Maritime Outdoor Family Heads to Maine: Preparing to Take a Preschooler on a 9 Day Road Trip

Acadia National Park. Photo credit.

We're preparing to take our 4-year-old on a 9 day camping road trip through New Brunswick and Maine with Baxter State Park, Acadia National Park, and Herring Cove Provincial Park among our destinations. 

We have done a lot of camping road trips with our wee one before, such as last year's trip to the Cape Breton Highlands and our trip to Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park in 2012, but this one will definitely be our longest yet. We will drive over 1,700 kms. We will camp 5 nights, spend 2 nights with friends, and stay 1 night in a rustic cottage. 

The trip!

So, you might be asking, how do we plan on keeping our busy babe occupied? I am employing some tricks learned on previous trips as well as some new ones from this handy Kids Activities Blog list. Here is a peak at what I am planning:

Basically, we have:

• ways to draw without making a mess (NO MELTING CRAYONS IN MY CAR!)
  Tip: You can find magnetic drawing boards and Etch-A-Sketch screens at secondhand stores.
• a few new toys for the excitement of having something new
  Tip: Pick items that will hold attention. I went with a bead kit, a kaleidoscope, and a bendable wooden snake. 
• books on CD
• a tablet as the ultimate last resort
  Tip: Buy a new game/app for your kiddo's device before heading on a long trip.

Ultimately, I think no toy or gadget will beat a good trip plan. We have made sure to keep long driving days separated by hiking days with minimal driving, we have found interesting stops to make along the way for heavy driving days, and we have set a maximum number of driving hours per day based on our comfort level. And speaking of trip planning, it is time for me to get back to it! 

One preschooler's clothes packed for 9 days! 

Awesome Day Hike for Babywearing Mamas & Papas (Hopewell Rocks, NB)

An awesome family hike (and also a visit to a famous tourist destination) is the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. It is a fairly easy hike, but not one that allows for strollers as you will be walking on the ocean floor! It is perfect for those using front or back child carriers. We used our Deuter Kid ComfortIII. It was fantastic! The hike in is on a very wide, very well maintained trail. It was beautiful! There were a few steep areas off the main trail that allowed you to look out at various rock formations. At the end of the trail is a very large staircase down to the ocean floor.

What we found ideal was to hike in at high-ish tide and take in the view of the rocks semi-submersed, have a picnic lunch, then when the tide was low head down to walk on the ocean floor! It was perfect! Our wee one was 15 months when we did it, and even at that age, she loved seeing the rocks and water. After hiking from the stairs past Diamond Rock, H was asleep on my back so it was a nice time to take it in and chat with my partner.

All in all, I would say plan a whole day for it; take your time. Have a picnic, play in the play area, enjoy the mystical scenery of the Fundy tides! Not just anywhere can you walk past rocks as tall as buildings with seaweed taller than yourself!