Mountain hikes (not Switzerland)

Scotland! Check out https://www.contours.co.uk/

Dolomites. Stunning scenery, good infrastructure for hiking: well- marked trails, lifts all over if you want to ride up or down, mountain restaurants for a lunch stop, and very nice hotels all over. The peaks are jagged and rocky rather than snow-covered, and you may encounter grazing Haflinger horses instead of cows. You are in Italy ( with a Tyrolian twist) with a friendly welcome, excellent food, and lower prices than Switzerland.

The Dolomites , without question !! While formally part of Italy since 1918 , this area , the South Tirol , was part of Austria until then , and the culture is more Austrian than Italian . There is also a culture and language known as Ladin ( not Latin ) spoken in this area . This short video will certainly whet your appetite for a visit . Try to make it a long one - https://youtu.be/gegTMCqF-M0 The music is sung in Ladin .

Here are some of my favorite mountain areas in Europe to hike in:

-Tatra Mountains - Part of the Carpathian Mountain range between between Poland and Slovakia. The Tatras are part of the UNESCO World Biosphere Programme due to their "many rare and endemic animals and plant species, such as the Eurasian brown bear, European Wolf, and Eurasian lynx." Zakopane is the major resort town in the area and makes for a good base for hiking in the area. One of the main hikes is to the unique lake known as the Morskie Oko (Polish: Eye of the Sea). The lake is flanked by several tall forested peaks. It is fifty meters deep and is the only one in the Tatras with a natural stock of fish (one of the reason why it is called Eye of the Sea).

-Picos de Europa - Mountain range between Cantabria and Asturias, in Spain, the Picos de Europa offers some of Europe's most spectacular mountain scenery. The mountains are dotted atmospheric medieval towns and villages, Potes is one such town that makes for a great base for hiking. The Fuente Dé area makes for some great summer-time hiking, one can even take a cable car all the way to the top of the mountains, for some high-altitude hiking there. The Picos de Europa is one of the last places in western Europe that one can find endemic Eurasian brown bears and wolves, that have not been reintroduced from other areas.

-The Sudetes - A forested mountain range that straddles the border between Poland, Czechia, and Germany. The Sudetes have been at the center of a constant tug-of-war since the middle ages, between the Germans, the Poles, the Czechs, and the Austrians, which gives this area quite a deep and multifaceted history. The Stołowe Mountains National Park, on the Polish side, is great place for some unique hiking in the area. It's a primeval forest dotted with some very unique rock formations, they actually filmed one of the Narnia movies there.

Hope this gives you a few ideas! :)

Another vote for the Dolomites. Husband and I were there this past September. Stayed in Ortisei. Beautiful! We stayed five nights and hiked three of those days. We are considering going back again next year.

• Dolomites - I like the area between Sexten and Cortina the most, which is a bit less touristy and IMHO even more awe-inspiring than the better known western Dolomites
• Saxon/Bohemian Switzerland - a very compact and unique hiking region with many spectacular trails and views (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). And in case of bad weather you can visit Prague or Dresden.
• Madeira - spectacular mountains, and the island is a huge garden

The Dolomites; the Alpe de Suisi, Drei Zinnen, Marmolatta, and the area around the Langkoffelgruppe. These mountains are some of the most stunning in the world and I have hiked most of them!
The English Lake District; less dramatic than the alps but beautiful nonetheless. Farms, lakes, views, and villages...very English!
Norway; I enjoy hiking in the area around Alesund. It is dramatic, raw nature, with sweeping views. There are trails in the Sunmore Alps that rival those in the alps. Some of the islands off the coast, such as Runde Island, are really nice day hiking with birds, sealife and views for miles.

Chamonix is a pretty nice town to stay in if you want to do day hikes in the mountains.

My nephew and his wife have hiked in many areas. Their favorite is the Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso northwest of Turin in the Aosta region of Italy. Lots of hiking opportunities in the Val d’Aosta area and of course you could go to Courmayeur and take the Skyway Monte Bianchi to the top of the Hellbronner (which I did in September) or make the climb (which I did not do).

Their second favorite was staying in the Parador de Fuente Dé in the Picos de Europa. From the mountain tops you can see the Bay of Biscay. Spectacular!

EDIT: this is from a story posted today on the CNN website:

Picos de Europa, Spain
Home to Spain's first national park, the Picos de Europa are one of western Europe's most overlooked mountain ranges. Jagged limestone peaks and plunging gorges are crisscrossed by well-marked hiking trails, with deep caves enticing more intrepid travelers. The vertiginous Fuente Dé cable car offers sweeping views and access to excellent walking routes.

Some years ago, I did a great two day hike to the top of the Zugspitze near Garmisch, Germany. There is no mountain climbing like you see in movies having to go up sheer walls. The first day you hike up a gradual slope and spend the night in a hut, sleeping in your clothes with a blanket. The second day is steeper where you sometimes are on all fours. You come back down the mountain in the cable car.

It is a great hike, I did it twice and the second time on the second day it was sleeting. Our guide says we finished in record time.

Hello Joe:

In details, what type(s) of trip do you prefer (difficulty of hikes, necessity to see snow, availability of watersports)? Also, beside the hiking trails and scenery along them, what do you want to see and experience?

I second Tatra mountains and Picos de Europa: I visited southern Poland in 2016-17 and my experience was fantastic. Very authentic, friendly locals. It's touristy for Central Europe, but not touristy for the whole world (yet). I bought a lot of handicrafts--everything was made locally--no junk made in a different continent of this world. In addition, even the hot days were not that hot. As mentioned, the prices are much more affordable than any other said country in this thread.

I was in Asturias this summer. Absolutely beautiful. Most tourists are local. It's NOT hot, unlike most parts of Spain. Lots of watersports, like kayaking or swimming in rivers. This is off-the-beaten path for Americans.

Dolomites is nice. But this is not an easy area to reach, mainly because there is no major airport serving this region. So, go only if you have plenty of time and are willing to drive. Also, it is humid and hot (I mean really muggy like >90% humidity!!) in summer, per my Austrian and Swiss friends. So, they avoid this part of Italy from June to August. (If you do go in summer, you'll hear quite a lot of English.) Save Dolomites for spring or fall. Ditto for most of the Austrian Alps. These are inland places that don't get the cooling effect from the seas. I guess if you insist on going, you need to reach high altitudes. I was in Tyrol this June/July and it was darn muggy.

High Tatras in Slovakia. A lot of scenery in relatively small area. I call High Tatras condensed Alps. Easy to get to from Bratislava or even from Prague by train. There is also a small airport in Poprad, right on the foothills of H.T.

Scotland, Scandinavia or somewhere in the Carpathians would be my suggestions.

Many years ago, when I was into backpacking, i enjoyed the area around Otztal, Tyrol.

I have a colleague who was in Slovakia this summer. He highly recommends it!

Slovakia Paradise National Park

Dolomites are amazing, but I vote for Scotland. We walked the West Highland Way this past September, and used Contours Holiday to book (luggage transfer, B&B, etc). It was one my favorite things ever, even with rain, mud and wind. They offer short trips, even weekend trips along with longer routes.

UK walking tours. We did several self-guided walking holidays supported by Contours: https://www.contours.co.uk/

Norwegian mountain trekking. We haven't done any summer hut to hut hikes but have experienced hut to hut ski tours lead by the Norwegain Trekking Assocation. https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/great-outdoors/hiking/dnt/

Joining an organised package tour means you get good company, access
to local knowledge and information about safety. It is also
convenient: DNT’s package tours for groups include transport from Oslo
directly to the mountains, accommodation at staffed mountain lodges or
self-serviced cabins and all meals. An experienced DNT tour leader is
present throughout the trip.

With winter approaching, the DNT website lists guided winter tours. The summer (hiking) tours will likely be posted late winer/early spring. https://english.dnt.no/