When fellow mom/hiker/author, Jamie Siebrase, asked me to review her new guidebook, I couldn’t resist. Are we competitors? Sort of. Just because I’m the author of a hiking guidebook doesn’t mean I don’t use other guides for research and pleasure, so I put her book to the test—with my own kid!

Jamie’s book, “Hiking with Kids Colorado” (Falcon Guides, 2021), has 52 hikes divided by season. While her kids—whose photos are in the book—appear much younger than my 16-year old daughter, I still found a hike for us. I love discovering new-to-me hikes close to home.

I flipped to the winter hiking section since it’s currently January and we just had our first measurable snowfall. I wanted to do a hike that is not in my guidebook so I chose Hike #40: Pines to Peaks Loop on Bald Mountain. This book has hikes for the whole state so I also needed one that was relatively close to home in Denver. I enticed my teen by reading this from the book: “The route is easy enough for a preschooler to complete, and yet older children can also enjoy birding opportunities and sweeping views of the Great Plains and Continental Divide.” Also, it’s a 1-mile lollipop trail—easy!

The driving directions were spot on to the trailhead, the hike description was accurate, and it got us out of the house away from screens. Yes, my teen did like those sweeping views! While we weren’t ready to stop mid-hike in the snow drifts for a picnic together, as Jamie suggested in the book, I could see why this mostly exposed hike has its advantages in winter.

This book could be a good way to incorporate hiking on family travels around the state or be a starter guide for bigger hikes as the kids grow.

Thanks for sending me your book to test out and review, Jamie!

Book Review: Hiking with Kids