Bike Riding on the Beach with Kids
Here’s an affordable, easy and fun BEACH activity the whole family can enjoy, whether it’s sunny or not…
Pack your bikes and head to the beach!
12 Tips for Your Family Bike Ride on the Beach
It’ll need to be low tide for your bikes to work in the sand. This is important, because soft sand is super boggy and the tyres won’t work.
A rocky or pebbly beach won’t work for this, it’ll need to be mostly sandy.
Pack a picnic or snacks and drinks, and have a beach picnic halfway through. This will give you time for a rest and energy for the way back.
Sunrise or sunset bike rides are spectacular and memorable, especially if you pack a picnic brekky or wine-cheese-beer snacks.
Try to pick a beach which has something fun at the end – rockpools, a headland, caves to explore, sand dunes or a fun spot to swim. That will give the kids something to ride towards.
Pack towels, whether you plan to swim or not. Guaranteed the kids will get hot riding and think splashing around is a fantastic idea, no matter the weather or time of year.
When you get back, always wash your bike thoroughly to get the salt off. If you miss this step, your bikes will begin to rust. If you forget to wash your bikes and they’re a bit slow to move next time, spray the chain with grease/WD-40.
Try to ride through the hard sand, rather than through the water. Too much water will start rusting your bikes.
Avoid beaches with cars/4wd access, or make sure you’ve talked to your kids about safety. If you’re riding on a beach with vehicle access, try to wear some high-vis gear so the cars have plenty of warning of your presence.
If you want to do this activity but not ruin your expensive bikes, grab a super cheap second hand bike online or at a garage sale. People are always giving bikes away!
If your closest beaches are packed with people, find a more wild, less touristy beach. Or go when most people avoid the beach – winter, autumn or after the rain. These are some of the best times to go because you won’t get too hot and there are less people in the way.
Avoid dog beaches (unless you’ve got a dog!). Dogs can be unpredictable when they see bikes, many will run up to investigate or follow, which can scare children on bikes. If you’ve got a dog, take them with you for a run - they’ll love it as much as the kids do.
If you’ve got toddlers, get them used to bringing their little wide-wheeled trikes or balance bikes on the hard sand. Or pop them into a baby bike seat on the back/front of yours - this is seriously a bike ride the whole family can join in on. Even teenagers enjoy the novelty of riding on the beach, and our younger kids love the thrill of making skid marks easily in the sand.
When the kids ride, it gives us parents a chance to do a proper beach walk together.
My Family’s Experience Riding on the Beach
We ride on our local beach regularly. It’s especially fun for the kids after lots of rain, when the rivers running down to the beach create mini sand dunes and bumps all the way along.
Soft sand is harder to ride through, so we walked down to the shore
I remember as a teenager going for long bike rides on the beach with my mum, stopping for a picnic breakfast at the ‘point’, a spot I’d never made it to before. The long stretch of beach went way past the local swimming spots, and was too far to get to on a morning exercise walk. It was exciting to ‘conquer’ that local spot I’d seen from a distance but never reached before. And to do it with my mum was even better - seeing the sunrise together and feeling like the luckiest kid in the world.
My son wore his high-vis vest so he could be seen clearly on this rainy day
Since having my own kids, I’ve taken them to the beach many times with their bikes, as soon they were big enough for those small plastic trikes. My son took to riding down little sand dunes right away! Naturally he was the first to discover how easy it is to make skid marks in the sand. I encouraged them to ride bikes as much as possible so I could walk/jog and get some exercise with my young family. There were plenty of times where the kids would whinge and complain and not want to go the whole way. An incentive like a play spot at the end always helped, as did lollipops or stopping for a quick snack. Often they get bored by long straight riding stretches, so having a bit of interest along the way helps. My son loves riding over rocks and chasing seagulls. Windy days can be challenging for younger kids, but it’s also fun having the wind behind you and they still talk about the feeling of having the wind carry them back so easily.
One of our best memories was riding down the local beach headland to explore the rock pools, where we discovered a sea turtle! The kids splashed around in the waves and we rode back with the wind behind us. I hope I’ll remember it forever, just like when I rode with my mum on a different beach many years ago.
Your Family’s Turn:
Do you have a beach you can try riding on? Let me know how your family goes! Remember to tag me in any pics on Instagram so I can see (@easyfamilyadventures)!
Related Articles:
Looking for more ideas to do at the beach?
