When hiking with the family — that is, with children — you're often looking for ways to keep them motivated or make the journey easier for them. Hiking with a donkey ticks many boxes: it motivates the little ones and offers a different way to travel. Here are our tips for hiking with the family and a donkey, the benefits it brings, and which routes are best suited to the experience.
The advantages of hiking with a donkey
Robert Louis Stevenson did much to popularise travelling with a donkey through his famous book "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes", but today hiking with a donkey has found its audience because it offers many undeniable advantages.
The donkey carries your luggage
As a pack animal, the donkey has been used to carrying heavy loads since time immemorial. Even if you keep some bags with you, you can load the heavier ones onto the animal's back and spare yourself a good amount of weight. This is especially true for children, who can offload their small packs. A donkey can generally carry between 30 and 40 kg without too much trouble — so you can comfortably walk with a light back!
It adapts to your pace
Contrary to popular belief, donkeys aren't that difficult to get moving. They adapt easily to your pace (or you to theirs) and their stamina will surprise you — even if they choose their rest breaks as they see fit.
A point of interest and motivation for children
Anyone who has been on hikes with children knows how hard it can sometimes be to keep them motivated and engaged. Having an animal along provides genuine interest for the kids — they'll love looking after it, feeding it, leading it or grooming it at the end of the day. And when the little ones are tired, they can hop on its back!
How do you hike with the family and a donkey?
Of course, hiking with the family and a donkey isn't something you just improvise. Most of the time you'll go through a donkey handler who will hire you a donkey for your route.
The donkey is equipped with its own kit: a pack saddle for carrying loads, a halter and lead rope for handling, and saddlebags for your luggage.
Care
You will of course set off with the full grooming kit (brushes, curry combs, hoof pick, wound treatment, insect repellent) and the donkey handler will explain what you need to do each day to keep the donkey in peak physical condition.
The pack saddle
The donkey handler will show you how to fit the pack saddle, adjust the straps and — crucially — balance the weight on each side, otherwise bags may fall off! When packing, avoid hard-sided cases and opt for soft bags like medium-sized rucksacks. Avoid placing hard or sharp objects against the donkey's flanks, and put heavy items at the bottom of the bag, with lighter items on top.
Leading the donkey
You'll lead the donkey on the rope and walk in front of it. You'll learn how to encourage it to keep moving and not let it graze wherever it fancies — otherwise the route could take a very long time!
Donkeys are fairly cooperative but clever, and require a gentle yet firm hand. Bear in mind that a donkey should be approached calmly and with confidence — they don't like to be startled or frightened.
What's more, they have an excellent memory and know the paths they take you on very well.
Routes for hiking with a donkey
There are countless regions where it's possible to hike with the family and a donkey, with no great experience required. Donkeys are generally at their best in mid-mountain and gently rolling terrain. Here is a selection of places where you can head out hiking with your children and a donkey next summer:
- The Cévennes: a must-do with a donkey, particularly along the famous Stevenson Way. A fairly easy route with plenty of accommodation and gîtes, a wide choice of operators and route lengths. The region is beautiful and often sunny, offering moments of perfect solitude in its wild and sparsely populated landscape!
- Le Queyras: the Queyras and Ubaye region lend themselves well to hiking with a donkey, and it's fairly easy to find numerous itineraries of varying lengths and difficulty levels. The terrain isn't too challenging and, with no heavy pack to carry, you'll have all the time in the world to admire the stunning scenery.
- Ardèche: the Ardèche gorges area not only enjoys an exceptional microclimate (over 300 days of sunshine a year) but also offers hikers a magical, one-of-a-kind setting with its wild and dramatic beauty. Along the GR4 you'll find numerous accommodation options that welcome you and your donkey: gîtes d'étapes, yurts, farm camping, B&Bs. The slow-paced hiking experience along the ancient mule tracks of Ardèche is a true pleasure to share between young and old, with many local operators available in the area.
- Le Jura: in the Hautes Combes of the Jura, at the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Jura, you'll find many donkey handlers offering their animals for hikes of a few days up to a week. You'll discover stunning nature and breathtaking viewpoints as you walk with your donkey, introducing your children to the joy of hiking, sleeping in a tent or a gîte — and you'll undoubtedly come away with wonderful memories of your roving hiking adventure with a donkey in the Jura.
