Mountain Scenery & Great Hiking Without Summer Crowds - Where to go?

I hope I am not in left field with this option, but check out this website of the Azores...http://trails.visitazores.com/en I highly recommend the island of Sao Miguel, but there is hiking on all of the islands. The scenery cannot be beat (ocean, lakes, mountains, villages) the hiking trails vary with distance and time, and there will not be crowds of tourists, mainly friendly locals (most speak English) going about their business. Lots of volcanic activity here as well! June is less busy and more flowers are in bloom than in August. Your budget dollars (euros) go far in the Azores, more so in June as well. If this "peaks" your interest, I wrote up my opinion of the Azores a few months ago on the Portugal forum. I really hope this is in the category of "maybe somewhere else" you asked about. Good Luck!

Picos de Europa. Or segments of the GR10 - - maybe do the whole thing and puff your chest out.

With the exceptions of perhaps the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Hallstatt, the Alps aren't particularly "crowded" in the summer, especially once you get up in the mountains. Remember, the capacity of the Alpine resort towns is built to accommodate the much larger numbers of visitors who come during the winter ski season. Also keep in mind that a town that's very sleepy in the summer isn't likely to offer many lodging, eating or lift options. Just avoid the two locations above and you won't get swamped by crowds.

But if you really want to have a town almost to yourself in the summer, look into Obertauern in Austria. I've visited during the winter, when the town is hopping, but when I popped off there a few weekends ago to escape the summer heat, it was almost a ghost town. The high altitude was definately an advantage because the weather was much cooler. But only two hotels were open, and no restaurants, other than one high in the mountains that caters to hikers during the day.

I've been in Oberstdorf a number of times in the summer (late August, and September, never June) and never encountered crowds. From Oberstdorf, buses go up into the Kleinwalsertal, a part of Austria and a great place to hike.

Or, Madeira Island (sorry Carl, just had to do this), a Portuguese island in the Atlantic. Also has hiking trails, beautiful vistas, mountains, towns and small villages, and friendly people. Many English vacation there so many tradespeople speak English. You can check out some of the hikes and walks plus other sights and activities on the site below.
http://www.madeira-a-z.com/what-to-see/walking-in-madeira-island.html

Have fun choosing!

Berner Oberland offers great hikes and other options for bad weather. Once you are on the trails its not crowded but there will be lots of tourists in Interlaken. I would sleep in a smaller village outside of Interlaken maybe Wengen or Lauterbrunnen. Other good option would be the Dolomites-Kastelruth/Castlerotto or the Julian Alps. Slovenia has excellent trails, nature and is less touristy.

The High Tatras of Slovakia. http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/people-hiking-line-path-to-summit-rysy-highest-point-poland-national-park-high-tatra-slovakia-august-34172365.jpg

Just to re-emphasize. A busy day hiking in the mountains is nothing like a busy day at Disney World or the Louvre. At worst, you may weight a little longer to take a lift, and perhaps it might be a little tougher to get a table at one of the mountain restaurants, but that's about it. I mentioned the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Hallstatt as locations that can feel a little overwhelmed, but that's only the villages, which are relatively small inaccessible. Maybe include Zermatt in the same category.

In August go to Lech am Arlberg...excellent hiking and trails. Not very crowded and wunderbar scenery.
http://www.lechzuers.com/lech-in-summer/

Rila and Pirin mountains in Bulgaria. High Tatras in Slovakia are pretty crowded in July and August. In September and October perfect.

kovk in Slovenia,,,,,, there are about 13 trails that go out of that area..... kovk is sweet and pretty economical.

A contrarian point of view is that crowds of hikers, walkers etc are a fun bunch to be around. Assuming that you can find overnight accommodations and afford the high season pricing, a chance to mingle with the multi-national crowds of folks doing what you enjoy is a life experience and part of travel. We have met a lot of interesting folks sharing the trails during the day and the pubs and dinning halls during the evening. And as Tom notes, a crowd in the mountains isn't the same as a crowd at the base of the Astronomical Clock and I don't think that the pickpockets consider the hills fertile grounds for the pickings.

We've done numerous hikes in the Berner Oberland and never encountered more than a handful of people actually on the hike. I suppose some might consider Lauterbrunnen crowded in July, but not by US standards of crowded. Never bothered me one bit. If you go and stay in Murren or Gimmelwald there will be no crowds ever.

It would suggest that you consider the Highlands of Scotland. You don't say the level of your hikers or the age range, but you can find walks for every range. Check out walk highlands. Check out the National Nature Reserves on the link that I posted on the Scotland forum. I would also add Inverpoly and the Torridon, or Applecross. And then there is Skye.

Pam

The Alps aren't crowded, just the few places every travel guide mentions are. A few kilometers away from them it's already quiet again. Instead of Hallstatt for example, which isn't that great for hiking anyway, you should consider Obertraun, which is on the other side of the lake and closer to the Dachstein. Instead of Zermatt consider Saas Fee, which is the other side valley, equally impressive... and much cheaper. In the Dolomites forget Kastelruth, Cortina and Val Gardena and choose Kolfuschg or Sexten instead. And these are just the places everyone knows. There are many other beautiful regions. I like the Totes Gebirge (dead mountains), a mountain range near Hattstatt/Dachstein for example, a big plateau which you can cross on a multiday hike. Or the Martelltal/Martell valley in South Tyrol, one of the last really unspoilt valleys of the Alps (no lifts, almost no hotels, just farms where you can stay), but with great trails.

Just a few places can be defined as "relatively crowded" in the Alps in summer (and none on the Pyrenees): Chamonix, the Jungfraujoch , Zugspitze, Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Even so, crowded mountain is a relative term: there might be some queues at lifts, gondolas, restaurants and bathrooms, and some observation platforms might be full of people enough to make taking pics on the right angle a bit tricky, but nowhere in the Alps there is a feeling of being swamped by people like on many Mediterranean beaches or medieval city areas.

On trails and walking paths, crowds are a non-issue. On the Pyrenees, you can easily feel alone in any of the major mountain sites, though there is less visitor infrastructure.

The mountains are just too big.

Carol added another perfect option...Madeira! This island was made for hiking and appreciating mother nature. You could spend everyday exploring and never get bored...or bump into anyone else on your routes. The tourist attractions will be busy, but not with lines of people everywhere. To me Madeira is more touristy than Azores, but in a nice way, not bothersome at all. Here is the villa we rented at www.holiday-rentals.com. "416928". It is near the airport, and right next to the approach for the runway if you have kids who like airplanes. There are 3 different apartments at this location, with beautiful balconies overlooking the ocean...breathtaking.

Wow @ Alex, Lech Zurs am Almberg looks amazing! We are big fans of the Val Gardena, a bit down the road from Castelrotto with more hiking access than Castelrotto. The village may be busy at night, but the trails are great during the day (except for a few that are almost too family-friendly). I can send you all kinds of details on the Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi if you PM me.

@Laurel,
We'll be back in Lech on September 4. It is really stunning there and my Jack Russell, Thor, loves to hike the many trails (and also get treats at the restaurants). Sent you a PM as we will be going to Sudtirol for 7 days after Lech.

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