I'm planning a 3 night backcountry trip for 2 adults and 3 kids under 10 this summer and am looking for recommendations. This would be a first over night trip for the kids so I'm trying to come up with something challenging, but reasonable. My kids have done 10+ miles before at 9k feet, but those were day hikes. Texas summer packing water is not something that I really want to do for their first trip. I am considering eagle rock loop, but I'm concerned that may be a bit tough from what I have read. Anybody have a good suggestions on what I should be considering?

Lone Star Hiking Trail - Grand Loop. Check it out on All Trails.

The full lop is 31 miles, but there are many ways to reduce the overall mileage if you want.
It crosses a number of forest service roads, county roads, and FM roads so that you can "cache" water and food. Just hide them off the trail in the woods and mark their location. That way you don't have to pack it around.

Would you be up for Colorado? I live in Pagosa Springs, and we have several options that would be good for you guys.

A great option would be to park at Wolf Creek Pass and start hiking down the Continential Divide Trail. You can peel off on a number of different trials back toward town, depending on how far you want to go. I could easily pick y'all up we a designated trail head and ferry you back to your car. Ample water and great views, and mostly easy downhill terrain if him do that loop.

first overnighter as in first time camping or first overnighter as in first backpacking but with previous camping experience?

A good option with kids is to do a base camp style trip rather than a loop or A to B hike. Do a relatively easy hike to a base camp area and then do day hikes or fish or whatever else from there. Keeps the loads down for most of the hiking and you only have to do camp setup/take down once.

edit: and what ages under 10? big difference in the ability of a 9 and 5 year old.

That would definitely be an option. I'll take a look at that area

First time backcountry. They've been camping they're whole life. Ages 10 and 8. Last year they did 13 miles at 9-10k feet and a couple thousand feet of climbing. They've just never done it carrying gear.

in that case I'd take cupofjoe up on his very generous offer and not look back.

Has anybody done Eagle rock loop. Is it something that can be reasonably done with kids?

I have done it. It is much easier than most of the Rocky Or Appalachian backpacking I have done, but its definitely a step up from the local state park and lone star hiking trails.

It depends on what age your kids are and what kind of experience they have. If somehow they were all 10 and loved being outside and walking all day, I'd say go for it. I'm imagining taking my nieces and nephew that are 10 and 7 and I can't imagine it being a whole lot of fun after the first day. They have been camping a lot, but aren't too big of fans of walking 3+ hours.

I remember there being one intense elevation gain that was about 500 feet in elevation in about a mile. Other than that, it wasn't too bad.

If I were you, I'd look into doing something more like a loop at Lost Maple over a long weekend before hand and see how they do. If they crush it, then give the Eagle Rock a try. If everyone is miserable, wait for the kids to grow some more before attempting more difficult hikes.

A loop on the lone star hiking trail mentioned above or in Big Thicket might be good weekend practice option too, if you can get out there before the heat and mosquitoes do.

We're doing a practice weekend in a couple weeks. I'm looking for a bigger trip this summer

Oh man! Sounds awesome!

Looking up Wolf Creek Pass, seems like it might be a little rough from the altitude. The pass is just shy of 11,000 and from there, both north and south on the CDT, is up.

Not familiar with Eagle Rock Loop. Reading about it on All Trails, looks quite doable and didn't see complaints about heat.

Something else to consider, Maroon Bells, 4 pass loop. I haven't done it, but my brother did with his co-workers. Bunch of out of shape middle age men, so it can't be too bad! Elevation is much more than Arkansas, starts around 9,500 and goes up, but man, Colorado verses Arkansas?

But being a flatlander and now middle age, elevation is no joke. In my younger days, I could go climb a 14er with no acclimation and be fine. But just a few years ago I did Raes Lake and it went from 5,000 to just below 12,000, and yeah, it got to me. I laughed at one of the guys bringing O2 from REI with him until the headaches hit...

Anywhere that you might recommend? All of the trips I've recently done are either too big or not good for summer (We'll be doing the south rim at big bend next winter)

There's no air in Colorado.

Maroon Bells is awesome. Unbelievable scenery. But it can be hassle organizing access, as it's limited. SO worth it, though. All 4 passes are over 12,000' on the loop, so there is some serious elevation to be gained. I ran it several years ago, and I want to say we gained (and lost) 7,500' in a little over 27 miles that day. It is also has some pretty remote sections on that loop. Not sure I would take kids on their first outing there.

If you can hike the Bells, you can easily do the CDT near Wolf Creek. The pass sits at 10,800', and you can pitch down into any one of a number of drainages to descend back towards trailheads north of Pagosa. If altitude is a concern, there are countless other loops to do in the Lower San Juans that would keep you around 9,000'.

All that being said, if someone doesn't want to have the kids in big remote country just yet, get a couple trips under their belts in TX or AR. Hiking in and setting camp, then day hiking can be a great option. And if you want to train covering miles with weight, you can day hike with loaded packs.

Yeah I did the 4 pass loop with the wife for our anniversary a few years ago. Pretty easy 3 day loop for us but coming from Texas with under 10 yo kids….probably not.

mpl35 said:

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Yeah I did the 4 pass loop with the wife for our anniversary a few years ago. Pretty easy 3 day loop for us but coming from Texas with under 10 yo kids….probably not.

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How was it camping, specifically finding good spots near water, that lead to earlier summits the next day?

We saw lots of trail use when we ran it, so I wondered if the ideal spots got tight. I would really like to take a group and do it in 3-4 nights next year. That would be a great OB trip.

We did it late July. Started the loop counterclockwise. We were the first people to Snowmass lake. Got there around 11am but that was our planned campsite so we setup. It was freaking packed by dark. I'm hindsight I'd have taken a break and then done a mile or two towards the next pass. Dry camping would have been better. If you have to stay at Snowmass cross the outlet and get one of the more isolated spots over there.

The next morning we were the first out of camp. We met a solo hiker that was going clockwise and was just packing up. He had a spot just to himself. Probably the only tent between snowmass lake and the Trail Rider pass.

That day we hiked until almost tree line as we approached Frigid Air pass. We actually backtracked 1/2 a mile to find a campsite near water. There were dozens of solo or two tent spots near the stream. From the top of the waterfall to where we camped lots of good places but we wanted to be close to the pass since we planned two for the last day. We stopped at a group site with room for a dozen tents just above the trail. Somebody camped across from us nearer water. Our area was elevated and could be passed and missed despite the 12 obvious spots. Nobody camped near us. We had the entire area to ourselves and close fresh water.

The last day we doubled up and did frigid air and west maroon. I didn't see any good sites Between those two passes. We cruised down west maroon to the parking lot and had lunch in Aspen. There were a lot of good options to camp along that stretch. I'm sure they are busier though.

Overall I'd say Snowmass Lake is amazing but way too busy (pre reservations). The rest of the hike if you hike early and pay attention….you can find good spots.

3 days and 2 nights is perfect counterclockwise. That was my favorite when I planned our trip. I could easily see myself doing 2 days instead because I hate sitting at camp.

If you prefer 4 days and 3 nights going clockwise might be better. I could pick out 4 great areas to aim for camps that way.

You can also extend it easily with Geneva Lake. Adding it to the middle makes it a great 4 day and 3 night trip for a decent hiker.

If you set up a trip let me know. I might be interested. Or I'd offer advise at minimum!

cupofjoe04 said:

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mostly easy downhill terrain if him do that loop.

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Its a trap!!

This is how race organizers get people to sign up for distance runs......

Also look at options on the Ozark Highland Trail and Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Great views, waterfalls, caves, etc. and 02 levels that your body is used to. You can even incorporate a day canoe float on the Buffalo River as part of the journey.

The book "Arkansas Hiking Trails" by Tim Ernst is a great resource as is "Buffalo River Handbook" by Kenneth L. Smith.