If ever there was a month to go on a jaunt, it’s June. It’s the month of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, it’s when mountains shed their snow and lay out their multi-coloured carpet of wildflower meadows, and it’s also the month of World Environment Day. June is a joy really, unless you’re a teacher or a parent of school-age children, as it’s the dreaded exam month. For the rest of us, school’s out a long time ago, so let’s go a little bit wild with one of our best walking holidays in June, just a few of many more to be explored.
Mountain treks to do in June
As well as some of the classic treks, such as Tour du Mont Blanc, Mount Toubkal and the GR20 in Corsica, all of which are available in June, here are a few more off the beaten track mountain treks to plan for when the snow is freshly melted. As well as a couple of colossal classics.
Picos de Europa National Park, Spain
The Picos, as this mountain range is known for short, actually only covers 40km, but it certainly makes its mark, creating a beautiful band along the coasts of Asturias, Cantabria and León, in Spain. Most of it is protected by Picos de Europa National Park, a landscape of limestone spires, twisting trails and tranquil wildlife habitats. The Picos are a well known backdrop to the Camino del Norte, but they also have a tapas-style menu of trails to suit all walkers. For example, you can hike the Picos circuit in twelve days, covering its three massifs, or enjoy the range’s highlights in a week. In June, temperatures are still mild (average highs of 23C), rainfall averages almost half compared with May, and the region’s most famous trails such as the Ruta del Cares are crowd-free. June also has the longest days, so you have plenty of time to peruse the Picos.
Apart from the limestone peaks, the Picos are famous for their hay meadows. They are considered some of the most important temperate grasslands in Europe, creating perfect habitats for butterflies. June is a month when wildflowers start to pepper your routes, with orchids such as Early Spider Ophrys and Lizard Orchid, as well as gentians and rock roses. The forest canopies of ash, oak, elm and many more are filling out perfectly in June, and birds are hovering and swooping. Keen birders definitely want to bring their binoculars to keep an eye out for Griffon vultures, short-toed eagles and black kites and many more. For more information see our blog, Take a peek into Picos de Europa National Park.
Visegrád Mountains, Hungary
The Visegrád Mountains are in the southernmost part of the Inner Western Carpathians and make for some superb early summer saunters on this walking holiday. Your walking adventure is made pretty straightforward too by staying in one hotel throughout, in the town of Visegrád, which has a stunning location on a bend on the River Danube, with views across the mountains. This makes for easy transfers to the region’s natural heritage highlights, including Danube–Ipoly National Park, the Visegrád Mountains’ neighbouring Pilis Mountains, and former Spartacus Hunting Trail, now one of the country’s famous hiking routes.
June is a perfect month, as the mountain terrain has warmed up, and also we don’t offer holidays during July and August, as temperatures start to soar. In June, average highs are around 26C, with only 23% chance of rain, on average. You get plenty of shade in the mountains’ beech and oak forests which are in full growth, and where you also find lily of the valley, columbine and violets blooming in early June. The meadows are orchid-heaven at this time of year too.
Hiking in Norway in June
Midsummer is party time throughout the country, when the celebrations are called Midsommar or Sankthans. It falls on 24 June every year, with the build-up often starting on the eve, or Sankthansaften. As our hiking holidays are in the southern region of Norway, you don’t get 24 hour daylight as you need to head much further north for that, but you will get light for almost 20 hours. Like so many other countries in Scandinavia, this is a time to celebrate the natural beauty of nature and, traditionally, the magical power of flowers is high on the agenda.
In addition, on some of our trekking tours in Norway, you stay at the Norwegian Mountaineering Association iconic lodges – also known as DNT lodges, an acronym for the association’s name, Den Norske Turistforening, founded in 1871. While hiking in the Jotunheimen Mountains, for example, you sleep at one of the oldest huts, on the shores of Lake Gjende, perfect for a wake up swim. Or when hiking on the King’s Road, stay at Fondsbu Lodge, on the shores of Lake Bygdin, you stay at a lodge that is particularly famous for its great local cuisine. They don’t open until the end of June, so it’s best to get your booking in early and also stay there as early in the season as possible.
High Passes of the Valais, Switzerland
The majority of our Switzerland walking holidays are bookable this month, but we’re singling out the Valais canton, in the south of the country, for some extra special joie de juin. The High Passes of the Valais encapsulate every Swiss cliché you could think of and will stop you in your trekking tracks. With 41 mountains over 4,000m, in winter it looks like the peaks on a perfect Christmas cake. But in June, when these mountain landscapes between the Simplon and Grand St Bernard passes do their big reveal of flower-rich meadows, larch forests, emerald lakes and panoramic views, the Valais is verging on velvety. Walk the complete section between Brig and Grimenz in ten days, or divide it up into either the east in six days or the west section in seven days.
Austria in summer
Although our holidays in the Salzkammergut Lake District, just under 50km from Salzburg, are ready for rambling as early as the end of April, they really do come into their own in summer, especially early June when temperatures average 19C. It’s also when the swimming season kicks off and, with a plethora of mountain lakes, wild swimming is not new to Austrians. As a visitor, it’s always important to check with local people where the best places are to swim. Never swim alone and, ideally, choose a spot that has lifeguards. Here is a list of the tourist board’s favourite swimming lakes in Austria.
You can also head higher into the Austrian Alps from June when trekking trails such as on this hiking holiday in Hohe Tauern National Park open between June and September. This trip also takes in Berchtesgaden in the German Alps, with plenty of warm(ish) lake swimming along the way. Or check out the Dachstein Alpine Circuit, also open from the end of June, a 121km trail through the three Austrian provinces of Salzburg, Styria and Upper Austria, including a trek up to Hofpürglhütte (1,705m), one of the country’s top treks. And if you would like to take on the colossal Kitzbühel Alps, our walking holidays there are available from the end of May until mid-September, so you have the whole summer and some early autumn ahead of you.
For a less elevated but heavenly walking holiday in June, escape the summer crowds of Salzburg and walk the nearby Austrian Camino, or Way of St James, which starts in nearby Seekirchen am Wallersee and heads west on ancient Tyrolean trails.
June hiking holiday in the Cotswolds, England
Whether you wander through picturesque market towns or explore the quieter reaches of the wolds, an old English term for rolling hills, a Cotswoldian circuit beginning and ending in Bath offers a quintessentially English experience. Visiting in June lets you experience these destinations before the summer school holidays begin, keeping the trails relatively tranquil. However you choose to walk in the Cotswolds, you will encounter signature honey-toned stone architecture, vibrant summer markets and lush meadows. These highlights showcase why the area is designated as a National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). To fully immerse yourself in this pastoral scenery, The Cotswold Way provides 163km of gently undulating routes, with sections near Broadway and Snowshill blooming with lavender throughout June.
Promenades in Provence in June
Provence is almost greedy in its gorgeousness, and yet it just keeps giving. From walking trails through ancient Luberon villages to wine trail walks alongside its vineyards, Provence in June is verging on cliché. But bring on the icons, we say, especially following in the footsteps of greats such as Cezanne and Van Gogh. Like the bliss of Cezanne’s bathers to the iconic sunflowers of Van Gogh, Provence is positively blooming in June. We also don’t run many of our Provence walking holidays in July and August, because of extreme heat, which gives you another reason to pick a promenade in Provence in June.
You can also bring your summer walking season to a spectacular start in Verdon Gorge. You have the choice to take on Verdon on a short or longer break. It’s also worth noting that, from 15 June to 15 September, access to Verdon Gorge can be restricted by the local authority if the risk of forest fire is high, so it’s worth getting there before the temperatures start to soar.
Best places to go hiking in June in Italy
It’s hard to know where to start with this one, as Italy’s idylls shine throughout the year because, and it always sounds better in Italian, che gioia Giugno! What a joy June is. Here are all our walking holidays in Italy available in June, but we list some of our family favourites below.
The Dolomites
The Dolomites are a photographers’ dream in June. You still get some snow on the peaks, there’s a flush of summer wildflowers, from anemones to orchids, and the light keeps you on your toes shimmering between light seasonal showers. The Dolomites are also a butterfly hotspot and botanists’ favourite, so swot up on your fritillaries and skippers before you go. Walking tours of the Dolomites vary from elevated trekking along the Alta Via 1, with holidays only starting in June, to leisurely paced walks through lower valleys and pastures, or being lifted up to the likes of Dolomieu Panoramic Trail by cable car.
Lake Garda, Italy
We have chosen Lake Garda as one of our TNA specials holiday destinations because, although the lake is world-renowned, the hiking trails around it are much less so. In June, you’re getting in ahead of the tourism crowds but then again, our Lake Garda walking holidays take you away from daytrippers anyway. This Lake Garda holiday, for example, takes you to trails in and around Valle dei Laghi as well as Lakes Toblino and Molveno, and a walk up to the summit of Mount Ranzo (1,835m).
On our North Lake Garda holiday, highlights include the Strada del Ponale and the forested Sentiero Busatte Tempesta, both dramatic and historic paths with panoramic views of the lake and mountains. And last but not least, is our South Lake Garda holiday, where you spend three nights in the lakefront town of Peschiera del Garda, and a finale in Verona. In June, one of the other advantages is that the lakes have heated up a bit, and keen swimmers can enjoy average water temperatures of around 21C.
Asiago Plateau, Veneto
Venice may be starting to see its cruise ship crowds bursting at the seams in June, but the Veneto region’s Asiago Plateau is far from packed at this time of year. As you will find out on our five day, self-guided walking holiday based in one town in the heart of it. This is either Asiago, the capital of the region, or nearby Gallio, both of which are small, elevated towns with views of the mountains.
Asiago Plateau is the highest in Italy, with average elevations of 1,000m and is a paradise of green pastures, dense fir and larch forests, as well as wild crocuses, yellow gentian, cyclamen and orchids. You may get scattered rain showers, but it just makes it all so much greener and, with temperatures of between 17-20C, you won’t feel cold after.
Try Kosovo this summer
Our Kosovo tours only open from June, and we think it’s a great time to embark on the Peaks of the Balkans or Via Dinarica Trails. Kosovo is a country where you’ll meet the warmest people walking in the likes of Bjeshkët e Nemuna (Accursed Mountains) National Park, or enjoying cafe life in medieval, and now very multi-cultural towns and cities like Prizren. It also has abundant sunshine and consequently, cups overflowing with wine. You can even explore the Rahovec Valley wine region on this Kosovo hiking holiday. Gëzuar (cheers) Kosovo!
For more joyful June jaunts, see all our walking holidays available during this month. As the seas are also starting to warm up in the UK and Europe, you may enjoy our blog on our Best coastal walking tours, as well as our blogs on Walking holidays to combine with city breaks and Idyllic island walking holidays. As well as our top Centre-based walking holidays blog.
Walking in Veneto: Asiago Plateau (Centre-based)
Walking in South Lake Garda
Walking in North Lake Garda (Centre-based)
Walking in Lake Garda: Valle dei Laghi
Hiking the Via Dinarica in Kosovo
Hiking the Picos de Europa
Hiking the Picos de Europa Highlights
Walking in the Visegrád Mountains (Centre-based)
High Passes of Valais Complete: Brig to Grimentz
High Passes of Valais East: Saas-Fee to Grimentz
High Passes of Valais West: Brig to Grächen
