People take in the view from the summit of Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain near Keeseville, one of four hikes in the new hiking challenge geared toward kids. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

Hiking “challenges” are the rage these days in the outdoors and tourism communities, with towns, counties and organizations starting up challenges to complete mountains in their towns, mountain ranges, etc.

Hudson Falls resident Eli Carlton has completed a few of these challenges, such as the Tupper Lake Triad, and he is working on becoming a 46er, completing all 46 Adirondack High Peaks.

But it was a hike with his 4-year-old daughter Xandra that got him thinking about a challenge to get more youngsters interested in hiking. He took his daughter to the Pinnacle in Bolton earlier this year and brainstormed the idea of a youth challenge when she asked about a patch for her accomplishment.

With that, Adirondack Hikes 4 Tykes was born, a challenge of four family-friendly hikes in the Adirondacks, with the reward being a patch for the youngsters who complete it. (There is a suggested donation for the patch to help defray costs, Carlton said.)

“I always wanted to create a program to inspire children to get out hiking, but most people always say our mountains are too large for toddlers,” Carlton said. “I have come up with four very family-friendly Adirondack mountains all 3 miles or less that ages 3 to 100 could hike.”

Hikes that have been singled out are Pilot Knob Preserve, Shelving Rock Mountain, Mount Jo and Pok-o-Moonshine.

For more information, go to www.hikes4tykes.com.