Anyone who has, or plans to have, children with whom they want to share the outdoors with, whether tramping, mountain biking, skiing or any other adventurous and healthy activity, will find a lifetime of inspiration in this issue.

Our roving editor Shaun Barnett takes his teenaged sons on a bush-bashing adventure to Ruahine Corner Hut.

In ‘The ultimate guide to tramping with your kids’, Jo Stilwell, a mum of 25 years, passes on all she has learnt about how to take children of any age – from babies through to young adults – on tramping trips.

Pat Barrett shares his goal of tackling all the Great Walks with his family, including three daughters. But there’s a catch: his daughter, Dominique, has Down syndrome, which makes her tire easily.

But she proves it’s possible for everyone to experience New Zealand’s premier tramping tracks and is a true inspiration.

Taking your children into the wilderness brings a certain degree of risk, which thousands of people manage every day. But we’ve got the tips to make sure you don’t ask too much of your children too early in their hiking career, or put them in dangerous situations – after all, the whole idea of this issue – and Wilderness generally – is to foster a love of the outdoors in people of all ages. The young though, are the future guardians of our wild places, the advocates, explorers, photographers, writers and readers who will shape the future of outdoor recreation in this country.

And thanks to all the parents out there who monthly share with the magazine their wonderful photos of their families exploring the great outdoors – we’ve devoted this month’s ‘Your trips, your pix’ pages to the littlies and I personally find it so inspiring to see your smiling, happy children enjoying the outdoors.

I hope this issue becomes a resource you can refer back to whenever you need to remind yourself how easy it can be to raise an outdoor child.