Hiking

"Any suggestions or ideas on easily accessible areas in Spain, Italy, or Switzerland?" In Switzerland, just about any Alpine area offers great hiking... the caveat being that this is not the case all year long. In what month are you traveling?

Ah, sorry that might have been important ;-). September- hopefully avoiding the crowds but still having great weather.

Check out Pontresina, Switzerland for hiking!

Pontresina, Switzerland

Then enjoy, September is a great month for hiking. Except for one small area clogged with Rickniks, hiking trails never really become "crowded" like museums do... but yes, there is a drop-off in September. Not usually the driest month, but not the wettest either.

There are great hut to hut loops in the Zillertal and Stubaital valleys in Austria SE and SW of Innsbruck.

There are some wonderful routes in Switzerland, using mountain hotels (Berghotels) and Alpine Club huts. For a 4-day trek, you could start in Lauterbrunnen and walk up the upper valley to Obersteinberg, where there is a very rustic mountain inn (no electricity). From there, climb the path up past Gimmelwald into the Sefinental and spend the night at Rotstockhütte. Next day cross the Sefinenfurka (pass) into the Kiental and then up to a high pass (Höhtürli) where you will find a stone hut, Blümlisalphütte.. (There could be snow here in September, in which case you might want to skip the high pass and take Postbus and train to your next destination. From the high pass, you drop down to Oeschinensee and another mountain hotel where you can stop for the night or just have a late lunch before continuing down to Kandersteg, where you will find train connections.

This is a section of the Alpine Pass Route, and there are others you could do instead, such as from Engelberg to Grindelwald. There is a guidebook by that name which would be a good investment if you are interested in hiking part of the route.

Another possibility would be 3 or 4 days on the hut and mountain hotel circuit in the mountains above Zermatt:

http://www.zermatt.ch/e/hiking_trails/map.html

You might also investigate hut-to-hut hiking in the Dolomites--like the Alps but, I am told, the food is better!

Yes, there are some great hut to hut routes in the Dolomites as well. Two possibilities are mentioned in Rick's book---the walk up to Rifugio Bolzano and along the ride to the next hut before dropping back to the Alpe di Siusi (I think yu can add another hut to extend it; I'll check my maps of the area if you are interested), and the circuit around Sasso Longo and Sasso Piatto (which can be done in one long day but better to break it in two and enjoy).

The food is surprisingly good at the most remote huts in both the Swiss Alps and the Dolomites. But I think it's hard to beat a plate of good Rösti!

This is a website for Austria (http://www.touristenklub.at/). It will give you information (in German) for hut information throughout the Austrian Alps. Food is great in all huts - basic, but very tasty. You will need to pay attention to closing dates, as many of them close mid to late September. Hiking is great until early October, but the weather can change, so you will need to pay attention to local weather forecasts. The local tourist offices can provide more details and examples of excellent tours.

I would go with either the Alps (reachable from France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria or Italy) or the Dolomites in Italy.

I haven't done a hut to hut yet (on my to-do list), as I recall the best place to start is to join one of the mountaineering clubs that give you information and preference to use the huts on the trail.

September should be a great time to go but mountain weather is always variable so be ready for hot or cold.

My husband and I worked out a great 2 night, 3 day hut to hut hike out of Berchtesgaden area (near Salzburg) However, we were snowed out (September 16- unusually cold and a huge snow storm closed the huts for a week) You didn't really give Austria as an option, but if you are interested in more info pm me. We worked quite hard on it and my dream is that someday someone will be able to make use of our efforts.