Cinque Terre

August is awhile away, but the damage was significant and who knows how long it could take to repair. There are many recent posts on this topic:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/cinque-terre-closures

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/cinque-terre-7c70da5b-3c2a-4e48-aac3-7af575689456

News story with photos of damage
https://cinqueterreinsider.com/2018/11/03/octobers-super-storm-aftermath-in-cinque-terre-and-liguria/

Current trail conditions
http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri-outdoor.php

Thanks so much for the info. This is an awesome forum!

Just to back up CL, it's much, much too early to predict any of the trail conditions/closures for next August. They are fragile so while they will be re-opened at the conclusion of safety checks/repair after October's storm --minus a few which have been undergoing difficult repair for years - a different storm closer to your trip dates could close all or some of them again. Things like temporary damage due to hiker overuse or falling rock can close some too.

The best you can do is just keep an eye on the website as you get closer to your trip. The worst of the damage from last month's storm was in locations outside of the CT region. Even so, we stayed in the CT just 7 months after the horrible 2011 flood which buried a lot of Vernazza and parts of Monterosso under feet of mud and debris. It was nothing short of miraculous how much progress the poor locals had accomplished (they're made of strong stuff, those folks) and finding some open trails was not a problem.

In case you're interested here's some background on that terrible event:
https://www.incinqueterre.com/en/disaster-25-10-2011
http://savevernazza.com/october-25-2011/

Who knows about the trails (not sure if the upper trails were affected), but in August?--not under any circumstances.

The video of the Oct 2011 flood was horrific. The people of the CT are amazing. The two years after photos were unbelievable! Hardy souls for sure! Thanks!

I love the Cinque Terre, but don't necessarily limit yourself just to that part of the lovely Italian Riviera, which has many other nice parts. All of it will be pretty busy in August, but the CT will be by far the most crowded. You might consider going north e.g. to Santa Margherita Ligure or Camogli, both of which are wonderful and offer some hiking opportunities of their own. The trains up and down the riviera offer quick connections between towns.

August is not going to be the best time to visit the Cinque Terre, as it will likely be hot and crowded. However, if you don't mind that, there's no reason not to go. You'll have to tolerate the heat but there are ways to minimize the crowd problems (such as not being in the towns from about 08:00-16:00 on cruise ship days).

As the others have mentioned, it's somewhat early to be planning for August. Especially at that time of year, you'll need to book hotels well in advance. You'll first have to decide which of the five towns you'd like to stay in. If you're referring to the popular Sentiero Azzurro hiking trails, only two of the four segments have been open for the past few years, and that's likely to be the case next year also. The Corniglia - Manarola and Manarola - Riomaggiore sections have been closed due to slide damage. There's an extensive network of trails in that area, so if you want to hike, you'll have lots of opportunities.

Trails can literally close overnight due to rain...it is impossible to absolutely predict the trail status. Always have a backup plan.
For a less granular look, the site (https://cinqueterreinsider.com/) suggested by CL is helpful and informative and one I follow.