There are not a ton of Easter Egg hunts in our area, and there have been even less since the onset of COVID. For these reasons, a few hiking friends and I host an Easter Egg Hike for our children’s and their friends each year. Here are some suggestions if you are planning an Easter Egg Hike of your own!

Location

We always have our Easter Egg Hikes at the same location each year. This location is ideal in our minds because it is a relatively short loop hike. The very young children aren’t expected to hike too far. We don’t have to hike out and back, so there will be eggs the whole length of the hike. For this location we only have to show up a half hour early, then one of the parents is able to hike the distance in about 30 minutes and set out all the eggs. In addition, this location is also not heavily trafficked this time of year, so there is less of a chance that hikers who are not with our group will take or destroy our eggs.

Type of Eggs

Consider what kind of eggs you will be hiding. Initially we hid your typical plastic eggs with small toys or candy inside of them. The issue with this is that it can get expensive. You do have the option of requiring attendees to donate eggs and fillers. However, this adds a whole different component to the planning phase of an Easter Egg Hike. So, I steer clear of this option all together. In addition, there is the possibility that some may not be found and left behind.

The second kind that people generally consider are colored hard-boiled eggs. We have never used these because we live in an area that has a lot of dangerous wildlife that may be attracted by the eggs. However, if you were to choose these there is the upside that they would simply decompose if not found.

The third kind (the kind that we use) may not work in all climates, because we use ice eggs! I own a couple of silicon ice cube molds that are in the shape of Easter Eggs. A few weeks before the event I start making the eggs by mixing finger paint with the water before freezing. I try to set the molds to freeze once or twice a day. During our most recent hike we had around 150 eggs, at little to no cost. In addition, it only took me about 3 minutes a day to create them. These eggs simply melt if they are not found during the hike.

Here is a link to some molds that are similar to what I use: Silicon Easter Egg Molds.

Rules

We have done these hikes a few times. Our biggest issue in the past has been older children running ahead and collecting all the eggs before the toddlers are able to reach them. For this reason, we have a few rules that we establish before the hike is started.

1. Egg Limit – We limit how many eggs each child is allowed to collect. I determine the number by dividing the amount of eggs by how many children show up to the hike.
2. No Helping – We ask that older children do not help younger children locate eggs. Older children generally want to continue searching for eggs and I have found they will often give the excuse of “helping” to do this. Younger children then become frustrated that they aren’t able to find any eggs by themselves.
3. Swapping – We tell the older children that if they have already collected their maximum number of eggs, but still want to search, then they must set down an egg for someone else to find before they can pick up a new one. This rule keeps the older children engaged through the whole hike, but doesn’t take away eggs from the younger children.

One last suggestion is that on the event invite we request that everyone bring their own baskets or bags to collect the eggs. It’s generally a good idea to have a few extra on hand because often someone will forget. Hope you have a good hike and happy hunting!