Sonic for half price slushes or milk shakes as a special treat.  (This is also a fantastic motivator if you're children's legs get a little tired . . . I'm always amazed at how much more quickly my children will pedal when there's food involved!)
Here are our kids enjoying Ice Cream Sandwiches at the only Nestle Toll House Store in Alabama after our bike ride in Athens last weekend . . . they were pretty pleased with themselves! 🙂
What other tips do you have for bike riding as a family, or frugal summer fun? Â I'd love to hear your thoughts, so take a minute and leave a comment to share!
Looking for more penny pinched ways to enjoy the summer? Here you go. . .
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 1: Create a Summer Bucket List
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 2: Host a Lemonade Stand
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 3: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk PaintÂ
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 4: Watch a Free Summer Movie
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 5: Host A Tea Party (Just For Yourselves)
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 6: “Paint” The Driveway
- 25 Days of Frugal Summer Fun Day 7: Plastic Bottle Sprinkler
- You can also check out my summer fun board on Pinterest for more summer fun ideas. Â
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Kailin @ Logs and Thoughts says
We used to ride to Dairy Queen…it was a fun treat and definitely motivating!
I love love love the trails around me. We have tons in the Nashville/Brentwood area, and I frequent them often both on my bike and in my tennies 🙂
One word of advice if you’re heading out to the trails with kiddos…prepare the kids beforehand with a discussion about staying on their side of the trail. It makes it easier for everyone on the trail, regardless of direction of travel, when everyone stays on the right (or left, I guess, as the case may be). People who are traveling a little faster can go around a little easier and with less stress if they see that everyone is staying on their side. Also, if you are riding next to your kiddos (perfectly acceptable!), keeping the kid on your right (so when people pass you, they pass on your left and not near the kids) makes it safer for everyone involved.
Happy trail riding and running!
Laurie says
Those are great tips Kailin! As we just bike for fun (not all that often!) I’m not sure of all the rules of the road so I love that you shared those. Most of the time when we go there aren’t many people on the trails, but when there are I’m pretty sure my kids have no clue what to do and I need to work on that.
Love the trails in Brentwood – my sister-in-law is in Nolensville and goes to church at Brentwood UMC and there are so many great places to go whenever we visit her. My husband designs trails for work (usually does highways, but loves when he gets to do bike trails too!), and we keep hoping we’ll get a few more in our area. 🙂 Thanks for the tips!
Alice Smith says
I love this picture! Jackson has grown so much since then!
Laurie says
I know ~ I thought the same thing Alice! 🙂