When hiking as a family — that is, with children — you often look for ways to keep them motivated or to make the journey easier for them. Hiking with a donkey is beneficial on many levels: it helps motivate the youngest members of the group and offers a different way to travel. Here are our tips for hiking as a family with a donkey, the benefits it brings, and which routes are best suited to this kind of adventure.
The advantages of hiking with a donkey
Robert Louis Stevenson did much to popularise donkey trekking with his famous book "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes", but today hiking with a donkey has found its own following because it offers a host of 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 bulkier ones onto the animal's back and save yourself a good deal of weight to carry. This is especially useful for children, who can offload their small rucksacks. A donkey can generally carry between 30 and 40 kg without too much trouble — so you can see that you can easily walk with a light back!
It adapts to your pace
Contrary to popular belief, donkeys are not that hard to get moving. They will easily adapt to your pace (or you to theirs), and you will be surprised by their endurance — even if they do choose their rest stops as they see fit.
A point of interest and motivation for children
Anyone who has already been on hikes with children knows how difficult it can sometimes be to keep them motivated and engaged. Having an animal along offers a genuine point of interest for your children — they will love looking after it, feeding it, leading it, or grooming it at the end of the day. And when the little ones get tired, they can always hop on its back!
How to go hiking with a donkey as a family?
Of course, hiking as a family with a donkey is not something you can just improvise. Most of the time you will go through a donkey handler who will rent you a donkey for your route.
The donkey is equipped with its own gear: a pack saddle for carrying loads, a halter and lead rope for handling, and panniers for luggage.
Care
You will of course set off with the 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 your donkey in perfect physical condition.
Loading the pack saddle
The donkey handler will explain how to fit the pack saddle, adjust the straps, and — most importantly — balance the weight on each side, otherwise you risk bags tumbling off. When packing, avoid hard-sided cases and opt for soft bags such as medium-sized rucksacks instead. Avoid placing hard or sharp objects against the donkey's sides, and put the heaviest items at the bottom of the bag with the lighter ones on top.
Handling the donkey
You will lead the donkey on a lead rope and walk in front of him. You will learn how to encourage him to keep moving and not let him graze wherever he 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 always be approached calmly and with confidence — they don't like being frightened or startled.
What's more, donkeys have an excellent memory and know the paths they take you along perfectly well.
Routes for hiking with a donkey
There are countless regions where it is possible to hike as a family with a donkey, with no prior experience needed. Most of the time, donkeys are perfectly suited to mid-mountain and gently rolling terrain. Here is a selection of places where you can set off hiking with your children and a donkey next summer:
- The Cévennes: a must-do with a donkey, particularly along the famous Stevenson Trail. A fairly easy route with plenty of accommodation and gîtes, and a very wide choice of providers and route lengths. The region is beautiful and often sunny, and will offer you moments of perfect solitude — the area is so sparsely populated and wild!
- The Queyras: the Queyras and the Ubaye region lend themselves well to hiking with a donkey, and it is fairly easy to find a wide range of programmes of different lengths and difficulty levels. The terrain is not too demanding, and with no luggage to carry yourself, you will have all the time in the world to take in the stunning scenery.
- The Ardèche: the Ardèche Gorges area enjoys not only an exceptional microclimate (more than 300 days of sunshine a year) but also offers hikers a magical and unique setting, with its wild and breathtaking beauty. Along the GR4 you will find numerous accommodations that welcome you and your donkey: walkers' lodges, yurts, farm camping, and bed & breakfasts. What's more, hiking at a donkey's pace along the ancient mule tracks of the Ardèche is a genuine pleasure to share between young and old, and there are many local providers in the area.
- The Jura: in the Hautes Combes of the Jura, at the heart of the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park, you will find many donkey handlers offering their animals for hikes of a few days to a week. You will discover wonderful nature and sublime viewpoints as you make your way with your donkey, and you can introduce your children to the joys of hiking, sleeping in a tent or a gîte — and you will, without a doubt, come home with wonderful memories of your hiking adventure with a donkey in the Jura.
