Hiking with Kids Southern California: 45 Great Hikes for Families

Howard Fox [00:00:06]:

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Outdoor Adventure Series podcast, where we celebrate individuals and families, businesses and organizations that seek out and promote the exploration, stewardship, conservation, and access and enjoyment of the outdoors. Shelly Rivoli is our guest today on the Outdoor Adventure Series. Shelly is an award-winning author, blogger, and photographer and a veteran family travel author who's passionate about active families who want to travel and explore. Her latest book, Hiking with Kids, Southern California, 45 Great Hikes for Families, was published earlier this month by Falcon Guides. Shelly, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast. Welcome.

Shelly Rivoli [00:00:54]:

Thank you so much for having me on, Howard.

Howard Fox [00:00:56]:

Fantastic. Now, I want you to pull that book up 1 more time. You did it. Perfect. Oh, look. Look at that. That's fantastic. And I am like so excited. So I'm a single guy. I don't have kids, but I have to live when it comes to kids. I live like curiously through my nieces and my nephew and they have kids and they pack up the RV and go to the local state park or county park with the RV. And I thought this would be a perfect book to send to them so they come out and visit old Uncle Howard. But well, congratulations on the latest book on hiking with kids. And I want to get into the book, but first, just share, if you will, just a little bit of background about yourself.

Shelly Rivoli [00:01:41]:

Okay. Well, I am the mother of 3 very cool, spectacular, thoughtful, and busy children. My oldest 1 is actually now on her first year of college. So that's been a huge adjustment for all of us. But the great thing about the timing of this book, Hiking with Kids Southern California, was that we got to do all of those hikes together as a family before her big sendoff for college. So that's always going to give it an extra special place in my heart. So good times.

Howard Fox [00:02:19]:

Fantastic. I would imagine this book, perhaps it's not the culmination, but it's nearly 20-some years of experience traveling with kids. Had you always taken the kids off to these adventures? Cause I went to local parks and holiday inns. Okay. And I'm like, oh wow, this is cool stuff.

Shelly Rivoli [00:02:45]:

Yeah. Yeah. Well, my husband and I loved to travel and tried to get as much of that in as we could before we took the step to having our first child. And like a lot of people, we had the impression once we started a family, we would be grounded basically. But that just doesn't always happen when your true nature is that of a traveler, I guess, and also a writer. So I was already a writer by trade. And so, uh, it wasn't long after we had our first daughter and we were, we were hiking in Yosemite, actually, and, and it just started becoming clear to me, it's, it's so hard to just get out the door when you have a baby, It just, it just, it's okay. But once you do, it's, oh my gosh, it's so good for you and it's so good for your relationship with your little ones and it's just, it's so important. So The wheels started turning while we were in Yosemite on that first trip with her. And I started thinking, I think for my next project, I might like to do something that would help other parents get out the door, get out there with their little ones And sort of conquer those fears and give them the tools for their own toolboxes, which I learned by stumbling my own way through it first. And so we had her camping, I think about 4 months, we did our first camping trip with her. And by the time she was 7 months old, we were actually in Thailand. So…

Howard Fox [00:04:20]:

Oh my, that's like…that's quite a jump there, Shelley! Yeah, yeah.

Shelly Rivoli [00:04:26]:

And I was on my way writing the first guidebook, Travels with Baby, the ultimate guide for planning travel with your baby, toddler, and preschooler. So, yeah. Oh, wow.

Howard Fox [00:04:38]:

So, I am curious, I have to ask this question. I get Yosemite. I mean, it's right up the street a little bit, sort of. We're lucky, yeah. How do you suddenly say, OK, let's go to Thailand?

Shelly Rivoli [00:04:52]:

Yeah, well, there were some other steps in between, for sure. We were in Venice. Yeah, I guess we did our first camping trip before we went to Yosemite, by the way. But it was on that Yosemite trip. In the backyard or something like that. I get that. Yeah, Big Sur, something like that. But yeah, in between, we did some other trips. We did a big road trip we would do every year. We're both, my husband and I, from Oregon. So once we started having kids, also, every summer, we would do a big road trip up to Oregon. So we'd already done like 10 day, 10 hour driving day, bless her heart and things like that. And, and then we flew, um, back east to visit my husband's relatives. And that was actually my first trip back east because I had gone, I never had family on the East coast. So when I did big travel, I would jump all the way over to Europe or Asia or something and go as far as I could. So that was really fun and exciting to meet the family members and, and see all those famous sites and those big cities and things like that. And then eventually we, yeah, we went to Thailand, which is a little crazy, but it, it was great. It

Howard Fox [00:06:08]:

was really nice. Part of me wants to know, I'm sure we don't have time for today. Perhaps another conversation is what are the, like the top 10 things you need to do to get baby ready to go to Thailand? But- Oh man, that's in the book. It's in the book. It's in the book. So we're gonna direct people to that wonderful book. Had you always been, had this interest in writing? I know you're an accomplished photographer. This travel and photography and writing had it always been in your blood?

Shelly Rivoli [00:06:40]:

Well, the writing, yes. The photography really came later. For some reason as I was growing up, I was just sort of pegged as a writer from kindergarten on, I should say. And lucky in that respect, but it was photography. I didn't grow up knowing anyone who was a photographer or did photography. And in my mind, that was like some very technical sort of pursuit that you would need to learn a lot of math for or something. And I definitely run from math. And it just, for some reason, it just didn't seem like something I would do until I was finally approaching 40, I guess. And I was already doing all the photos for my, my blogs and things like that. And, and I was growing in that way. And it was like more and more, I knew the photos I wanted to, to share and to tell the stories. And so I just sort of took over the family camera. My husband had done most of it before that. And so I was doing that. And then 1 day it dawned on me, well, I, if I really think about it and apply myself and there's so much great information online, I can certainly learn things. And then I was blessed at that point to know, through some of the travel writing organizations that I belong to, to know amazing photographers and to get chances to pick up tips from them. And once I just started asking questions and opening myself up to the possibility, it was just like head spinning how much you can improve when you decide you want to with something. So yeah, so I was off and running and then before I knew it I was doing a little photo journalism on the side and then selling travel photos also and

Howard Fox [00:08:34]:

More and more like that. And now I also actually have a small portrait. So I definitely crossed over into the photography realm. You are not only busy, but I love that you have been pursuing. This, this creative space, but also recognizing these little shifts and these gifts along the way. Oh, there's something here. I need to take advantage of that. Or how do I take advantage of it? And I love that. What led you to begin contemplating that there's another book in you, Hiking with Kids, Southern California?

Shelly Rivoli [00:09:08]:

That 1 came totally out of the blue to me. That still, I just, as it officially came out a few days ago, I, I just had to take a deep breath and reprocess all of this because at this point, it just feels like it was completely my destiny and my family's destiny. But it's so wild because for 1 time, I wasn't the 1 knocking on doors for that. And it was a wonderful, wonderful woman, Jennifer Fontaine, if I could throw her name out there. She was going to be the original author for it. It's in the Falcon Guides series. And that was at the at the very beginning of the pandemic or the pandemic hit like right after that was going to be. And I don't know how much you heard about it. But in the in 2020, like a lot of the trails in Southern California, they just had to shut down because they were so overcrowded and the parking situation was nuts. It was just not a good scene. And so just hiking in a lot of Southern California at that point was really difficult. And so she definitely had some challenges, but her family decided to go on a new adventure of sorts. And so at the end of the year, they actually moved to Europe. Oh, wow. And that's where they're doing. So she contacted me and, um, bless her heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And asked me, told me all about the project and asked me if I would be interested and I really had to think hard about it at that point because we, we basically hadn't gone on a family trip in a year at that point. And, and it was a big commitment, the timeline and, and I had carte blanche basically. So I got to come up with, with the total outline, all the hikes. And as I kept looking over the map of California and figuring out all the places I would really want to be in this book, it was just like, I don't know how we would get to all of them within the timeline. It's a lot of logistics and we do have a dog and a cat on top of it. So anyway, I, yeah, then we did a little back and forth and then it came together. And the next thing I knew I was committed to this wonderful outline and just crossing fingers and toes that all of the timing of the trips we'd planned would work out. We wouldn't have wildfires throwing things off. We've had a lot of challenges in California. But yeah, we got to all those places, Death Valley, and on and on, and it's just been an amazing adventure. I feel so lucky, yeah. Fantastic.

Howard Fox [00:11:57]:

Now, I'm curious, Has your family, the kids, the husband, are they immersed in this project of moms to get it, wife, to get this completed? How immersed were they in this process with you?

Shelly Rivoli [00:12:16]:

Yeah, it was, I was really lucky that they didn't mutiny at some point because um keep in mind that we were not only um every spring break every summer every long weekend, we were somewhere. We were doing, we drove over 3, 000 miles just for the book. And that was within about 15 months, I think we did all the hikes. But along the way, they're not just showing up and doing the hikes. I'm there taking all of these notes and I had to create a map as I went on every single hike. And then of course, on top of that, I'm taking like a couple hundred photos probably of every hike we did no matter how long or short. So they were so patient with me, but yeah, a lot of times they would finish way ahead of me. And they were, yeah, they were totally patient, but, um, but we definitely lived it. And when I got to hand the printed book to my son recently and just say, don't just look at the cover, open it up. And he opened it up and he just got this grin, this little grin on his face And this light sort of came on and I just realized he gets it now. And he sees his mom with a camera in front of her face and staring at her phone, making notes and all these things. But then it's like it really came together. And I thanked him. I just keep thanking my family for being a part of it, for living this book. So yeah, I'm so lucky. Tom P. That's fantastic.

Howard Fox [00:13:53]:

Now I want to make just a little tangent, and then we're going to come back. Your eldest traveled to Thailand and wherever in the United States. What has been their reaction now is because they've grown up traveling. I'm curious what their reaction is perhaps versus say your youngest child who, you know, just, oh, this is just something mom does, you know?

Shelly Rivoli [00:14:25]:

It's yeah. It's interesting because in, in some ways we've realized when over the last couple of years, he doesn't remember all of the trips that his big sisters do, being the youngest. And we did a lot more overseas travel when they were younger, well, when he was younger. So he doesn't have all of those memories so much. And he's done a lot more California travel for sure. And in this country. But yeah, so that's 1 difference. The big girls have more of the long distance memories. But yeah, it's 1 thing that I know definitely helped with this book project was that they were already quite accustomed to road trips. And that long road trip to Oregon every summer growing up too. And so yeah, so we didn't have a lot of those are we there yet moments in the car because they just get it. Yeah, they're good travelers.

Howard Fox [00:15:29]:

Of the 5 national parks in California, and if you could put yourself in the shoes of someone who is contemplating, now, I'm going to, let's take the kids to California and let's start exploring the national parks. Which 1 would you encourage the family who's coming into California to perhaps explore first? Or is that a fair question? Because I know Death Valley very well. Because I live in Nevada, and that's a go-to place for Yeah. Which 1 would you recommend to like, that should be your first 1?

Shelly Rivoli [00:16:12]:

That's a good question. I think, Well, because of the regions where these 5 parks are in Southern California, it really depends on the season because, oh, Death Valley is amazing and Joshua Tree is fantastic, But don't go there in the summer. Don't take your kids there. Don't take them hiking there in summer for sure. But you know, spring and fall are incredible. So if you're making a family trip in spring or fall seasons, that's ideal for those places. If you have the chance to go, I say go. And also the Southern Sierras, we've got Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park, and they're fantastic. They're just, I want everyone to have a chance in their lives to see those giant, massive ancient sequoias, as well as the ancient redwoods in a different part of California. But in winter, parts of King Canyon just get completely shut down, So that's not going to work there. But parts of Sequoia are often still quite accessible in winter. And so you can go there in summer and sometimes in winter and enjoy the snow and snowshoeing or things like that if you want. So that's great. And Channel Islands National Park, definite bucket list. I hope every family gets to go out there at some point and that's a pretty safe bet year round, but it does come down to the conditions on the day that you're going. So like you, no matter what season you still need to stay on top of what are the conditions like for when your trip is the next day trip out on, on the ferry. Cause sometimes conditions are not great, but, um, Otherwise it can be magical, especially with the dolphins. We can get some dolphins chasing you. Very nice. Very nice.

Howard Fox [00:18:06]:

I'm curious if, depending on what the holiday visitors are going to come and go on when they come to 1 of these parks, Is there a top 5, perhaps even 10 list of like, you need to be prepared because you're not going to fly into an airport, maybe, maybe they're going to drive, but they need to be prepared for the surroundings and the environment and the weather, etc. Yeah. What are those top 5 or 10 things they need to bring just based on your experience?

Shelly Rivoli [00:18:42]:

Yeah. Good question. I think our, our weather can be so changeable and that's whether you're out at the coast or you're in the desert, either area, you might suddenly get very strong winds. So always, always be prepared with an extra layer. Some type of windbreaker is a really good idea. And also, I mean, the obvious water bottles, reusable water bottles have those along. But yeah, the like some sort of windbreaker, definitely sun hats. But I always recommend grownups and little ones to get 1 with a lanyard or chin strap because of those winds that can be unexpected sometimes and also it makes it harder for the littlest kids to yank them off when they aren't so happy to wear them. So yeah, good sun hat with a lanyard and just really good shoes so that you will be comfortable walking with, with, um, if you're going to be on much uneven surface, some people head out with sneakers and that can be fine, but if, if you're going to be on a lot of rugged terrain and, and you're not used to hiking, think ahead and, And consider getting some shoes with a little better stability in them, cause that'll keep your feet happier longer. And a good day pack. I think kids can do well carrying their own day packs starting around 9 years old. Just put them in charge of carrying their own water and jacket and compass and anything else that they might want to have along. That's just good practice. And 1 less water bottle for mom and dad to carry. Yeah, I'm all about that.

Howard Fox [00:20:18]:

Of course. You mentioned when you were doing the traveling, the pets. Is there a pet of choice or do they all come with the family?

Shelly Rivoli [00:20:29]:

And how do you prepare for them? Yeah, exactly. How do I prepare for that again? This summer now? All over again? Oh, definitely a logistics challenge there. So we have a standard poodle, Gracie, and she is a wonderful traveler. And she does like to hike too. But in California especially, we have a lot of trails that are just a no-go for dogs. We have really sensitive habitat and some creatures that really deserve our extra respect. When we're going on a trip, I always have to think about how many of these hikes can she go on with us, and where will she not be able to go, And are there enough that it justifies bringing her with us? And so fortunately, we have a wonderful, wonderful dog sitter at home who had stopped taking dogs for a while during the pandemic, but then thankfully started again because she's like the 1 person we can leave our dog with that where our dog is happy and wagging her tail and not shaking. So that's really been great when that works out. Um, but another, um, I came up with along the way, it was to find on, on a trip where she can be with us. Most of the time we'll stay places. She can stay with us and things. Then I will look for a local dog sitter. Um, and using a service, I won't say which 1, But you know, you can get other customer reviews basically, and they've been sort of screened. So I'll find a local dog sitter we can leave her with, like for the day, and then go do our things, and then get her back for the evening. And it's just so much nicer to have her with us most of the time and for her to be with us for sure. Our cat stays home and we've been yeah really lucky to have some very nice high school girls who will be very happy to come visit her. Very nice. I'm curious about the hikes. When you

Howard Fox [00:22:31]:

were preparing the book and going out on the hikes, is there 1 or 2 hikes that just jump out at you as being the, wow, this is a great hike, or I didn't expect this hike?

Shelly Rivoli [00:22:46]:

Yeah, I think on Channel Islands on Santa Cruz Island. Wow. I mean, I was definitely expecting that to be a fun trip and beautiful hike. But still, when you're up on those cliffs, so high up and you're just surrounded by blue, there's 1 point where you you have a 360-degree view around you and it's just, I mean, I, breathtaking is definitely overused, but it really did feel like it was taking my breath away. It just is so spectacular

Howard Fox [00:23:25]:

and wow. Yeah, definitely a wow hike. Fantastic. As far as the, with the book, it was just officially published. How much pre-reading did reviewers or friends kind of have of the book? Because I'm really curious about, perhaps even in the 10 days since it's been published, what's been the reaction?

Shelly Rivoli [00:23:50]:

So I didn't, yeah, so my, my like friends and close people, they didn't see it. They didn't know. They saw the cover because I was flashing the cover everywhere. It's coming. It's coming. But, uh, but it just tickled me, um, because I had the same reaction myself when I first opened the actual book, it was like, oh, this is beautiful. Okay, maybe I'm a little biased. But I just I'm so thrilled with the way the layout folks and design team for Falcon made that book look inside and what they did with my photos and how they just put it all together and the tips boxes and, and it just, it's really, um, someone was saying user-friendly. And so that was what I was hearing, uh, from pretty much everyone. I, when they got their copy and they opened it up, it was just kind of a, wow, this, this, this looks good. This looks great to use. I'm inspired when I look in this. And that was exactly what I was hoping for. So yeah,

Howard Fox [00:24:58]:

1 of the features we have on our on our podcast is called The Aha Moment. And I think where you're at with this book today, just published and starting to get some of that feedback and just like, oh my God. But as you look back at your career, having this travel bug and this writing in you, and now again, another wonderful book, which by the way, I think is wonderful because being in Nevada, I mean, I actually had over Memorial Day weekend, maybe I should just go drive to Sequoia. It's not that far. But alas, work gets in the way. But now it is truly on my bucket list because I'm going to be reviewing the book.

Shelly Rivoli [00:25:45]:

Excellent.

Howard Fox [00:25:46]:

What has been your aha moment as you kind of look back at what you have accomplished? That,

Shelly Rivoli [00:25:54]:

wow. That's kind of funny because I, I think it was about a year ago. I, I started thinking maybe what I should do next. I'm always thinking, well, maybe what I should do next is, and I thought I'll, I'll start a new website, which I'm not doing now, but maybe it'll be like California family adventures or something like that because I'm doing so much in California, but then I finally realized. No, the reason why I thought that is because I want to be doing California adventures with my family. And that is, yeah, that's made it, it's just incredible that I've been able to combine my work with these experiences that I've been able to have with my kids. Especially now that the first 1 is out of the house and I realize it's coming with the rest of them too. So it's like game on. We are going to keep getting out there and having all these adventures we can together before they fly the nest.

Howard Fox [00:26:51]:

Very good. I totally appreciate that. Another feature we have is called the Insight to Go. And again, you've a writer, blogger, award-winning author, photographer, mom?

Shelly Rivoli [00:27:07]:

Yes, I think that.

Howard Fox [00:27:08]:

Wife. What's your insight to others who, I mean, maybe they're not going to follow your footsteps, but they at least, if Shelly can do this, I can do this, or this, I really admire what she has accomplished. What would be your insight to go that you would leave to our listeners who are perhaps not ready to kind of lean into this.

Shelly Rivoli [00:27:34]:

Yeah. I guess it's, it's all about, um, just pushing yourself a little bit beyond your comfort zone and to just, I, I have to force myself to do that continuously. And watching my kids growing up, that's what it takes to be growing up. They have to keep pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones and trying new things. So I think just once a week, try something new. Try something different. You might decide you don't want to try it again, but you won't know until you try it what you're capable of and what might spark your next passion.

Howard Fox [00:28:11]:

I love it. I'm curious now, what's going to be your next little leaning in, stretching yourself a little further. What's next?

Shelly Rivoli [00:28:22]:

I have a new, very ambitious project underway, which I can't say a lot about right now, but It's definitely pushing me past my comfort zones in some ways too, as a journalist and as a traveler again too. So I'm excited. I'm learning so much in the process and that excites me because I had never considered myself a historian, for example, and I'm not a historian, but now I'm going down those rabbit holes and it's really fascinating, so I'm excited.

Howard Fox [00:29:01]:

I have 1 question, You're not going to give it away. Is this outdoor related or is this another genre? Yes, it is outdoor related. Okay. So my ask, I actually have a couple asks for you. 1, if you're inclined, which once it's come to fruition and assuming I'm still around and the podcast is still around, would you be willing to talk about it with us on the podcast again?

Shelly Rivoli [00:29:25]:

I would be delighted. Thank you.

Howard Fox [00:29:28]:

Fantastic. Now, 1 little small request. I know I can get copy of the book cover for our show notes and our banner image. I know I'm gonna have a headshot from you for our banners, but if you have any photos that you would like to share that we can put in our show notes. I would love if you could send us over a couple so we can create a nice little collage on our website. Fantastic. Yeah, thank you. That'd be fun. Okay. Now, if our listeners would like to learn more about you and your work, what are your web and social sites that you'd like to direct them to?

Shelly Rivoli [00:30:06]:

Okay. So family travel 411.com is my main family travel site. Now it's got a lot of, it's actually got global coverage and a lot of some national park guides for families, for myself and other contributors, and a lot of recommended hikes and things on there too for outdoor enthusiasts. And my travelswithbaby.com website, It's in the process of getting updated right now, actually. And that's got, oh, that's got years and years worth of tips and advice for the travelers with the birth to 5 years old sort of age group. And, um, and I'm on Instagram, Shelly dot Rivoli and, um, Facebook too. So Twitter at Travels with Baby. All right, well, we will provide the backlinks,

Howard Fox [00:30:54]:

obviously, to the book page on Amazon and to your website, Family Travel 411, which I love that name, by the way. Thank you. And I don't envy you crafting a new website because I know that's that's a major project. So good luck with that Shelly. And we will provide the back links to the Facebook and Instagram and your other social sites as well. And we really appreciate you coming on and chatting about the book, Hiking with Kids, Southern California, 45 Great Hikes for Families. And I mean, I'm not exactly a kid, but I'm like, hmm, I think, where can I get to within a short little 2 or 3 hour drive kind of guy? Yes. Yeah. I think I can handle something like that. And, but I really appreciate you coming on and chatting about the book and really want to congratulate you for it. And just, I know Falcon guy just does a wonderful job and collaborating with its authors. And I think folks are going to be really excited about diving into this book and seeing what adventures they can come up with. So thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It's been really fun, Howard. Very good. Listen, stay in the line. We're going to do a quick close and you and I can have a final chat. Okay? Okay. All right. Okay, folks, we have just been chatting with Shelley Rivoli, award-winning author, blogger, and photographer. She has many years of crafting the kids' books and traveling with kids, but this latest book, Hiking with Kids, Southern California, 45 Great Hikes for Families. And really, this is a phenomenal book. And as someone who lives here in Las Vegas, California is just down the road a piece. So I know I'm gonna be taking advantage of this book, and I hope you do as well. If you'd like to learn more about Shelley and her work, do go out to her website, Family Travel 411. She's also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. And we're going to provide the back links to it. And we'll also have some links to her travels with baby work as well, including the guidebooks. So again, lots to take advantage of coming out of this particular episode. As for us, you can find us on the outdooradventureseries.com website. We are on Facebook and LinkedIn. You just search for the Outdoor Adventure Series. And we are on all of the podcast platforms. Now, my request for you guys, if you enjoyed this episode, do let us know. Comment, share it. Many of the podcast directories have commenting features and I'm sure Shelly would like to know as well what you thought of this episode and Hey, if you go on 1 of these hikes do let her know do let us know We'll pass that along as well, but I guarantee you you're gonna have some great adventures coming up Okay folks, wherever You