www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-munich-to-venice Alpe Adria Trailwww.slovenia.info/en/stories/alpe-adria-trail-a-long-distance-hiking-trailwww.alpe-adria-trail.com/en/the-trail/ via dinaricatrail.viadinarica.com/en/www.evadinaricaproject.com/en/www.chasingthedonkey.com/hiking-the-via-dinarica-reverse-solo-balkans/ via alpinawww.via-alpina.org/en/facebook.com/groups/552098428851667www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-the-swiss-via-alpina
The entire Ceskem Trail is a circular route that measures 2,000 km, but you often walk either the southern half or the northern half, when each is 1,000 km long. As a rule, from the westernmost point to the easternmost point, or vice versa. The mountains are not high, mostly 700 to 1100 m, maximum 1600 m above sea level. But the landscape is very beautiful and diverse and we have excellent beer here!
Yes, that's right. I didn't include this one because there wasn't much info about it at the time, but it looks like there is a nice website now. Looks like a nice one!
Great video! Lots of these were new for me. For those interested in a very long mountainous trail in Europe look up the Trans-European Alpine Route (TEAR 6250km). It's probably the closest we get to the US long trails.
Thanks! I remember reading about the TEAR, from what I remember it's more a route made by someone connecting existing trails than an actual trail. It looks like a really amazing adventure, though I imagine it's very challenging since you have to hike very early and very late in the seasons in order to make it in one go.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943 Yes you're absolutely right, it's an attempt to connect up various other trails. Dylan did a very good job of it, and his website is a great resource for people wanting to do the same.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943been there as the end of Via Dinarica but it is so crowded there. Also in Albania some places charge you a lot because they have lots of customers. But landscape is trully beautiful
I am from Czechia and hiked Via Dinarica white and lots of sections our Czech trail before it was official. Via Dinarica is stunning. Literally every 25km you have new landscape People are super friendly, everything is cheap and you can sleep anywhere,except Crotian Velebit where are free huts. This hike is true gem. But is challenging - in summer you really have to check sources of water, you have to refill and filter from sources for animals or from old wells, you need rope with bottle to get water from meters deep well - navigation is not easy, there is no official marking. You should have your gpx and hope. Many times any map not fits to reality. And paths are sometimes quite rocky, foresty, brumbles...
I think a notable mention should go to the Grande Randonnee Ardennes Eifel, an 800 km hike through Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Unfortunately it is no longer developed as one trail, it rather combines a number of existing trails into one big loop of the Ardennes - Eifel area, but information can still be found online. Since I'm from the Netherlands and the Ardennes and Eifel are the places where I've done most of my hiking, I'd really love to do this whole trail one day.
Good to know! Never heard of it, but sounds great. I always wanted to do some hiking in Belgium. Having awonderful belgian beer at the end of a hiking day sounds pretty good to me.
@gaelchasingtrails2943 well Belgian beer is without a doubt the best in the world, but don't count on a beer at the end of every day in Belgium. Many Ardennes villages and towns are rather quiet and accommodation or a cafe/restaurant aren't necessarily readily available at the end of each day of hiking.
Anyone hiking in the Alps should get a membership with one of the groups that oversee the refuges; get a solid discount on your stays, which over a hike can add some much needed comfortable recharge spots and quickly becomes better yo have than to not
You're right, the refuge system in the Alps is great. Though I have personaly never staid in a refuge, it's definitely a great option to have in case of bad weather. I never thought of getting a membership card, but you're right, that can be a good way to save money while having some comfort. I'll look it up next time I hike in the Alps.
Via Suecia, The Swedish Trail. A 2643.3km long trail from Smygehuk is the south to Treriksröset in the north. I never see it mentioned anywhere, I want it to become more well know and popular. Swedish nature is beautiful and this trail goes past where I live.
Thanks for your feedback. I was actually thinking the same thing when rewatching this video lately. I'll try to change that on the next videos that are not edited yet.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943That would be great! Also the music is very loud and grabbing attention. Which is a shame because I'd rather take in your interesting information.
Thank you for your video! Maybe I can do the Loire one with my sister. I've been hiking the E1 through Germany (always in sections) for a few years now. I've gone from the Danish border down to Darmstadt. Hopefully I'll finish Germany this year and can move on to Switzerland! FYI I'm an older woman and hike alone, sleeping in beds (hostel/hotel). Except for one injury, I have always had positive experiences on the trail. I have met some (younger) people on the way who do it in one go with tents.
The GR 3 along the Loire river is really nice. I walked about half of it and really enjoyed it. I really loved visiting all the castles on the way. Glad you're enjoying the E1! Must be quite a challenge for those doing it in one go, considering the need to finish before winter. It seems like these long European Trails are better suited for section-hiking. Hope you'll enjoy Switzerland as much as the German section.
In Europe, food supply is not a problem even in remote places. So the best thruhike for me is one where I choose the route in detail according to my preferences, abilities and time. Anyway, thanks for the video. I'll save it as inspiration for the future when I'm looking for a new location for summer hiking. At the moment, I want to thoroughly explore the rest of the Canary Islands and Madeira. And if I may recommend, in the Canary Islands it's definitely not enough to just take the GR131. For example, on Tenerife Anaga in the east and on La Gomera the cliff path above Agulo are beautiful places that the GR131 passes by.
You're right. When I started my hike in the Canaries, I also had a Cicerone guide book about days hikes, so I also did quite a few of them on Lanzarote and they were amazing. When I'll go back, I'll definitely take the time to take as many side trips as I can on all the islands. I would love to do the GR 130 on La Palma too. I recently saw something about a hike going across Madeira and it looks really beautiful!
I hiked half of the Baltic Forest Trail last July, from Riga to Tallinn, and I wouldn't recommend the Estonian section. Don't get me wrong; the scenery, lakes, and public camp infrastructure are amazing. You just spend the vast majority hiking on paved roads, and that destroys your feet. I would recommend a bike for that section.
Like in a lot of countries in Europe, bivouac (or wild camping) is prohibited, but mostly tolerated if done responsibly. My experience on the Via di Francesco was good and I didn't have any issues when wild camping. Though it was sometimes challenging to find a spot because you're never really far from civilisation. On the Tour du Mont-Blanc, for the Italian section, you're only allowed to pitch the tent above 2500m, which is what I did. I don't know if this rule apply to all moutain trails in Italy.
I wonder just how many longer trails that actually exists in Europe. Considering that we have 25 landskap in Sweden, every single one of them has a hiking trail and the only one you mentioned was Skåneleden. (Which I totally get. I assume the video could stretch out for hours otherwise. But it got me thinking)
Just in France alone there are dozens of long trails over 500kms long. There are a lot all over Europe for sure. I tried to narrow it down to trails not so well known, over 500km long, and that have at least a little bit of information about them in English. But I actually didn't know about those trails in Sweden. I will look it up.
Thanks! From what I remember of the research I did when I was planning to hike the Via Alpina, I'd say that regarding the seasons, it's probably best to finish the trail within 4 months. Roughly, from mid-June to mid-October. On a good year, this seasonal window can be longer, but that's just luck. By starting earlier, there are chances of having to much snow in the mountains, and by finishing later, there's a solid chance of really bad and cold weather.
To me a thruhike isn't something you can do in a week or two. As far as I know thruhiking come from the the US and was used mainly about the AT, PCT and CDT. Maybe the Vermont LT too. Now some people seem to use thruhiking about any almost trail they walk from end to end. I know it's a lost cause, but to me thruhiking mean hikes that take at least a month (for most people) and is at least 1000km and not more than a few percent road walks.
Fair enough. It's a bit of debate in the hiking community. I guess it's subjective and every hiker has their own definition of what a thru hike or long distance trail is. I had this discussion with friends and to them it was also depending on how much time you spend on trail, and people tend to say a month. Which I agreed with until realising that the same trail would not qualify depending who hikes it I'm thinking trails that are around 700km and could take between 3 and 6 week depending on how fast one would go. To me it's any trail over 500km. Because it's when it starts feeling like it's longer than your average hike and like an adventure. That's why I only included trails over 500km in the video. People call the Long Trail or the John Muir Trail thru-hikes, but to me they're too short for that.
I planned to hike the Lycian Way last Spring but ended up not having enough time and went to Italy instead. This trail looks amazing! Hopefully I can hike it in a near future.
www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-munich-to-venice Alpe Adria Trailwww.slovenia.info/en/stories/alpe-adria-trail-a-long-distance-hiking-trailwww.alpe-adria-trail.com/en/the-trail/ via dinaricatrail.viadinarica.com/en/www.evadinaricaproject.com/en/www.chasingthedonkey.com/hiking-the-via-dinarica-reverse-solo-balkans/ via alpinawww.via-alpina.org/en/facebook.com/groups/552098428851667www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-the-swiss-via-alpina
The entire Ceskem Trail is a circular route that measures 2,000 km, but you often walk either the southern half or the northern half, when each is 1,000 km long. As a rule, from the westernmost point to the easternmost point, or vice versa. The mountains are not high, mostly 700 to 1100 m, maximum 1600 m above sea level. But the landscape is very beautiful and diverse and we have excellent beer here!
@@mnbvcxylkjhgujn Thanks for clarifying, that was a bit confusing 😅
This does look like an amazing trail.
And the good beer on the way doesn't hurt 🍻
@@gaelchasingtrails2943 most of the mountains are on northen trail which is more hiked like national trail. I can only reconmend
Great video! Advantage of Scandinavia is you can tent anywhere and don't need a permit.
That's right, and it's the same in Scotland. Makes hiking much easier 😄
Not marketed out of Germany, but the longest trail in Germany is actually the NST (North-South-Trail) with 3620 km
Yes, that's right.
I didn't include this one because there wasn't much info about it at the time, but it looks like there is a nice website now.
Looks like a nice one!
I hope to get to some of these places one day , thanks for sharing mate 😊
Thanks for this!
Wow Gael this is a great video, very comprehensive! Enough trails here for a decade or two or hiking!
Thanks! I know, it's a lot of great trails I keep adding to my wishlist 😁
Too many beautiful trails and not enough time...
Thank you for this very informative video.
Hoping you and your family are blessed in the new year!
@@kenwbrenner Thanks!
Same to you and your family.
Great! Thanks for that. So many cool choices.
@@ShantyBabaStIvesStoryteller Thanks !
Great video! Lots of these were new for me. For those interested in a very long mountainous trail in Europe look up the Trans-European Alpine Route (TEAR 6250km). It's probably the closest we get to the US long trails.
Thanks!
I remember reading about the TEAR, from what I remember it's more a route made by someone connecting existing trails than an actual trail.
It looks like a really amazing adventure, though I imagine it's very challenging since you have to hike very early and very late in the seasons in order to make it in one go.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943 Yes you're absolutely right, it's an attempt to connect up various other trails. Dylan did a very good job of it, and his website is a great resource for people wanting to do the same.
Really enjoyed the Peaks of the Balkans trail through Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania. It’s a bit shorter at around 200km but still worth checking out.
I planned to hike this one a few years ago, but had to cancel my plan. Hopefully in the near future 🤞 It looks amazing.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943been there as the end of Via Dinarica but it is so crowded there. Also in Albania some places charge you a lot because they have lots of customers. But landscape is trully beautiful
Lovely hike my friend, shots are diverse and nicely put together! 🥾🥾
Thanks 🙏
I am from Czechia and hiked Via Dinarica white and lots of sections our Czech trail before it was official. Via Dinarica is stunning. Literally every 25km you have new landscape People are super friendly, everything is cheap and you can sleep anywhere,except Crotian Velebit where are free huts. This hike is true gem. But is challenging
- in summer you really have to check sources of water, you have to refill and filter from sources for animals or from old wells, you need rope with bottle to get water from meters deep well
- navigation is not easy, there is no official marking. You should have your gpx and hope. Many times any map not fits to reality. And paths are sometimes quite rocky, foresty, brumbles...
Need to mention that we Czechs like Via Dinarica because we can quite understand language. Also we love adriatic see.
I think a notable mention should go to the Grande Randonnee Ardennes Eifel, an 800 km hike through Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Unfortunately it is no longer developed as one trail, it rather combines a number of existing trails into one big loop of the Ardennes - Eifel area, but information can still be found online.
Since I'm from the Netherlands and the Ardennes and Eifel are the places where I've done most of my hiking, I'd really love to do this whole trail one day.
Good to know! Never heard of it, but sounds great. I always wanted to do some hiking in Belgium. Having awonderful belgian beer at the end of a hiking day sounds pretty good to me.
@gaelchasingtrails2943 well Belgian beer is without a doubt the best in the world, but don't count on a beer at the end of every day in Belgium. Many Ardennes villages and towns are rather quiet and accommodation or a cafe/restaurant aren't necessarily readily available at the end of each day of hiking.
Thanks for sharing!
@@Iron-Outdoor Glad you enjoyed.
Anyone hiking in the Alps should get a membership with one of the groups that oversee the refuges; get a solid discount on your stays, which over a hike can add some much needed comfortable recharge spots and quickly becomes better yo have than to not
You're right, the refuge system in the Alps is great.
Though I have personaly never staid in a refuge, it's definitely a great option to have in case of bad weather.
I never thought of getting a membership card, but you're right, that can be a good way to save money while having some comfort.
I'll look it up next time I hike in the Alps.
I would suggest the HW1 along the Swabian Alps (Swabian Jura).
@Buszkraftowski Nice, I will look it up. Thanks!
Via Suecia, The Swedish Trail. A 2643.3km long trail from Smygehuk is the south to Treriksröset in the north. I never see it mentioned anywhere, I want it to become more well know and popular. Swedish nature is beautiful and this trail goes past where I live.
I never heard of this one, thanks for mentionning it! I will look it up.
Wow! Thanks for posting this. Had no idea. What would you hike in winter?
@@annas.5794 I think the best would be the GR 131 in the Canaries.
It's also possible to walk most Caminos in winter.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943 : Thank you. I will check it out
Great video, really interesting. Maybe slow down a little pacing wise and give a little more time to take in the maps and your pictures. 👍🏻
Thanks for your feedback. I was actually thinking the same thing when rewatching this video lately. I'll try to change that on the next videos that are not edited yet.
@@gaelchasingtrails2943That would be great! Also the music is very loud and grabbing attention. Which is a shame because I'd rather take in your interesting information.
I did a section of Via Dinárica between south Bósnia and north Montenegro (dormitur) But I had some issues with the locals in Montenegro 😞
The Via Dinarica is high on my list.
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience hiking it.
Thank you for your video! Maybe I can do the Loire one with my sister. I've been hiking the E1 through Germany (always in sections) for a few years now. I've gone from the Danish border down to Darmstadt. Hopefully I'll finish Germany this year and can move on to Switzerland! FYI I'm an older woman and hike alone, sleeping in beds (hostel/hotel). Except for one injury, I have always had positive experiences on the trail. I have met some (younger) people on the way who do it in one go with tents.
The GR 3 along the Loire river is really nice.
I walked about half of it and really enjoyed it.
I really loved visiting all the castles on the way.
Glad you're enjoying the E1!
Must be quite a challenge for those doing it in one go, considering the need to finish before winter.
It seems like these long European Trails are better suited for section-hiking.
Hope you'll enjoy Switzerland as much as the German section.
In Europe, food supply is not a problem even in remote places. So the best thruhike for me is one where I choose the route in detail according to my preferences, abilities and time.
Anyway, thanks for the video. I'll save it as inspiration for the future when I'm looking for a new location for summer hiking. At the moment, I want to thoroughly explore the rest of the Canary Islands and Madeira.
And if I may recommend, in the Canary Islands it's definitely not enough to just take the GR131. For example, on Tenerife Anaga in the east and on La Gomera the cliff path above Agulo are beautiful places that the GR131 passes by.
You're right.
When I started my hike in the Canaries, I also had a Cicerone guide book about days hikes, so I also did quite a few of them on Lanzarote and they were amazing.
When I'll go back, I'll definitely take the time to take as many side trips as I can on all the islands.
I would love to do the GR 130 on La Palma too.
I recently saw something about a hike going across Madeira and it looks really beautiful!
I hiked half of the Baltic Forest Trail last July, from Riga to Tallinn, and I wouldn't recommend the Estonian section. Don't get me wrong; the scenery, lakes, and public camp infrastructure are amazing. You just spend the vast majority hiking on paved roads, and that destroys your feet. I would recommend a bike for that section.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing that.
There are many many more „Weitwanderwege“ in Austria just so you know 😅
What about accomodations in Italy? Can you just tent or do you need to book for refugees?
Like in a lot of countries in Europe, bivouac (or wild camping) is prohibited, but mostly tolerated if done responsibly.
My experience on the Via di Francesco was good and I didn't have any issues when wild camping.
Though it was sometimes challenging to find a spot because you're never really far from civilisation.
On the Tour du Mont-Blanc, for the Italian section, you're only allowed to pitch the tent above 2500m, which is what I did.
I don't know if this rule apply to all moutain trails in Italy.
I wonder just how many longer trails that actually exists in Europe. Considering that we have 25 landskap in Sweden, every single one of them has a hiking trail and the only one you mentioned was Skåneleden.
(Which I totally get. I assume the video could stretch out for hours otherwise. But it got me thinking)
Just in France alone there are dozens of long trails over 500kms long.
There are a lot all over Europe for sure.
I tried to narrow it down to trails not so well known, over 500km long, and that have at least a little bit of information about them in English.
But I actually didn't know about those trails in Sweden.
I will look it up.
In Czechia we have also About 8 of them and we are so small
Great video! How many days would it take someone like you to hike the whole Via Alpina?
Thanks!
From what I remember of the research I did when I was planning to hike the Via Alpina, I'd say that regarding the seasons, it's probably best
to finish the trail within 4 months.
Roughly, from mid-June to mid-October.
On a good year, this seasonal window can be longer, but that's just luck.
By starting earlier, there are chances of having to much snow in the mountains, and by finishing later, there's a solid chance of really bad and cold weather.
To me a thruhike isn't something you can do in a week or two. As far as I know thruhiking come from the the US and was used mainly about the AT, PCT and CDT. Maybe the Vermont LT too. Now some people seem to use thruhiking about any almost trail they walk from end to end. I know it's a lost cause, but to me thruhiking mean hikes that take at least a month (for most people) and is at least 1000km and not more than a few percent road walks.
Fair enough.
It's a bit of debate in the hiking community.
I guess it's subjective and every hiker has their own definition of what a thru hike or long distance trail is.
I had this discussion with friends and to them it was also depending on how much time you spend on trail, and people tend
to say a month.
Which I agreed with until realising that the same trail would not qualify depending who hikes it
I'm thinking trails that are around 700km and could take between 3 and 6 week depending on how fast one would go.
To me it's any trail over 500km.
Because it's when it starts feeling like it's longer than your average hike and like an adventure.
That's why I only included trails over 500km in the video.
People call the Long Trail or the John Muir Trail thru-hikes, but to me they're too short for that.
i like slovakian SNP but if you go a bit of europe turkish LIKYA YOLU is beautifull
I planned to hike the Lycian Way last Spring but ended up not having enough time and went to Italy instead. This trail looks amazing! Hopefully I can hike it in a near future.
Please remove the terrible music
I can't hear you above that awful "music"