Mountain Boarding with Kids

You may not have thought of doing mountain boarding as a family activity, but you should try it as it is excellent fun.

Learning how to mountain board

Mountain Boarding, or Grass Boarding as it is also known, looks like riding down a hill on extra large skateboards.

The boards are more like snowboards than skateboards and come complete with foot straps.

Our boards are much bigger than skateboards!

We gave Mountain Boarding a go at The Edge in Shropshire and can report that it is excellent fun, and if you are stuck for things to do with the kids, then we recommend you give it a try.

Is It Safe

Well, any activity carries some sort of risk, but Mountain Boarding is a lot safer than it looks as the boards are quite stable.

• Make sure you pick an activity centre that teaches kids. Kids boards may be smaller and lighter.
• Safety gear should be provided. We were asked to wear walking boots and were provided with knee, elbow, and wrist protectors, as well as helmets.
• The instructor should teach you the basics of standing correctly on the board and getting on it the right way.
• You should be taught how to stop (essentially doing a J-turn across the hill). You will not be tearing down the hillside without knowing how to do this.
• Age restrictions will apply, and you may need to be at least 8 or 10 to do this (depends on the activity centre you choose).

We spent a few hours on this activity.

Having started as complete novices, we ended up being able to slalom down the hill. It was excellent fun. In fact, by the end of it, my face was aching from grinning too much!

Kids pick it up easily

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Gav Grayston Contributor

Father to 3 kids, who loves getting out and about (hiking, running, camping, cycling, canoeing...) Co-founded Get Out With The Kids to help other parents enjoy the outdoors with their family.