With all the challenges of taking care of a newborn, hiking with one brings a whole new dimension to the exponential set of existing challenges. Nonetheless, with anxiousness of wanting to get out in the world, hiking with a newborn is extremely rewarding. With that said, our newborn was 1 month old before we started taking her out to see the world.
In the Sacramento area, there are a number of walk areas to consider; however, to be truly outdoors in the wilderness, there is only a limited number in the 30-minute driving range. With a newborn, we have to consider the time it would take to get supplies ready, get into the car, ensure that the baby is safe, and drive off. This could easily add up to an hour of travel time. We generally feed and change the baby every 2-3 hours. In between, the baby would sleep for the most part.
With COVID-19 floating around strangers, we wanted to be away from crowds and groups of people. That meant staying away from the ARBT and similar areas. We have been hiking around the area for the past 20+ years so we are pretty familiar with a lot of the hikes in the area.
All said and done, we decided to hike a very familiar and popular trail on a weekday. The Consumnes River Preserve is a place I come to very frequently and made friends who regularly frequent the preserve. During the winter months, the place is filled with fallen leaves and the wetlands are filled with water to make area almost magical during the sunset. In fact, many people come here just for the sunset.
The Consumnes River Preserve
Coming to the Consumnes River Preserve will provide you a few options to choose from. In my opinion, you can do all the loops here as they all have different features of the preserve. We chose to hike the river trail as we wanted shade for our baby. I was informed that babies should not be in direct sunlight for too long.
As we arrived to the preserve, the first thing we did was change a baby. Changing a baby in a car has its challenges such small spaces, uneven surfaces, and cold wet wipes. Considering the temperatures were around 50F degrees, we couldn’t have a newborn in cold temperatures for too long while change their diapers.
After changing the diaper, we fed our baby. This may be challenging for some because the mother may need to breastfeed. I’m not sure why it’s not acceptable to breastfeed in public but the mother breastfeeds our baby in the car. We also had baby formula as well. The challenge here is if you need to pump milk out and store it. That means you will need a cooler to store breastmilk. Also, for babies on formula, you will need to use ready-to-feed formula. This was something to consider when you go anywhere with a baby.
Now, finally, we ready to leave the car. I strap on the Infantino baby carrier and place the baby in. We are off into the trails. It was a glorying experience as we haven’t been out of the house for a while. Generally, newborns sleep and our baby slept the whole way. The baby did so well. The Infantino baby carrier was really comfortable and the baby fit snugged and safe. Additionally, we carried a diaper bag with all the things needed for the baby just in case. It was truly a good memory for the first hike with a newborn.
Sacramento Hike Suggestions
Here are a few suggestions to areas to hike at with a newborn
- Consumnes River Preserve
- Putah Creek
- Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
- Folsom Lake
Quick Links
All Trails: https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/california/cosumnes-river-preserve
Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Current+Location/38.26574,-121.4403?ref=trail-action-menu-directions
Infantino Baby Carrier: https://www.amazon.com/Infantino-Flip-4-in-1-Convertible-Carrier/dp/B00M0DWQYI
Ergo Baby Carrier: https://www.amazon.com/Ergobaby-Ergonomic-Carrier-Positions-Newborn/dp/B0743L6R1T
