Activity: Go on a Hike

Improve your strength and stamina while enjoying Heavenly Father’s creations.

Go on a hike in a nearby outdoor area. While hiking, discuss the benefits of spending time in nature, such as stress relief, physical fitness, and opportunities to ponder. Encourage youth to unplug from all digital devices for this activity (but make sure to bring a phone with you in the event of an emergency).

Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.

• If you can’t get away into nature, bring nature to you. Bring natural objects such as plants, pieces of driftwood, pebbles, or pictures of landscapes to share with participants. Explain that looking at pictures of nature can relieve stress. Discuss how we can use imagery from nature to help us to maintain a positive emotional and mental state and to feel close to our Heavenly Parents.
• Take the youth into a quiet area outdoors and tell the story of Enos. Invite them to spend some time by themselves praying, pondering, and writing in their journals.
• Get permission from appropriate authorities to do a service project while hiking. For example, find out if a hiking trail needs maintenance. Invite an expert to show youth how to use the right tools to do needed repairs to the trail. If you do not have access to tools or expert advice, try going on a clean-up hike and pick up any trash you see while hiking.

Encourage youth to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• How do you feel when you spend time in nature?
• Why do you think it might be important to appreciate nature?
• When have you been uplifted or calmed by spending time in nature?
• What feelings or impressions do you have about the things that Heavenly Father has created for you?
• How can spending time in nature help you strengthen your relationship with your Heavenly Parents and with Jesus Christ?

• “The Creation,” Gospel Principles (2009), 23–25
• Doctrine and Covenants 59:16–20
• “Earth: A Gift from God,” Ensign, Feb. 2013, 40–43

• Exploring Plant and Animal Life
• Learning to Cook Outdoors
• Outdoor Survival Skills