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About Hikeabilities
Hikeabilities is an inclusive pediatric program in the Philadelphia area that provides children of all abilities an opportunity to access and participate in hiking, outdoor exploration, and other related adventures. Led by a licensed occupational therapist, Hikeabilities is thoughtfully designed to support children’s physical, sensory, and social-emotional development in a fun and engaging way. Hikeabilities encourages a more active and socially connected lifestyle in a world where sedentary routines are becoming increasingly common.
Benefits of Hiking & Outdoor Exploration
What does the research say?
“improvement in cognitive function when physical activity was performed outdoors compared to indoors, despite no differences in perceived levels of enjoyment between the sessions”
(Walters, Dring, Williams, Needham, & Cooper, 2024)
Cognition
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Supports healthy cognitive development including improved attention
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Encourages creativity, imagination, and problem solving
Mental Health
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Lowers stress levels and reduces cortisol
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Boosts mood, self-worth, and self-motivation
Sensory Regulation
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Builds sensory tolerance
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Reduces sensory-related anxiety
“when exposed to nature children reported significantly higher self-worth and positive feelings than when not exposed to nature”
(Chen, Z., Orobio de Castro, B., & Liu, G., 2025)
“the prevalence of being overweight was 27–41% lower in girls and boys who spent more time outdoors at the study baseline than those who spent less time outdoors”
(Cleland, et al., 2008)
Physical Health
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Increases physical activity and fitness
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Decreases the risk of obesity
What Makes Hikeabilities Unique?
Outdoors
Hikeabilities encourages increased time spent outdoors. Your child gets to ditch screen time to enjoy adventurous play while engaging in the sensory experiences that nature has to offer.
Hiking
Hikeabilities offers an opportunity for your child to engage in hiking. They will build the skills necessary for tackling hiking trails of various difficulty levels based on their abilities.
OT
Hikeabilities is led by a licensed occupational therapist who will help your child build skills and provide education on strategies and supports to promote carryover across settings.
Socialization
When kids are cooped up indoors, this decreases their time spent socializing with others. Hikeabilities strives to help children build social-emotional connections with others.
Skills Targeted
Fine Motor
Fine motor skills help kids with the small but mighty tasks—like grasping a stick, tying a knot, or picking up rocks. Outdoor play naturally strengthens these muscles. Think of zipping a backpack, opening a water bottle, and collecting leaves. These activities boost hand strength, coordination, and precision all while simply hiking along a trail.
Gross motor skills support your child’s ability to explore, play, and navigate the world. Climbing over logs, jumping in puddles, balancing on rocks—these are nature’s ways of building strong, confident movers. Trails and outdoor spaces will be used as natural gyms that develop strength, balance, and coordination.
Gross Motor
Nature is the ultimate sensory playground. The rustle of leaves, the crunch of gravel, the scent of pine—all these sensory experiences help kids learn to process and respond to the world around them. Whether your child needs more calming input or more alerting sensations, the outdoors offers a rich, flexible environment to support sensory regulation in a gentle, engaging way.
Sensory Processing
Visual Motor Integration
Visual-motor integration helps kids match what they see with how they move. Nature is full of chances to practice—from marking a location on a map to placing a walking stick on sturdy ground. Even games like following a winding path or tracing patterns in the sand build skills for handwriting, sports, and more.
Social-Emotional
Nature helps children slow down, connect, and regulate. Outdoor play encourages turn-taking, sharing space, and working together—whether building forts, navigating trails, or spotting wild life. With the right support, these moments become stepping stones for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and friendship skills.
Executive Functioning
Executive functioning skills help kids plan, organize, and stay flexible—key for everything from getting dressed to tackling schoolwork. Outdoors, these skills come to life through adventure: figuring out how to read a map, remembering the rules of a nature scavenger hunt, or adapting when the trail gets muddy. Nature’s unpredictability becomes a powerful tool for growing mental flexibility and focus.
Who is Hikeabilities for?
Currently, Hikeabilities is for children ages 6-12 years old.
All abilities are welcome! Your child does not need a diagnosis in order to benefit from Hikeabilities. They may show some delays in skill development and need some help working on those skills. However, children with diagnoses are welcome! Your child may or may not be receiving occupational therapy services currently. If they are, Hikeabilities may be a great addition to continue building on the skills they are working on.
These diagnoses include but are not limited to:
Autism
Developmental delay
ADHD
Motor skills challenges
Sensory processing differences
Social-emotional challenges
Executive functioning deficits
Still not sure if your child is the right fit?
Take a look at the questions below to get a better idea whether or not your child would benefit from participating in Hikeabilities.
Can you answer YES to any of the following? If so, Hikeabilities MAY be a good fit for your child.
Does your child have difficulty regulating emotional or sensory responses?
Is your child looking to gain confidence in new skills or in social interactions?
Does your child need help learning how to play cooperatively with peers?
Does your child show delays in development of motor skills?
Does your child need help learning how to plan, organize, or problem solve?
Does your child have trouble focusing or attending to tasks?
Is your child addicted to screen time or do they not spend enough time outdoors?
Or maybe they love playing outside and learn best in an outdoor environment?
Can you answer YES to any of the following? If so, Hikeabilities MAY NOT be a good fit for your child.
Is your child at risk of elopement from the area? Do they easily run away from a designated place when they are distracted or dysregulated?
Does your child require 1:1 assistance? Our groups have a low ratio of adult-to-child, but there will not be an adult directly with any child at all times, but rather they will be within reach.
Is your child at risk of harming themselves or others when dysregulated or for any other reason?
Sign Up
Hike & Seekers Spring Program
Saturday mornings: March 14th-April 18th, 2026
Contact Hikeabilities
If you would like to contact Hikeabilities, please send a direct email to
hikeabilitiesot@gmail.com or by clicking the link below.
Regina is happy to connect and/or answer any questions you may have.