We began hiking with our kids when they were little enough I had to carry them on my back. As they were able to walk, we began letting them hike portions of trails. In the beginning, when they were 3 and 2 years old, they could only walk a fraction of a mile through the woods before they were exhausted. We had to learn to pace ourselves, and we had to account for the reality that you have to make it back to the car. Unless it's a loop trail, out is only halfway there! Near our house in Wake Forest, we can access some really good trails around a small resevoir. It's a pretty hike, and we take our children there regularly for the practice of hiking. With each hike, our kids could go a little further though. Going to the same place allowed us to track their progress as we made it a little further down the trail each time. We celebrated milestones with the kids as they would make it to a new place. We went hiking this past week, and I our kids both finished a 3 mile hike in the mountains (mostly without complaining). They can do uphill hikes to peaks and are getting pretty good at bouldering in creeks. The littlest one is still in preschool. I'm glad we started them early.