Your comparison of a tiny bit of Europe to the USA was a bit daft, it would be like comparing new England with Europe from the Atlantic to the urals. You missed the nordics where you can be in the forest for a couple of weeks and not see anyone else. Hiking in the alps and other mountains mid week is quiet but weekends are busy just like any north American national parks. You didn't mention the epic scenery of the Balkans, dense forest of Poland/Ukraine/belorussia with elk, boar, bison/buffalo, in Finland you have semi domestic reindeer, forest reindeer, elk (moose if you're north American)
thank you, i rushed to the comments to write that when the war is over i highly recommend coming to Russia for hiking: no trails, no restaurants - just you and the nature, plenty of discovery and thorough planning (coz you can get unalived otherwise 😅)
I was just about to reply something along these lines. Europe is not only Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the UK. In Scandinavia, Balkans, Poland... you can hike for many days in the wilderness, with the wildlife biodiversity comparable to that of the USA. An interesting fact, regarding being attacked by a brown bear. Between 2000 and 2015, there where 11.4 attacks/year in North America and 18.2 attacks/year in Europe (excluding Russia). Nearly half of the attacks in Europe were in Romania (8 attacks/year). As for different kinds of hikes, do "cultural" hikes like Camino de Santiago in Spain/France/Portugal, or Via degli Dei in Italy, where you hike from a village to a town to a village, even exsist in the US?
@okapi002 mentioning Romania, we have quite a big brown bear overpopulation problem. Last week one mauled a 19 year old girl, and the government just authorized the killing of 500 brown bears due to the overpopulation. In my hikes in Romania I saw many bears, one even passing approximately 30 metres away from me. And I can proudly boast I also saw a lynx many years ago. Now, I've been living in Spain, and it's totally different. You never see any wild animals at all, which is kinda boring, but at least it's safe, I guess.
I live in Finland and I think hiking in Nordic countries (Norway, Finland and Sweden) is probably the dream combination of Europe and US hiking. There is total freedom to roam with very few exceptions and large areas of wilderness, especially in Northern parts. Population density in Norway, Sweden and Finland is around 15-20 people per square mile. In Nordics there is this hut culture where some areas have huts that can be freely used as shelter but they only offer firepit and beds, no personnel or food. Also Norther Nordics is great because you can safely drink water straight from the small mountain rivers without filtering. Would be also nice to hear hiking culture in Australia and New Zealand.
Thanks for sharing! You’re not the first to mention Sweden. Sounds like we could give them a lil more TLC. And indeed… we could do one for Australia and New Zealand.
Also, you can pitch a tent almost everywhere in Nordic countries. I'm jealous of that fact, because in germany it's absolutely forbidden. You'd have to book a trekking camp spot months in advance in the black forest, for example. A hut tour with a dog is also very hard because dogs are often not allowed.
@@digiay Come to the North of Sweden, on many trails you can let your dog run freely as long as you have control over your dog. There are exceptions in some nature reservations they have to on a leash. Etc
3:22 "While hiking through the countryside, you're likely to encounter numerous historical relics, such as one of these medieval churches..." Illustrates with a picture of Notre Dame de Paris, which is at the centre of the European Union's largest urban area. :)
Talking about Europe as a homogeneous area is not a good idea. Sweden for example has a population density of 23/ km² compared to Germany 237/ km². The hiking culture is very different in central Europe compared to the north. It's not uncommon to hike without meeting anyone for a week or so up in Sarek National Park or similar. There are unstaffed safety huts/shelters spaced 1-2 days apart but a tent and adequate gear is definitely a must have. Also a map is good here in the north since there often are unmarked trails.
Indeed. It was difficult to generalize. But tried to largely focus on Western Europe. Sounds like several people agree Sweden in particular has a lil different hiking setup. Thanks for the comment 🫶
But the same could be said about the US, it's even greater area and varied climate. But isn't it a bit like picking on? Obviously you can't generalize anything really, but then you wouldn't have any content. You need to start somewhere and generalizations are a good start.
@@joane24 I agree with you to a point. But I will argue that Europe and the US are very different. Europe is extremely feudal in its structure. Even if the EU acts as a trans-national entity every country has almost unlimited rights to create laws as the see fit. So depending on local demography, culture and tradition these laws will be created differently. In contrast to the US who, I would argue, has some cultural common denominator across its vastness Europe does not realy . We all have different languages and are extremely proud in our national differences. I have only met a handful of europeans who would refer to themselves as europeans prior to french, german, swedish etc. And that is why it is hard to generalize us. The differences are not always but sometimes bigger here and the laws are definitely created different as a result of those differences. I know that US states have great freedom in their way to create laws but they at least share some similarities in culture, language and a common constitution with each other.
@@Greenbelly I think that Sweden is mentioned more than Norway and Finland only because we have the same population as them together. More swedes = more comments.
I live in Sweden above the Arctic Circle as mentioned in the video, yes all the reindeer are owned by someone, but when it comes to wildlife there are brown bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines and golden eagles and all of them are hunting reindeer and moose up here in the north it's a bit more like in the USA. The huts (if there are) are often just shelters and we have the freedom to roam and camp however you are only allowed to camp for a maximum of 24 hours in the same spot. The municipality where I live has a population of 4 728 people 17 600 square kilometres 0,3 people per square kilometre, so it's very different here compared with the biggest part of western Europe. Edit the only minus point of this video is that it's way to short 😉
Interesting to hear some insight from Sweden 🇸🇪. Yea it definitely seems like Northern Europe has more “wild” spaces and wildlife compared to western and Central Europe. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe we’ll start ramping up the length.
@@Greenbelly Yes, only having any experience from the Nordic area and it rarely matched the description for Europe at all, closer to the US one but still far from it.
Yeah, this video is way overgeneralised - Europe is not just the Alps and Pyrenees. Scandinavia, the Carpathians and Balkans have a lot of wildlife and you can go weeks without meeting anyone.
I live in Greece . Greece is not just islands and seas, as many people think. It is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe. Olympus mountain , the mountain range of Pindos, the Varvousia mountains , the mountain range of the Rhodope with the virgin forest of Paranesti and Fraktos, which remind us of Scandinavia because there are trees and flowers that you will see in Northern Europe, Taugetos mountain , the White Mountains in Crete ( with a rather difficult terrain ) since it is some of our impressive mountains. Let me not forget to say that bears, wolves, jackals, foxes, deer live in our mountains. In our mountains you will see firs, beeches, and oak trees. I apologize for my English. I hope what I write is understandable. :)
@@Greenbelly Also check out the mountain range of Tymfi with the impressive gorge of the Aoos river and the unique gorge of Vikos, which is the deepest in the world. Thanks for the answer :)
I think that you missed out on a lot by not including the Balkans and Nordics. Others have mentioned the free roam law of the Nordic countries, also low population density. Balkans have some of the most rugged and remote terrain within continental Europe, as well as some of the only countries where you can camp freely anywhere, for any extent of time. You have a very American view of Europe and literally cut half of the continent off, while including places like the Netherlands and Belgium in your statistics which are some of the flattest and most metropolitan areas.
Parts of the US have some similarities to your "freedom to roam" policies, but it's somewhat more limited. You'll find this mostly out west on public lands. -On Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, there are very few restrictions on where you can camp. You can camp for free at almost anywhere, even outside of an established campsite, as long as you are not obstructing a right-of-way, and you practice "leave no trace". There are many established campgrounds on BLM lands too - some fairly primitive with just picnic tables, fire pits and an outhouse, and others more developed, with running water and even showers. The more developed campsites tend to cost more money. At the primitive sites, you are allowed to stay for up to 2 weeks at a time, although the 2-week time limit is often not enforced. Camping "in the bush" is free, and even some established campsites are free. -The entire coastline of California, Oregon and Washington is public land, and the entire coastline can be hiked (where physically possible). In other words, there is no privately owned beach anywhere on the west coast, where the owner can put up a "private property" sign and prevent people from walking through. Beach camping is allowed in many parts of the coast, but in some areas you have to stay at an established campground. But you can hike along the entire west coast of the US. Part of the Washington coast is in Olympic National Park, and entry or overnight camping may require permits and/or fees. Part of the California coast is in Redwood National Park, and there may be similar policies there. -California allows free roadside camping at various pull-offs along state highways and US 101 in northern California. You can literally just camp along the side of the road for a night. There are also numerous free beach camping areas - both established and not - along the California coast. The inland and desert areas also have a lot of free, dispersed camping on BLM lands. Eastern Oregon also has a lot of free camping on national forest and BLM land.
Where are you from, mate? I can tell you that it is illegal to camp outside campsites in Croatia. They say you can put up a tent anywhere and leave in the morning leaving everything as you found it, but it definitely is not permitted by law. I bet our neighboring countries have the same rules.
Yeah, naming Germany but not including Slovenia as well is a very odd choice indeed. Especially since Slovenia is a very mountainous country whereas Germany is mostly flat to, at best, hilly.
Not sure how well represented nature richness of Europe is in this video. As an example, only in Croatia (a smaller EU country) you have more than 1000 bears, 600 wolves, thousands of deers, eagles, hawks, etc. When I wake up in my hill house very often my garden is full of young deers, and hawk has a nest in the oak on my property. So, pretty strange to see lack of wildlife attributed to Europe. Although we have reasonably high population density, still 32% of country is covered with forest
The video specifically highlighted the countries in western Europe they were focusing on. So many complaints about this...different parts of Europe are so different, can't handle them all homogeneously.
@@geometerfpv2804 can handle 50 US states with divers geography and can't 50 European states? can speak about rocky, appalachian and sierra nevada ranges but can't include carpathian range in europe?
1000 bears? Highly unlikely. I've seen these claims, but... There is less than 200 wolves in Cro. But you are right, Europe is very biodiverse and full of wildlife.
As someone from central europe I can confirm thaz only after having been to the USA I truly grasped the scale of that country. And why so many there seem so obsessed with survival and gear... it's not a mildly strange hobby like it would be here, it's an absolute necessity if you happen to get lost there. Same might go for more remote parts of europe like the nordic countries, to a degree.
@@Greenbelly I think both points are closely related, hiking culture derives from the circumstances like population density vs. remoteness and this again determines the degree of planning you need. A hike gone wrong in the US or other vast countryside quickly becomes a survival situation whereas a hike gone wrong here in Germany means an unplanned night in a hotel or inn or a nightly taxi or train ride home, in most cases, maybe a call to the fire brigade or an ambulance worst case. You can hardly get out of civilization here, this shapes how you think of risk assessment and preparedness...too little, for most people.
The size really is incomprehensible until you go. We drove from Huston texas through New Mexico into colarado. Imagine how many countries you would have driven through in Europe over that distance. Be like driving from London to Istanbul.
@dereinzigwahreRichi, yes, you can, for example, go up into Alaska, and any of the 8 national parks there, plus many huge state parks, could offer multi-day hikes where you might not see anyone else for days, and in several north of the Arctic Circle, you'd have to be flown in and out.
I don't think it would be a strange topic in Europe to have survival as a hobby. For example in Germany we have really big UA-cam channel that does mostly survival content, there is a big community here for it.
hiking in the european alps is a dream come true. in addition to the beautiful landscapes, there is also culture: like the traditional alpine huts that are managed. They offer top-quality food, home-made cheese, garden and forest produce and traditional cuisine. For example in South Tyrol (Italy)
It depends on the country. In Slovakia, we also have lot of these "waterfall beer & icecream restaurants", but also wild areas with waterfalls / peaks / natural landmarks with no such amenities. We also have bears, wolves, lynxes, eagles... its similar in Balkans or in Northern Europe - and ofcourse, in eastern Europe.
I'm adding the rest of Europe that you haven't talked about in the video. So in Eastern Europe the hiking trails are great because of the scenery (lush forests), a lot of wild animals to see (keep a bear spray at hand), and the trails are nicely marked. In some mountains, you might find a "cabin" thats basically a big stone house with lots of rooms and a kitchen that serves food. Also shelters are available in more remote trails. So it's more similar to American trails just, if you trespass a property by mistake nobody's going to shoot you.
Scandinavia, Iceland, Balkans, Carpathians, Caucasus, there is so much variety in hiking possibilities and cultures in Europe that you didn't even touch on.
Like many others already have pointed out, the northern nordics is quite different. For example the northern most province of Norway is bigger than the country of Switzerland but with fewer than 80 000 inhabitants. That results in a population density of about 1.5 per square kilometers. Tourism is almost completely centered around outdoors experiences
Australia, like the US and ‘Europe’ (the continent) is also vastly varied in terms of terrain/climate and hiking (bushwalking) concepts. Compare say the arid desert Larapinta Trail (NT) with the alpine/rainforest Overland Track (TAS) - they might as well be on different planets! Also very important for international visitors to understand that while we do have a growing number of European-style, hut/shelter based walks (based more on the New Zealand model) most are still very basic, not only requiring fully independent tent camping but also have rough tracks and often minimal marking. This is particularly true in my home state of Tasmania. Visitors really need to do their homework first. Unfortunately we see many people need rescuing because they weren’t prepared for the tough conditions or variable weather.
Here in Southern California, the natural diversity is hard to beat. You can literally go snow skiing in Big Bear and the surf at Huntington Beach for dinner. Not to mention that from Mt. Whitney, the highest point, you can see Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place. Massive 12 inch deep lakes in the middle of the Death Valley had people kayaking the desert! It's just amazing.
Europe is not just the few western countries you focused on. Just go a bit east and you got empty, wild, poorly marked trails, tons of inhabitated places, often no strict rules and all the adventures you are looking for.
@@uresfffff222 it's not me who wrote the title and picked the topic picked usa -> covered usa ✅ picked europe -> covered just 3-4 out of 44 countries that are part of europe ❌
Exactly. Hiking in Slovakia Romania or Ukraine is way more easy to do than in Canada. Way more public land in proximity and no need to pay to get access to wilderness.
@@uresfffff222Haha. Tell me how to hike and camp in Canada without driving hours and getting memberships and passes? It sucks here some campsites are booked in February.
I come from Austria, but have also hiked in the US. On my first hike I also was shocked, that you can't buy a beer on top of the Half Dome. But then I also made multi day hikes, with my own tent and supplies and loved it. Back home I prefer mentioned Sunday hikes, because I can get up in the morning and can still decide on my hike after breakfast, and won't have to cook for lunch. Thanks for the video!
Walking is often not considered an activity in itself in Europe. My grandparents' local supermarket has regular customers who walk 2 miles to get there. Most, however, use a car, but many are elderly & used to walk years ago back when they were younger.
This video is very interesting, it made me think under a different light all the gear videos and trails "strategies". I don't feel I need a satellite communicator here in Europe for my trails, 99% of the time there is cell phone coverage and 100% of the time someone else is in my same path. Also the miles covered: for me a normal day hike is between 6 and 10 km, with many breaks and maybe some food in a hut, in the US I probably need to bring a tent and all I need to spend the night out. I think hiking in the US is a more intense experience but hiking in Europe is so much more accessible for everyone.
Yea that is interesting - how the landscape differences might influence the gear differences. Ie satellite communicators are probably more prevalent in the States. Thanks for watching!
@@Artuor.Morgan Most attacks happen near roads or ski slopes, because people are feeding the bears and taking selfies with them. Of course there is less wilderness in Romania, because it's a smaller country, but compared to Western Europe, Romania has three times less population density, with a more concentrated population. During the last decades people have been moving to cities, ghost villages and former industrial sites are now being reclaimed by nature, which makes for interesting trips, where you can meet wildlife just a few km away from cities. the landscape is also varied, from high mountains with pristine forests, to plains and the Danube Delta, which is unique in Europe, it's the European equivalent of the Everglades.
@@eddgrs9193 I agree with everything you just said, I'm just not sure why you keep bringing up the bear attack fact when its more indicative of higher human population density rather than healthier bear populations..
Great video! Sweden, Norway and Iceland has FANTASTIC landscapes with so much wilderness. That's the best places to hike in the world! ❤️ Also you can find and pick limitless amounts of mushrooms, blueberrys, raspberrys and more.
Wonderful! I did my first hike in Italy and it was so cool that they had little pit stops for drinks and eats! Love the breakdown od this video. I'm excited to do more hiking in North America and Europe!
At the end of the video, it's a little bit of a stereotype and exageration that Europeans (when they actually mean germans) people will be like "where's the restaurant" "where's the ice cream" like a spoiled child. I've been on plenty of hikes and almost always have food from my backpack, even in a group hike people will usually bring their food, both in France and Germany. It's common even with people from different age groups.
People that do complain about not having a restaurant at the end of the trail are not considered hikers by many in the community in germany. I think that confusions stems from the fact that in germany you not only have dedicated hikers but just about everyone goes for a walk every now and then, which is a layer that probably doesn't really exist in the US. Maybe you could call them "casual hikers"?
all of southern poland is a hiker's dream, especially in the Beskid Niski and Bieszczady regions. like, you can enter ANY pathway, and just hike for hours, wandering through mountains, dense forests and rivers, also a lot ot these trails have many interesting sights like 2nd world war era cementarys, burned villages or old eastern churches
Have you heard about the Carpartians and Romania. Amazing landscapes and wildlife. Also on hills trails like via Transilvanica where you can meet rabbites, deers. Also Macin mountains which are the oldest mountains in Europe where you can see a lot of turtles.
Thank you for comparisson. Never been to the US or to the Americas. So I only have the experience of Hiking in different european Countries. Mainly Poland and Germany. But there are already difference with Europe if you look closer. Especially when it comes to wild camping rules. Some are very liberal like Scandinavian countries and others are much more strickt like Germany (In Germany you even have to consider the different law within each German state as it is a Federation).
All of this can be broken down to the available amount of wilderness. In central europe there are nearly no wild areas (except areas close to summits) anymore. Every valley, every forest is owned by someone and is used for agricultural purposes. This makes it easy accessible for day hikes and mountain climbing, but getting away from civilization is not possible. Even if you camp in the wild on the mountain, as soon as you go down into the next valley there are people and villages again. But as you pointed out, that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are more cultural things to discover, you can get in touch with locals and their traditions. Its just very different i guess. Both have their good and bad aspects.
Got to experience Tout Mont Blanc last year - yes it is very different, unique. Note there are even signficant differences between Canada and the US backpacking parks. Here in BC the major trails tend to be a lot less manicured and more rough than those in the US. But the US parks tend to favour dispersed camping while in Canada most have specific designated campsites. The campsites in BC tend to have more development on them, outhouses, tent platforms and bear bins. WA and California parks tend to want you do disperse camp, no sites no outhouses no bear bins nor platforms. Also in BC rangers will universally recommend carrying bear spray while parks like Yosemite strongly prohibit bear spray. WA and Calif parks require bearproof canisters but nowhere in Canada are they required.
Great content! Well done! Living my entire life in the Western US, hiking slot canyons, multi-day remote wilderness trails, Colorado 14ers (4267-4420 meter peaks) plus Idaho, Wyoming and Montana backcountry have been the best backpacking & hiking trips with 30lb (14kilo) or more pack. However, as an older hiker (mid-60’s) the Swiss Alps for 10-14 days every September with 11-15 lb (5-7kilo) pack is the perfect activity for me! I absolutely love the Hütte culture in the Alps! No luggage, just my pack with the essentials and maybe some via-ferrata gear.
I agree with a lot of this. After growing up in Switzerland most of my life and then hiking in the Rockies, I was amazed at the vast wilderness of the American West.
Great video. But, it does focuses on more western/southern Europe. There are some great hiking spots in the Balkans where u have proper market trails in more touristy areas or forgotten paths that are still accessible (ex. Biogradska Gora). In recent yeats, Prokletjie and Valbona are becoming more popular due over ocupations of other hiking area in Europe.
Great comparison! No blaming, no judgement, just helpful information 👍. Stefan from Switzerland with still an emotional connection to the USA after a year as an exchange student at Monterey High School in CA
What I find interesting is that you present these tourist trap ranges of both places. There are really nice untouched places in the US and Europe. For e.g Alaska and the Carpathians
This video shows nothing new the world already knows about. It makes more sense to show the unknown and surprising sights than the stereotypes (that only reflect part of the whole).
Don't think the call about Americans being more obsessed with long-term remote hiking trips is quite accurate- that element may be more prevalent here but if you ask any hiker who lives nearby hiking spots if they more often go on multiday trips vs short few hour long trips I think you'll find that the vast majority of American hikers go on shorter day hikes.
Ooh interesting. Makes sense. And could be fun if we opened up the USA hiking comparison to other regions across the globe. Someone suggested Australia/ NZ as well.
Chuckled a bit at the comment about Germans wanting restaurants at scenic spots.. I've met a lot of Americans on holiday in Europe who expect exactly that ;) ! Fun video though!
I too have noticed that the trail network in the alps is MUCH better than in the Canadian Rockies. The alps have far more marked trails (which allow access to many summits) and they also go into higher difficulties. Normal trails go up to T4 (SAC hiking scale) and then, there are via ferratas, which are basically an extension of marked trails by other means. The Canadian trail network is far thinner and usually tops out at T3. Most summits are not part of the trail network and it is hard to figure out how hard the summit routes actually are. Some are easy to follow paths that aren't much different than harder european on-trail hiking, others are serious scrambles. The lack of good hiking maps is also an issue, I ended up using OSM for the most part, which has a lot of routes, but no clue about difficulty.
I live in the US and there’s plenty of free camping and trails. You just need to know where to go. The popular tourist places yeah it’s probably not as nice of an experience to deal with all that. In the national forests you can camp wherever you want.
Europe has very different hiking depending on the country and area. I am from Norway and if you go to Finnmark in Norway I doubt you will find any restaurants. The Swiss have so many tourists that want to see the amazing views up in the mountains, so they build gondolas to take paying customers there. So far, this culture has not stretched to Norway, but we do have some places accessible by road and a well established network of huts for tourists. I think the reason why Americans have this impression is that they often fall into tourist traps. Get to know some locals if you want the wilderness experience.
I live in northern italy, I know really well my environment especially mountains in Lombardy, and when I went to kungsleden last year it was completely different
The U.S. idea of private property is sad, because it grew in a time when if someone wasn't letting you onto their land, you could just go find some other land they didn't own to do what you wanted to do. Now, thanks to Department of the Interior bureaucracy, that is no longer the case.
haha the last part was exacly my reaction as a dutch person in the US. After a day hike or during the hikes I expected there to be a coffee place or something. Really disapointed each time hahaah
I live in europe, Poland i'm lucky, near my home town are (small) Beskidy mountains with excellent trails and shelter tourists huts. I'm sunday traveler, i take group of friends or go alone, for a day, or max few days. You usually dont use tents, travel light. Trails are well organised, safe. You know exacly how long to the nearest peak/place. You can move back by buses, or trains. It is easier to not get lost. I like it that way. I guess american trails are for more experienced hikers, for example who know how to deal with wild animals like mountain lions, snakes, wolves or bears. Being in remote space, hundred km from civilisation sound exotic to me. Here we have few countries in the same radius. I like to travel for hiking to nearby Czech, Slovakia and Germany, they have really nice trail system, one time, i travel by train to Liberec, and so many people come with bikes, that whole train get full quickly and some have to wait for next train, i guess many people like to rest like this.
For lack of a better term, I believe that mountaineering is much stronger than hiking in Europe. You know, walking or climbing on marked trails to reach the peak. For example, in Croatia (not even mentioned in this video), there are a few long distance hiking trails, some shorter trails, but there are marked trails to virtually every peak in the country. And let me tell you, there are many.
I lived in Germany for three years and I have hiked extensively through Western Europe. I think this video did a very good job of explaining the positives of both Europe and the United States. I am someone who is a bit navigationally challenged, so I really like how well marked the trails are. Trails in Europe are much better marked than in the United States. There was only one time when I got lost hiking in Germany. It was in the black forest. I do love the different hostels and beer gardens in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. That said, I love the remoteness of hiking in the United States. I have hiked a large amount of the Appalachian Trail and I have hiked all over Colorado, Utah and Idaho. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park in Utah are an absolute must for anyone who has a passion for hiking. Being in those two parks is almost a spiritual experience.
Watching the 1:52 first drone shot was weirdly familiar. Then I realized it's my 10k people home village in the black forest in Germany. Since that's our one second of international fame: Come and visit Gengenbach!
We have more wolves in europe than tha US has, and also we have plenty of bears...if you see a deer in europe, it's also probably a wild animal, we also have eagles, wild boars, lynx, seals, even european bison. There are large wilderness areas in Norway, Sweden of Finland, but there is mostly no proper "trail", so you have to leave the trail to get there. But we don't have to reserve spots months in advance to hike these wilderness areas, unlike Alaska for example.
Sure it´s different. But if you want to hike in the mountains (wilderness) you will not encounter a castle at every step nor is every hike just going from one hut to another. Sure you have that option. But it´s not the only thing. And if somebody was complaining about missing ice-cream, they never really hiked in Europe properly. It was just a little trip for them. Doesn´t mean all Europeans hike to get ice-cream at the end of day.
Hiking in western and middle Europe is less a sport and adventure but more a thing you do with your friends, family or even with your colleagues from work. It also is a pastime for older people. One reason is, that many people make winter sports like skiing and snowboaring in the same areas. So there is a good infrastructure. Also Europe is much more than western Europe and the Alps.
I've done both.... I love both really! All hikers need to experience both as well. When I'm in Europe I do love the accessibility to food and being able to walk into a town and literally start a hike say by a church or off of a street. But the feeling of true Wilderness you get from U.S. hiking is one of kind. Plus, from a wildlife comparison, there really is none. Europe simply does not have the Fauna the US has! And that's a big deal to us.
I would advise anyone to pay attention to local camping laws...which can sometimes get confusing...for example in Czechia you can "night" in any forest (pretty much if you can freely walk there) but you can't "camp" in any forest and you can interpret the law as that putting up a tent is not allowed since its a part of "camping" definition. Tho in practice this is aimed more at staying at a place for a while, making fires, washing stuff and such things so I don't worry about the ambiguity...especially of you set up at evening, don't make a bunch of noise and garbage behind and leave at morning since there is a little chance of anyone even noticing you
Just about anywhere in Europe (outside the urban or populated areas) you can pitch a tent for the night. In case some ranger or policeman finds you in the morning, you can always say you were just surving the night, not being able to reach the camp or hut or village the night before.
From my little experience, there're far more hikers in Europe than anywhere else in the world. That means you have a huge variation of skills, equipment and general interests. Hiking in the Americas is usually done by enthusiasts who are very skilled and well-equipped.
its just a matter of entusiasm and time to build a hut network in the US, it was made in europe to protect the hikers from the elements, and help them. or at least a shelter network, with a place with roof over your head where you can stay during a storm or cold night.
I've done several trips to the more sparsly populated parts of Sweden, and I don't mean Lapland. I don't "hike", just take walks in the nature. As soon as you get away from busy roads, you are guaranteed to within a few minutes find a spot by a lake or on a mountain where you hear nothing but the sounds of nature. And you're almost guaranteed not to see another human being.
Nice, comprehensive review. I'm currently in the process of moving to Spain from the US. While I am excited about the new and varied experiences ahead, I do expect to miss the Wilderness of the Western US and the self-sufficient dispersed camping.
Generally good comparison but you missed one point. In Europe within an hour or two you can hike on the cliffs of a shore or in true alpine country. There is a lot of diversity not far away. In the states you need to travel quite a few thousand km to see change. If course a cold beer is seldom more than a day's hike away in Europe, except Scandinavia or Spain. The remoteness is not like in the States.
I'm not sure if I'd say Europe has "more history". It certainly has more old, architecturally interesting buildings than the US. But Indigenous people were alive all throughout North America when those buildings were being built. Both places have a long and complex history. American history didn't start when Europeans showed up. Also US wilderness is far from "untouched". Even the most remote areas deal with issues around logging, grazing, and mining. Once you learn to see it you realize a lot of "untouched" wilderness is very much touched.
Yeah, I think the history in Europe is more recent and more “in your face”. Even after a full 8h in a nature reserve in france without seeing a soul, at some point you can stumble on an old Roman quarry with blocs of stone etc. I think a lot of the indigenous history of the US is more “hidden”, is less “in your face” or was more temporary than what the Romans and Greeks built a few thousand years ago
@@aphextwin5712 I encourage you to check out places in the US like Chaco Canyon (900 AD). Or Aztec Ruins National Monument (12th and 13th centuries AD). There are many others.
@@davideregano2935 doesn’t necessarily mean anything here. Modern day Mongolian nomadic groups leave less artefacts than modern day European shepherds. This has a lot more to do with cultural elements that with pure time.
I'm just hiking the GR5 which is going through Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembough and France. Today I walked a part of the trail in Belgium and every 500m or so you'll find a small town or some houses 😂, however in other locations of the trail it's very different.
I feel like I should say that the hiking culture is very different from country to country, for example even within the uk we have different laws depending on weather you are in Scotland or England.
I've done a few long hikes in my youth and I love the idea of throughhiking, but I have problems with my feet that have gotten worse in recent years, and I haven't been able to find hiking shoes that fit my needs. Unfortunately, this really impacts my choice of hiking routes. I can't do high alpine routes anymore, and any route longer than 4 hours is hell for my feet. I know this is off topic for this video, but I'm watching it thinking "I wish I could go there", and it's making me sad.
True, in Spain free camping and open fires are generally forbidden, there are some exceptions, but they vary from one region or National Park to another... which can be a nightmare to plan. The first approach from our authorities is to restrict, ban or regulate everything instead of looking for a middle ground. In some very unpopulated areas of the inner Spain people just go stealth camping, which is theoretically forbidden, but in practice is not a big issue.
I really enjoy seeing European wilderness. I don't think I will ever get to experience it first hand. I live in the mountains of Colorado and what I like the most is hiking off trail. I leave all the 14ers to the tourist's and frontrangers.
Those differences sound about accurate to me! I'm currently hiking in Japan, and I think it's a bit of a mix of both. Many hikes across peaks you can do in a long day, and the peaks may have small restaurants or souvenir shops. But at the end, when you descend your chosen destination, you're descending back into a town and catching public transportation. There are also well known hiking networks with inns you can stay at that will provide a box lunch for your next day's hike, or bare bones camping huts that only provide a roof. I believe straight up camping is also possible. So you can choose your experience depending on the location. You can even have bags and luggage sent to your follow on waypoints! 😂
In the US you wouldnt expect to be alone on the hike to yosemitie falls. You pick your route according to your preference of people, the same in european countries. If you want to do a popular hike like the West Highland Way or Cape Wrath in Scotland, you'll meet pleanty of folk and it will be busy. Tourism has focused on key stopping points obviously and it can get busy. However, choose a less busy "way" or make your own based on walk highlands maps and you NEED a map and compass and will barely see another soul for days! Scotland has bothys which are often a gathering point for hikers and bike-packers in bad weather days. These certainly do not come with a chef! Usually a space to camp on a bench or floor, or your tent outside, a fireplace, roof over your head, escape from midgies and good company. I've hiked busy trails in Maderia with queues, and done others where we saw no one and had waterfalls to ourselves. Done hikes in gorges in Germany with no-one, and others with a cafe and a tour bus of tourists at the end. Experience: I'm Scottish, live in Germany, have done a few short hikes in the US and many short and long distance hikes across europe.
Not mentioning Tatra mountains is really a big mistakes . The Tatra mountains are big with really hard trails to easy trails. Hikers from Tatra Mountains are the most respectable in the world. Most trails are not accesed by public transport or even car so you have to leave car sometimes 1 hour walk from where trail starts. Many wild animals like bears deers marmots.
Nice comparison and reflection... I live in Spain and in my videos you can see some hiking in Sierra de Guara, the north of Aragón. Saludos, gracias adiós!
Yup, hiking trails are essentially like the road network, just for hikers. In Switzerland, the marked hiking trail network has a length of over 65’000 km, while the road network is not much longer in the range of 70’000 to 85’000 km*. And if we add all accessible trails, the total length of trails hikers can use is probably about twice as long as the road network. You can find free topographical maps with marked trails for Switzerland online. * I’ve found different numbers
Thanks for the comparison! Ive never been to the US and this video gave me some good informations. Im from Germany, Bavaria. Unfortunately its pretty hard in our region to find real wilderness. Thats why i enjoed every trip to the highlands in Scotland so much! ;)
@Greenbelly the continent has been developing steadily urbanistically for 3000 years , even 100 years ago you could only be lost in very rare places like the black forest in Germany or such ..
As others have already pointed out there are a lot of smaller mountain ranges even within western europe, that you don't cover in the video, where the hiking experience might differ. Just to highlight two places where I've been that offer great trails and are also less crowded than many parts of the Alps: Massif Central/Cevennes in France and the island of Sardinia (Italy)
This is super well made, but i feel as if it generalizes both Europe and the USA unfairly. For example, Scandinavia has a population density and wildlife richness that's just as wild as the Northwestern USA, even though its not even close to Alaska level, its still very natural. The Mediterranean has biodiversity on par with California which is the most biodiverse state in the USA. As for the defense of the USA, I feel like you could have compared more European-like American landscapes to Europe instead of American landscapes with no counterpart in Europe, I don't think the southwest, southern rockies, sierra nevadas, everglades, and to a smaller extent the appalachians are similar to Europe, they are much different. On the other hand, things like the cascades, Montana rockies, tetons, and all of Alaska are north American counterparts to Europe, so I guess it would be a more accurate comparison for these sort of places.
Thanks for the super insightful video! I live in grew up in New Zealand, hiked all over, and now Minnesota Lake country. New Zealand hiking culture seems somewhere between the two but maybe more like the US.
Well it’s all true but you mentioned only the most famous hiking zone in Europe .France ,Germany ,Switzerland and northern Italy are whay more popolated then the rest of Europe ( exactly like the main city in us ) you can have a very similar experience of wild hiking in Eastern Europe, the balkan,m and even southern Italy, this places are rich in flora and fauna and there isn’t so much industrialisation
In Europe we don't always hike hut to hut and we are often a day or more from the nearest settlement, especially in Northern Europe. It just isnt on the same scale as the US. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Scotland etc are a bit different from the GRs in France etc. I'm more used to camping than using huts or bothies. As for culture, I'm not sure I like the idea of the trail family concept and I dont have the annual leave to be able to do anything more than two weeks at a time. I couldnt afford to chuck my job to do a thru hike like the AT. We also have a tradition of rambling and hillwalking and many of us do long distance walking and mountaineering. One thing that always used to differ was gear but this is changing. Shoes and trail runners are gaining popularity in Europe. You used to know the Americans as they would be wearing shoes and we would be wearing boots. I will use shoes on French GRs in the summer but still prefer boots in Scotland. I prefer keeping my feet as dry as possible whereas the US system seems to be to live with wet feet. In boggy Northern Europe that can be extremely uncomfortable and often dangerous. Also, tents. Fly first is more preferable in Scottish wet weather. We just dont have the weather to do without a fly😂 Finally, most of Europe doesnt have the predators that the US has. All I bother about are ticks.😂 Yeah, we have it easier to reach the trails. When I walk in France I get there by ferry and train. In Scotland I can use trains and bus. In Sweden there are the trains and bus as well. That makes it easier to do point to point rather than circular back to a car.
@@Greenbelly much less of a UL focus here in scandi, more of a survival focus with massive backpack. Things are slowly changing though packs are getting a bit lighter.
Same here. Try to be as lightweight as possible. Only sleep system is light rather than UL as a comfortable sleep is all important. The bushcrafter scene is something I don't really understand. A lot of them just seem to go to woods near their house and don't bother putting in the kilometres.@@lidewijvos
@@lidewijvos @BrokenBackMountains dont get me wrong im UL too but most people i meet outdoors in norway arent, most common is the 20kg+ hiker. people are conservative here especially when i comes to outdoor equipment
That’s really hard to paint broadly and I think there are the same differences in Europe and the US. Some hikes have great water access, some not. Some hikes have insane elevation gains, some are pretty much flat. That’s more part of a “choose your trail” type of idea than a general sense of hiking in Europe vs the US.
I agree, I'm not a fan of this video and will state more later. But many Europeans do the same and it's astonishing that they so often fall right into this stupid stereotype often enough. The US is one country, yet so often when I travel to Europe and start country hopping, people from each European country tend to generalize me within the context of some monolithic European backdrop of Europe v. the US. I didn't know French and Danish had so much in common. How about this: North America has 22-23 countries (which includes all of Central America, most of the Caribbean, and yes, Greenland), Europe has somewhere between 44-50 countries, depending on the source. Perhaps we should drop the whole Europe v. US comparisons and make the "comparisons" between continents, of course in a healthy way. Lastly, which European country is an actual reflection of all of Europe in terms of centuries of immigration? I can't think of one, perhaps the modern UK. The US and Canada each represent all of Europe in their ancestry and beyond. It's just what it is man. For example, the US is the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world after Mexico. There are more Irish Americans than Irish in Ireland. Italian Americans = nearly 1/3 the population of Italy. There are nearly 10 million Scandinavian Americans, which is nearly the population of Sweden, the most populated Scandinavian country. German American ancestry = nearly half the population of Germany. And so it goes.
Your comparison of a tiny bit of Europe to the USA was a bit daft, it would be like comparing new England with Europe from the Atlantic to the urals. You missed the nordics where you can be in the forest for a couple of weeks and not see anyone else. Hiking in the alps and other mountains mid week is quiet but weekends are busy just like any north American national parks. You didn't mention the epic scenery of the Balkans, dense forest of Poland/Ukraine/belorussia with elk, boar, bison/buffalo, in Finland you have semi domestic reindeer, forest reindeer, elk (moose if you're north American)
Yup exactly good for pointing that out
thank you, i rushed to the comments to write that when the war is over i highly recommend coming to Russia for hiking: no trails, no restaurants - just you and the nature, plenty of discovery and thorough planning (coz you can get unalived otherwise 😅)
I was just about to reply something along these lines. Europe is not only Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the UK. In Scandinavia, Balkans, Poland... you can hike for many days in the wilderness, with the wildlife biodiversity comparable to that of the USA.
An interesting fact, regarding being attacked by a brown bear. Between 2000 and 2015, there where 11.4 attacks/year in North America and 18.2 attacks/year in Europe (excluding Russia). Nearly half of the attacks in Europe were in Romania (8 attacks/year).
As for different kinds of hikes, do "cultural" hikes like Camino de Santiago in Spain/France/Portugal, or Via degli Dei in Italy, where you hike from a village to a town to a village, even exsist in the US?
This
@okapi002 mentioning Romania, we have quite a big brown bear overpopulation problem. Last week one mauled a 19 year old girl, and the government just authorized the killing of 500 brown bears due to the overpopulation. In my hikes in Romania I saw many bears, one even passing approximately 30 metres away from me. And I can proudly boast I also saw a lynx many years ago.
Now, I've been living in Spain, and it's totally different. You never see any wild animals at all, which is kinda boring, but at least it's safe, I guess.
I live in Finland and I think hiking in Nordic countries (Norway, Finland and Sweden) is probably the dream combination of Europe and US hiking. There is total freedom to roam with very few exceptions and large areas of wilderness, especially in Northern parts. Population density in Norway, Sweden and Finland is around 15-20 people per square mile. In Nordics there is this hut culture where some areas have huts that can be freely used as shelter but they only offer firepit and beds, no personnel or food. Also Norther Nordics is great because you can safely drink water straight from the small mountain rivers without filtering.
Would be also nice to hear hiking culture in Australia and New Zealand.
Thanks for sharing! You’re not the first to mention Sweden. Sounds like we could give them a lil more TLC. And indeed… we could do one for Australia and New Zealand.
Also, you can pitch a tent almost everywhere in Nordic countries. I'm jealous of that fact, because in germany it's absolutely forbidden. You'd have to book a trekking camp spot months in advance in the black forest, for example. A hut tour with a dog is also very hard because dogs are often not allowed.
@@digiay Come to the North of Sweden, on many trails you can let your dog run freely as long as you have control over your dog. There are exceptions in some nature reservations they have to on a leash. Etc
Please don't let immigrants ruin it.
"The murderer can be anyone in Helgesönd! Thats over 7 people!"
3:22 "While hiking through the countryside, you're likely to encounter numerous historical relics, such as one of these medieval churches..."
Illustrates with a picture of Notre Dame de Paris, which is at the centre of the European Union's largest urban area. :)
Haha I thought that too!
Try walking through rural England with numerous churches from the 12th and 13th century and a magnificent network of footpaths
Talking about Europe as a homogeneous area is not a good idea. Sweden for example has a population density of 23/ km² compared to Germany 237/ km². The hiking culture is very different in central Europe compared to the north. It's not uncommon to hike without meeting anyone for a week or so up in Sarek National Park or similar. There are unstaffed safety huts/shelters spaced 1-2 days apart but a tent and adequate gear is definitely a must have. Also a map is good here in the north since there often are unmarked trails.
Indeed. It was difficult to generalize. But tried to largely focus on Western Europe. Sounds like several people agree Sweden in particular has a lil different hiking setup. Thanks for the comment 🫶
But the same could be said about the US, it's even greater area and varied climate. But isn't it a bit like picking on? Obviously you can't generalize anything really, but then you wouldn't have any content. You need to start somewhere and generalizations are a good start.
@@joane24 I agree with you to a point. But I will argue that Europe and the US are very different. Europe is extremely feudal in its structure. Even if the EU acts as a trans-national entity every country has almost unlimited rights to create laws as the see fit. So depending on local demography, culture and tradition these laws will be created differently. In contrast to the US who, I would argue, has some cultural common denominator across its vastness Europe does not realy . We all have different languages and are extremely proud in our national differences. I have only met a handful of europeans who would refer to themselves as europeans prior to french, german, swedish etc. And that is why it is hard to generalize us. The differences are not always but sometimes bigger here and the laws are definitely created different as a result of those differences. I know that US states have great freedom in their way to create laws but they at least share some similarities in culture, language and a common constitution with each other.
@@sebastianzarzargandler1826 I'm European myself and don't mind referring as such, I say it myself.
@@Greenbelly I think that Sweden is mentioned more than Norway and Finland only because we have the same population as them together. More swedes = more comments.
I live in Sweden above the Arctic Circle as mentioned in the video, yes all the reindeer are owned by someone, but when it comes to wildlife there are brown bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines and golden eagles and all of them are hunting reindeer and moose up here in the north it's a bit more like in the USA. The huts (if there are) are often just shelters and we have the freedom to roam and camp however you are only allowed to camp for a maximum of 24 hours in the same spot. The municipality where I live has a population of 4 728 people 17 600 square kilometres 0,3 people per square kilometre, so it's very different here compared with the biggest part of western Europe.
Edit the only minus point of this video is that it's way to short 😉
Interesting to hear some insight from Sweden 🇸🇪. Yea it definitely seems like Northern Europe has more “wild” spaces and wildlife compared to western and Central Europe. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe we’ll start ramping up the length.
@@Greenbelly Yes, only having any experience from the Nordic area and it rarely matched the description for Europe at all, closer to the US one but still far from it.
@@cynic7049Yeah, Northern Europe is different from the rest. More wild areas and less people and the right to roam and camp according to the rules.
Yeah, this video is way overgeneralised - Europe is not just the Alps and Pyrenees. Scandinavia, the Carpathians and Balkans have a lot of wildlife and you can go weeks without meeting anyone.
Indeed, interesting video but it omits information about hiking in Northern and Eastern Europe
I live in Greece .
Greece is not just islands and seas, as many people think. It is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe.
Olympus mountain , the mountain range of Pindos, the Varvousia mountains , the mountain range of the Rhodope with the virgin forest of Paranesti and Fraktos, which remind us of Scandinavia because there are trees and flowers that you will see in Northern Europe, Taugetos mountain , the White Mountains in Crete ( with a rather difficult terrain ) since it is some of our impressive mountains. Let me not forget to say that bears, wolves, jackals, foxes, deer live in our mountains. In our mountains you will see firs, beeches, and oak trees.
I apologize for my English. I hope what I write is understandable. :)
Good to know about Greece’s mountains and wildlife 🇬🇷 And your English is good 😀
@@Greenbelly Also check out the mountain range of Tymfi with the impressive gorge of the Aoos river and the unique gorge of Vikos, which is the deepest in the world. Thanks for the answer :)
Tymfi looks epic!
Greek people be like “I apologize for my English” and then spit out a large passage in absolutely perfect English 😅
@@ynokenty lol
I think that you missed out on a lot by not including the Balkans and Nordics. Others have mentioned the free roam law of the Nordic countries, also low population density. Balkans have some of the most rugged and remote terrain within continental Europe, as well as some of the only countries where you can camp freely anywhere, for any extent of time. You have a very American view of Europe and literally cut half of the continent off, while including places like the Netherlands and Belgium in your statistics which are some of the flattest and most metropolitan areas.
Parts of the US have some similarities to your "freedom to roam" policies, but it's somewhat more limited. You'll find this mostly out west on public lands.
-On Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, there are very few restrictions on where you can camp. You can camp for free at almost anywhere, even outside of an established campsite, as long as you are not obstructing a right-of-way, and you practice "leave no trace". There are many established campgrounds on BLM lands too - some fairly primitive with just picnic tables, fire pits and an outhouse, and others more developed, with running water and even showers. The more developed campsites tend to cost more money. At the primitive sites, you are allowed to stay for up to 2 weeks at a time, although the 2-week time limit is often not enforced. Camping "in the bush" is free, and even some established campsites are free.
-The entire coastline of California, Oregon and Washington is public land, and the entire coastline can be hiked (where physically possible). In other words, there is no privately owned beach anywhere on the west coast, where the owner can put up a "private property" sign and prevent people from walking through. Beach camping is allowed in many parts of the coast, but in some areas you have to stay at an established campground. But you can hike along the entire west coast of the US. Part of the Washington coast is in Olympic National Park, and entry or overnight camping may require permits and/or fees. Part of the California coast is in Redwood National Park, and there may be similar policies there.
-California allows free roadside camping at various pull-offs along state highways and US 101 in northern California. You can literally just camp along the side of the road for a night. There are also numerous free beach camping areas - both established and not - along the California coast. The inland and desert areas also have a lot of free, dispersed camping on BLM lands. Eastern Oregon also has a lot of free camping on national forest and BLM land.
Where are you from, mate? I can tell you that it is illegal to camp outside campsites in Croatia. They say you can put up a tent anywhere and leave in the morning leaving everything as you found it, but it definitely is not permitted by law. I bet our neighboring countries have the same rules.
Lowkey offended Slovenia wasn’t listed as one of the countries who are part of the alps
Slovenia is part of Sweden right?
Yes, it is a tiny city in the country of Europe
i've been in tolmin 2 days ago, was damn awesome
@@JasperKlijndijk is that a joke? i really hope you're joking
Yeah, naming Germany but not including Slovenia as well is a very odd choice indeed. Especially since Slovenia is a very mountainous country whereas Germany is mostly flat to, at best, hilly.
Not sure how well represented nature richness of Europe is in this video. As an example, only in Croatia (a smaller EU country) you have more than 1000 bears, 600 wolves, thousands of deers, eagles, hawks, etc. When I wake up in my hill house very often my garden is full of young deers, and hawk has a nest in the oak on my property. So, pretty strange to see lack of wildlife attributed to Europe. Although we have reasonably high population density, still 32% of country is covered with forest
The video specifically highlighted the countries in western Europe they were focusing on. So many complaints about this...different parts of Europe are so different, can't handle them all homogeneously.
@@geometerfpv2804 can handle 50 US states with divers geography and can't 50 European states? can speak about rocky, appalachian and sierra nevada ranges but can't include carpathian range in europe?
1000 bears? Highly unlikely. I've seen these claims, but... There is less than 200 wolves in Cro. But you are right, Europe is very biodiverse and full of wildlife.
As someone from central europe I can confirm thaz only after having been to the USA I truly grasped the scale of that country. And why so many there seem so obsessed with survival and gear... it's not a mildly strange hobby like it would be here, it's an absolute necessity if you happen to get lost there.
Same might go for more remote parts of europe like the nordic countries, to a degree.
Interesting point about survival culture. Never really thought about that. Thanks for sharing.
@@Greenbelly I think both points are closely related, hiking culture derives from the circumstances like population density vs. remoteness and this again determines the degree of planning you need.
A hike gone wrong in the US or other vast countryside quickly becomes a survival situation whereas a hike gone wrong here in Germany means an unplanned night in a hotel or inn or a nightly taxi or train ride home, in most cases, maybe a call to the fire brigade or an ambulance worst case. You can hardly get out of civilization here, this shapes how you think of risk assessment and preparedness...too little, for most people.
The size really is incomprehensible until you go. We drove from Huston texas through New Mexico into colarado. Imagine how many countries you would have driven through in Europe over that distance. Be like driving from London to Istanbul.
@dereinzigwahreRichi, yes, you can, for example, go up into Alaska, and any of the 8 national parks there, plus many huge state parks, could offer multi-day hikes where you might not see anyone else for days, and in several north of the Arctic Circle, you'd have to be flown in and out.
I don't think it would be a strange topic in Europe to have survival as a hobby. For example in Germany we have really big UA-cam channel that does mostly survival content, there is a big community here for it.
hiking in the european alps is a dream come true. in addition to the beautiful landscapes, there is also culture: like the traditional alpine huts that are managed. They offer top-quality food, home-made cheese, garden and forest produce and traditional cuisine.
For example in South Tyrol (Italy)
Alps cover slovenia also! Do better background check next time
It depends on the country. In Slovakia, we also have lot of these "waterfall beer & icecream restaurants", but also wild areas with waterfalls / peaks / natural landmarks with no such amenities. We also have bears, wolves, lynxes, eagles... its similar in Balkans or in Northern Europe - and ofcourse, in eastern Europe.
I'm adding the rest of Europe that you haven't talked about in the video.
So in Eastern Europe the hiking trails are great because of the scenery (lush forests), a lot of wild animals to see (keep a bear spray at hand), and the trails are nicely marked.
In some mountains, you might find a "cabin" thats basically a big stone house with lots of rooms and a kitchen that serves food.
Also shelters are available in more remote trails.
So it's more similar to American trails just, if you trespass a property by mistake nobody's going to shoot you.
Yeah bears and boars are not to be underestimated
Scandinavia, Iceland, Balkans, Carpathians, Caucasus, there is so much variety in hiking possibilities and cultures in Europe that you didn't even touch on.
Like many others already have pointed out, the northern nordics is quite different. For example the northern most province of Norway is bigger than the country of Switzerland but with fewer than 80 000 inhabitants. That results in a population density of about 1.5 per square kilometers. Tourism is almost completely centered around outdoors experiences
I’ve tried Australia and boy that was something different than Europe. The preparedness that was required in Australia is unmatched in Europe
Australia, like the US and ‘Europe’ (the continent) is also vastly varied in terms of terrain/climate and hiking (bushwalking) concepts. Compare say the arid desert Larapinta Trail (NT) with the alpine/rainforest Overland Track (TAS) - they might as well be on different planets! Also very important for international visitors to understand that while we do have a growing number of European-style, hut/shelter based walks (based more on the New Zealand model) most are still very basic, not only requiring fully independent tent camping but also have rough tracks and often minimal marking. This is particularly true in my home state of Tasmania. Visitors really need to do their homework first. Unfortunately we see many people need rescuing because they weren’t prepared for the tough conditions or variable weather.
Here in Southern California, the natural diversity is hard to beat. You can literally go snow skiing in Big Bear and the surf at Huntington Beach for dinner. Not to mention that from Mt. Whitney, the highest point, you can see Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place. Massive 12 inch deep lakes in the middle of the Death Valley had people kayaking the desert! It's just amazing.
Europe is not just the few western countries you focused on.
Just go a bit east and you got empty, wild, poorly marked trails, tons of inhabitated places, often no strict rules and all the adventures you are looking for.
if you wanna compare all of europe to usa then lets bring in canada.
@@uresfffff222 it's not me who wrote the title and picked the topic
picked usa -> covered usa ✅
picked europe -> covered just 3-4 out of 44 countries that are part of europe ❌
@@bartek.igielskihe did say they were focusing on Western Europe though
Exactly. Hiking in Slovakia Romania or Ukraine is way more easy to do than in Canada. Way more public land in proximity and no need to pay to get access to wilderness.
@@uresfffff222Haha. Tell me how to hike and camp in Canada without driving hours and getting memberships and passes? It sucks here some campsites are booked in February.
Not to mention Czech Hiking Markers Standard is video like this should be a cardinal sin. I love it and would not change it for anything else.
I come from Austria, but have also hiked in the US.
On my first hike I also was shocked, that you can't buy a beer on top of the Half Dome.
But then I also made multi day hikes, with my own tent and supplies and loved it.
Back home I prefer mentioned Sunday hikes, because I can get up in the morning and can still decide on my hike after breakfast, and won't have to cook for lunch.
Thanks for the video!
Walking is often not considered an activity in itself in Europe. My grandparents' local supermarket has regular customers who walk 2 miles to get there. Most, however, use a car, but many are elderly & used to walk years ago back when they were younger.
This video is very interesting, it made me think under a different light all the gear videos and trails "strategies".
I don't feel I need a satellite communicator here in Europe for my trails, 99% of the time there is cell phone coverage and 100% of the time someone else is in my same path. Also the miles covered: for me a normal day hike is between 6 and 10 km, with many breaks and maybe some food in a hut, in the US I probably need to bring a tent and all I need to spend the night out.
I think hiking in the US is a more intense experience but hiking in Europe is so much more accessible for everyone.
Yea that is interesting - how the landscape differences might influence the gear differences. Ie satellite communicators are probably more prevalent in the States. Thanks for watching!
The Alpa also stretches across Slovenia... Get your geography straight!
Have you ever heard of Romania? 😅 Its full of natural untuched wilderness. Why all those youtubers consider only western Europe????
Fun fact - there are almost the same number of brown bear attacks per year in Romania alone as in the whole of the Northern America.
Thats the only thing that stops me from hiking in Romania: the bears. But yea, very shortsighted to focus on just western Europe
@@okapi002 Which means they are conflicting with humans more, also meaning less wilderness.
@@Artuor.Morgan Most attacks happen near roads or ski slopes, because people are feeding the bears and taking selfies with them.
Of course there is less wilderness in Romania, because it's a smaller country, but compared to Western Europe, Romania has three times less population density, with a more concentrated population.
During the last decades people have been moving to cities, ghost villages and former industrial sites are now being reclaimed by nature, which makes for interesting trips, where you can meet wildlife just a few km away from cities. the landscape is also varied, from high mountains with pristine forests, to plains and the Danube Delta, which is unique in Europe, it's the European equivalent of the Everglades.
@@eddgrs9193 I agree with everything you just said, I'm just not sure why you keep bringing up the bear attack fact when its more indicative of higher human population density rather than healthier bear populations..
Great video! Sweden, Norway and Iceland has FANTASTIC landscapes with so much wilderness. That's the best places to hike in the world! ❤️ Also you can find and pick limitless amounts of mushrooms, blueberrys, raspberrys and more.
Wonderful! I did my first hike in Italy and it was so cool that they had little pit stops for drinks and eats! Love the breakdown od this video. I'm excited to do more hiking in North America and Europe!
Nice! Hope it was pretty. The Dolomites are 👌
At the end of the video, it's a little bit of a stereotype and exageration that Europeans (when they actually mean germans) people will be like "where's the restaurant" "where's the ice cream" like a spoiled child. I've been on plenty of hikes and almost always have food from my backpack, even in a group hike people will usually bring their food, both in France and Germany. It's common even with people from different age groups.
People that do complain about not having a restaurant at the end of the trail are not considered hikers by many in the community in germany.
I think that confusions stems from the fact that in germany you not only have dedicated hikers but just about everyone goes for a walk every now and then, which is a layer that probably doesn't really exist in the US. Maybe you could call them "casual hikers"?
@@martinklein9489 In Germany hiking is a national sport catered to everybody from elite hikers to grandmas who needs their ammenities.
They were just recounting an anecdote from their friends. So many complaints on this video.
I cant imagine that they complained on a serious note
all of southern poland is a hiker's dream, especially in the Beskid Niski and Bieszczady regions. like, you can enter ANY pathway, and just hike for hours, wandering through mountains, dense forests and rivers, also a lot ot these trails have many interesting sights like 2nd world war era cementarys, burned villages or old eastern churches
i'll try to go hiking for a month or two in poland next year ! seems extremely beautiful
Have you heard about the Carpartians and Romania. Amazing landscapes and wildlife. Also on hills trails like via Transilvanica where you can meet rabbites, deers. Also Macin mountains which are the oldest mountains in Europe where you can see a lot of turtles.
As a european, I hiked in Kenya. Was a damn weird feeling to know that leopards are all over the place.
Thank you for comparisson. Never been to the US or to the Americas. So I only have the experience of Hiking in different european Countries. Mainly Poland and Germany. But there are already difference with Europe if you look closer. Especially when it comes to wild camping rules. Some are very liberal like Scandinavian countries and others are much more strickt like Germany (In Germany you even have to consider the different law within each German state as it is a Federation).
All of this can be broken down to the available amount of wilderness. In central europe there are nearly no wild areas (except areas close to summits) anymore. Every valley, every forest is owned by someone and is used for agricultural purposes. This makes it easy accessible for day hikes and mountain climbing, but getting away from civilization is not possible. Even if you camp in the wild on the mountain, as soon as you go down into the next valley there are people and villages again.
But as you pointed out, that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are more cultural things to discover, you can get in touch with locals and their traditions. Its just very different i guess. Both have their good and bad aspects.
Yep. Just a personal preference 🙂
In some places in Canada you can't even have a walk in the forest unless you drive hours and pay fees and memberships.
Got to experience Tout Mont Blanc last year - yes it is very different, unique. Note there are even signficant differences between Canada and the US backpacking parks. Here in BC the major trails tend to be a lot less manicured and more rough than those in the US. But the US parks tend to favour dispersed camping while in Canada most have specific designated campsites. The campsites in BC tend to have more development on them, outhouses, tent platforms and bear bins. WA and California parks tend to want you do disperse camp, no sites no outhouses no bear bins nor platforms. Also in BC rangers will universally recommend carrying bear spray while parks like Yosemite strongly prohibit bear spray. WA and Calif parks require bearproof canisters but nowhere in Canada are they required.
Great content! Well done!
Living my entire life in the Western US, hiking slot canyons, multi-day remote wilderness trails, Colorado 14ers (4267-4420 meter peaks) plus Idaho, Wyoming and Montana backcountry have been the best backpacking & hiking trips with 30lb (14kilo) or more pack.
However, as an older hiker (mid-60’s) the Swiss Alps for 10-14 days every September with 11-15 lb (5-7kilo) pack is the perfect activity for me! I absolutely love the Hütte culture in the Alps! No luggage, just my pack with the essentials and maybe some via-ferrata gear.
Nice! Keep on livin the good life
I agree with a lot of this. After growing up in Switzerland most of my life and then hiking in the Rockies, I was amazed at the vast wilderness of the American West.
Not adding Romania to this comparison is insane! Romania has 8.000 bears, Via Transylvanica, a trail that goes for 1.400 km.
Great video. But, it does focuses on more western/southern Europe. There are some great hiking spots in the Balkans where u have proper market trails in more touristy areas or forgotten paths that are still accessible (ex. Biogradska Gora). In recent yeats, Prokletjie and Valbona are becoming more popular due over ocupations of other hiking area in Europe.
Great comparison! No blaming, no judgement, just helpful information 👍. Stefan from Switzerland with still an emotional connection to the USA after a year as an exchange student at Monterey High School in CA
What I find interesting is that you present these tourist trap ranges of both places. There are really nice untouched places in the US and Europe. For e.g Alaska and the Carpathians
This video shows nothing new the world already knows about. It makes more sense to show the unknown and surprising sights than the stereotypes (that only reflect part of the whole).
Don't think the call about Americans being more obsessed with long-term remote hiking trips is quite accurate- that element may be more prevalent here but if you ask any hiker who lives nearby hiking spots if they more often go on multiday trips vs short few hour long trips I think you'll find that the vast majority of American hikers go on shorter day hikes.
Hiking in Russia is similar to hiking in States. Lke we have thousands of kilometres of wild untouched nature
Ooh interesting. Makes sense. And could be fun if we opened up the USA hiking comparison to other regions across the globe. Someone suggested Australia/ NZ as well.
2:44 The left image is from the Italian Dolomites, it's Tre Cime looked from the direction of lake Missurina (one of the peaks was removed).
Chuckled a bit at the comment about Germans wanting restaurants at scenic spots.. I've met a lot of Americans on holiday in Europe who expect exactly that ;) ! Fun video though!
Maybe we all need a bit of food and beer on our hikes from time to time 😂
I too have noticed that the trail network in the alps is MUCH better than in the Canadian Rockies. The alps have far more marked trails (which allow access to many summits) and they also go into higher difficulties. Normal trails go up to T4 (SAC hiking scale) and then, there are via ferratas, which are basically an extension of marked trails by other means. The Canadian trail network is far thinner and usually tops out at T3. Most summits are not part of the trail network and it is hard to figure out how hard the summit routes actually are. Some are easy to follow paths that aren't much different than harder european on-trail hiking, others are serious scrambles. The lack of good hiking maps is also an issue, I ended up using OSM for the most part, which has a lot of routes, but no clue about difficulty.
I live in the US and there’s plenty of free camping and trails. You just need to know where to go. The popular tourist places yeah it’s probably not as nice of an experience to deal with all that. In the national forests you can camp wherever you want.
Europe has very different hiking depending on the country and area. I am from Norway and if you go to Finnmark in Norway I doubt you will find any restaurants. The Swiss have so many tourists that want to see the amazing views up in the mountains, so they build gondolas to take paying customers there. So far, this culture has not stretched to Norway, but we do have some places accessible by road and a well established network of huts for tourists.
I think the reason why Americans have this impression is that they often fall into tourist traps. Get to know some locals if you want the wilderness experience.
I live in northern italy, I know really well my environment especially mountains in Lombardy, and when I went to kungsleden last year it was completely different
The U.S. idea of private property is sad, because it grew in a time when if someone wasn't letting you onto their land, you could just go find some other land they didn't own to do what you wanted to do. Now, thanks to Department of the Interior bureaucracy, that is no longer the case.
haha the last part was exacly my reaction as a dutch person in the US. After a day hike or during the hikes I expected there to be a coffee place or something. Really disapointed each time hahaah
I live in europe, Poland i'm lucky, near my home town are (small) Beskidy mountains with excellent trails and shelter tourists huts. I'm sunday traveler, i take group of friends or go alone, for a day, or max few days. You usually dont use tents, travel light. Trails are well organised, safe. You know exacly how long to the nearest peak/place. You can move back by buses, or trains. It is easier to not get lost. I like it that way. I guess american trails are for more experienced hikers, for example who know how to deal with wild animals like mountain lions, snakes, wolves or bears. Being in remote space, hundred km from civilisation sound exotic to me. Here we have few countries in the same radius. I like to travel for hiking to nearby Czech, Slovakia and Germany, they have really nice trail system, one time, i travel by train to Liberec, and so many people come with bikes, that whole train get full quickly and some have to wait for next train, i guess many people like to rest like this.
For lack of a better term, I believe that mountaineering is much stronger than hiking in Europe. You know, walking or climbing on marked trails to reach the peak. For example, in Croatia (not even mentioned in this video), there are a few long distance hiking trails, some shorter trails, but there are marked trails to virtually every peak in the country. And let me tell you, there are many.
I lived in Germany for three years and I have hiked extensively through Western Europe. I think this video did a very good job of explaining the positives of both Europe and the United States. I am someone who is a bit navigationally challenged, so I really like how well marked the trails are.
Trails in Europe are much better marked than in the United States. There was only one time when I got lost hiking in Germany. It was in the black forest. I do love the different hostels and beer gardens in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
That said, I love the remoteness of hiking in the United States. I have hiked a large amount of the Appalachian Trail and I have hiked all over Colorado, Utah and Idaho. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park in Utah are an absolute must for anyone who has a passion for hiking. Being in those two parks is almost a spiritual experience.
Watching the 1:52 first drone shot was weirdly familiar. Then I realized it's my 10k people home village in the black forest in Germany. Since that's our one second of international fame: Come and visit Gengenbach!
We have more wolves in europe than tha US has, and also we have plenty of bears...if you see a deer in europe, it's also probably a wild animal, we also have eagles, wild boars, lynx, seals, even european bison. There are large wilderness areas in Norway, Sweden of Finland, but there is mostly no proper "trail", so you have to leave the trail to get there. But we don't have to reserve spots months in advance to hike these wilderness areas, unlike Alaska for example.
2:01 A little bit wrong map. Missed Crimea peninsula as a part of Ukraine. It’s occupied by russia now, but officially it’s a territory of Ukraine
Sure it´s different. But if you want to hike in the mountains (wilderness) you will not encounter a castle at every step nor is every hike just going from one hut to another. Sure you have that option. But it´s not the only thing. And if somebody was complaining about missing ice-cream, they never really hiked in Europe properly. It was just a little trip for them. Doesn´t mean all Europeans hike to get ice-cream at the end of day.
Hiking in western and middle Europe is less a sport and adventure but more a thing you do with your friends, family or even with your colleagues from work. It also is a pastime for older people. One reason is, that many people make winter sports like skiing and snowboaring in the same areas. So there is a good infrastructure. Also Europe is much more than western Europe and the Alps.
I've done both.... I love both really! All hikers need to experience both as well. When I'm in Europe I do love the accessibility to food and being able to walk into a town and literally start a hike say by a church or off of a street. But the feeling of true Wilderness you get from U.S. hiking is one of kind. Plus, from a wildlife comparison, there really is none. Europe simply does not have the Fauna the US has! And that's a big deal to us.
I would advise anyone to pay attention to local camping laws...which can sometimes get confusing...for example in Czechia you can "night" in any forest (pretty much if you can freely walk there) but you can't "camp" in any forest and you can interpret the law as that putting up a tent is not allowed since its a part of "camping" definition. Tho in practice this is aimed more at staying at a place for a while, making fires, washing stuff and such things so I don't worry about the ambiguity...especially of you set up at evening, don't make a bunch of noise and garbage behind and leave at morning since there is a little chance of anyone even noticing you
Just about anywhere in Europe (outside the urban or populated areas) you can pitch a tent for the night. In case some ranger or policeman finds you in the morning, you can always say you were just surving the night, not being able to reach the camp or hut or village the night before.
From my little experience, there're far more hikers in Europe than anywhere else in the world. That means you have a huge variation of skills, equipment and general interests. Hiking in the Americas is usually done by enthusiasts who are very skilled and well-equipped.
Not in my experience as one of those not very skilled hikers. With that said, the overnight hikers (outside of Scouts) ARE definitely not novices.
its just a matter of entusiasm and time to build a hut network in the US, it was made in europe to protect the hikers from the elements, and help them.
or at least a shelter network, with a place with roof over your head where you can stay during a storm or cold night.
I've done several trips to the more sparsly populated parts of Sweden, and I don't mean Lapland. I don't "hike", just take walks in the nature. As soon as you get away from busy roads, you are guaranteed to within a few minutes find a spot by a lake or on a mountain where you hear nothing but the sounds of nature. And you're almost guaranteed not to see another human being.
Nice, comprehensive review. I'm currently in the process of moving to Spain from the US. While I am excited about the new and varied experiences ahead, I do expect to miss the Wilderness of the Western US and the self-sufficient dispersed camping.
Generally good comparison but you missed one point. In Europe within an hour or two you can hike on the cliffs of a shore or in true alpine country. There is a lot of diversity not far away. In the states you need to travel quite a few thousand km to see change. If course a cold beer is seldom more than a day's hike away in Europe, except Scandinavia or Spain. The remoteness is not like in the States.
I'm not sure if I'd say Europe has "more history". It certainly has more old, architecturally interesting buildings than the US. But Indigenous people were alive all throughout North America when those buildings were being built. Both places have a long and complex history. American history didn't start when Europeans showed up.
Also US wilderness is far from "untouched". Even the most remote areas deal with issues around logging, grazing, and mining. Once you learn to see it you realize a lot of "untouched" wilderness is very much touched.
Europe has more visible human history.
Yeah, I think the history in Europe is more recent and more “in your face”. Even after a full 8h in a nature reserve in france without seeing a soul, at some point you can stumble on an old Roman quarry with blocs of stone etc. I think a lot of the indigenous history of the US is more “hidden”, is less “in your face” or was more temporary than what the Romans and Greeks built a few thousand years ago
@@aphextwin5712 I encourage you to check out places in the US like Chaco Canyon (900 AD). Or Aztec Ruins National Monument (12th and 13th centuries AD). There are many others.
Human arrived in Europe something like 30000 years before than America if this is what you are taking about
@@davideregano2935 doesn’t necessarily mean anything here. Modern day Mongolian nomadic groups leave less artefacts than modern day European shepherds. This has a lot more to do with cultural elements that with pure time.
I'm just hiking the GR5 which is going through Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembough and France. Today I walked a part of the trail in Belgium and every 500m or so you'll find a small town or some houses 😂, however in other locations of the trail it's very different.
As a Ukrainian that’s lived in 6 states of the US, you lost me when at 11:22 you used a map of Europe showing Ukraine WITHOUT Crimea 😒.
I feel like I should say that the hiking culture is very different from country to country, for example even within the uk we have different laws depending on weather you are in Scotland or England.
I've done a few long hikes in my youth and I love the idea of throughhiking, but I have problems with my feet that have gotten worse in recent years, and I haven't been able to find hiking shoes that fit my needs. Unfortunately, this really impacts my choice of hiking routes. I can't do high alpine routes anymore, and any route longer than 4 hours is hell for my feet.
I know this is off topic for this video, but I'm watching it thinking "I wish I could go there", and it's making me sad.
Europe is bit oversimplified in this video. Every country often has it's own rules which is making hike planning quite difficult sometimes.
Indeed. Hard to generalize. We did our best 🤷♂️
Not, just a bit - A LOT.
It's also quite true that America is simplified here as well. After all, it's one country as opposed to a continent (Europe) of many countries.
True, in Spain free camping and open fires are generally forbidden, there are some exceptions, but they vary from one region or National Park to another... which can be a nightmare to plan. The first approach from our authorities is to restrict, ban or regulate everything instead of looking for a middle ground. In some very unpopulated areas of the inner Spain people just go stealth camping, which is theoretically forbidden, but in practice is not a big issue.
I really enjoy seeing European wilderness. I don't think I will ever get to experience it first hand. I live in the mountains of Colorado and what I like the most is hiking off trail. I leave all the 14ers to the tourist's and frontrangers.
Great Video! Loved the pros and cons from both sides without taking a side.
Those differences sound about accurate to me! I'm currently hiking in Japan, and I think it's a bit of a mix of both. Many hikes across peaks you can do in a long day, and the peaks may have small restaurants or souvenir shops. But at the end, when you descend your chosen destination, you're descending back into a town and catching public transportation. There are also well known hiking networks with inns you can stay at that will provide a box lunch for your next day's hike, or bare bones camping huts that only provide a roof. I believe straight up camping is also possible. So you can choose your experience depending on the location.
You can even have bags and luggage sent to your follow on waypoints! 😂
In the US you wouldnt expect to be alone on the hike to yosemitie falls. You pick your route according to your preference of people, the same in european countries.
If you want to do a popular hike like the West Highland Way or Cape Wrath in Scotland, you'll meet pleanty of folk and it will be busy. Tourism has focused on key stopping points obviously and it can get busy. However, choose a less busy "way" or make your own based on walk highlands maps and you NEED a map and compass and will barely see another soul for days!
Scotland has bothys which are often a gathering point for hikers and bike-packers in bad weather days. These certainly do not come with a chef! Usually a space to camp on a bench or floor, or your tent outside, a fireplace, roof over your head, escape from midgies and good company.
I've hiked busy trails in Maderia with queues, and done others where we saw no one and had waterfalls to ourselves. Done hikes in gorges in Germany with no-one, and others with a cafe and a tour bus of tourists at the end.
Experience: I'm Scottish, live in Germany, have done a few short hikes in the US and many short and long distance hikes across europe.
2:00 what?! Have you ever heard anything about wilderness in Europe?
Very interesting!
Not mentioning Tatra mountains is really a big mistakes . The Tatra mountains are big with really hard trails to easy trails. Hikers from Tatra Mountains are the most respectable in the world. Most trails are not accesed by public transport or even car so you have to leave car sometimes 1 hour walk from where trail starts. Many wild animals like bears deers marmots.
Nice comparison and reflection...
I live in Spain and in my videos you can see some hiking in Sierra de Guara, the north of Aragón.
Saludos, gracias adiós!
I think Europe has more of ahiking trail network, with no defined start or endpoint. Where the US has more of A to B via C hikes…
Ooooh. Never thought about that. Thanks for sharing
Yup, hiking trails are essentially like the road network, just for hikers. In Switzerland, the marked hiking trail network has a length of over 65’000 km, while the road network is not much longer in the range of 70’000 to 85’000 km*. And if we add all accessible trails, the total length of trails hikers can use is probably about twice as long as the road network. You can find free topographical maps with marked trails for Switzerland online.
* I’ve found different numbers
Great video! Very interesting!
Amazing content, also love the graphic editing
Forza Italia! Thank you 🙏
Thanks for the comparison! Ive never been to the US and this video gave me some good informations. Im from Germany, Bavaria. Unfortunately its pretty hard in our region to find real wilderness. Thats why i enjoed every trip to the highlands in Scotland so much! ;)
With exception of Scandinavia in Europe its almost impossible not to find a tarmac road or a settlement every 3-4h of hiking
Likely so. For better or for worse 🤷♂️
@Greenbelly the continent has been developing steadily urbanistically for 3000 years , even 100 years ago you could only be lost in very rare places like the black forest in Germany or such ..
As others have already pointed out there are a lot of smaller mountain ranges even within western europe, that you don't cover in the video, where the hiking experience might differ. Just to highlight two places where I've been that offer great trails and are also less crowded than many parts of the Alps: Massif Central/Cevennes in France and the island of Sardinia (Italy)
These places look dope! Thanks for watching.
Brilliant, absolutely and honestly brilliant filming and editing man! Epic work!
Appreciate the love 🫶
If this video is just for Americans it was well done. If it is also for Europeans, the metric system should be used as well.
Love the unbiased portrait of both cultures. As a European, i get the American perspective a lot better now.
I love my Scotland for hiking and wild camping!
Greetings from Edinburgh!
This is super well made, but i feel as if it generalizes both Europe and the USA unfairly. For example, Scandinavia has a population density and wildlife richness that's just as wild as the Northwestern USA, even though its not even close to Alaska level, its still very natural. The Mediterranean has biodiversity on par with California which is the most biodiverse state in the USA. As for the defense of the USA, I feel like you could have compared more European-like American landscapes to Europe instead of American landscapes with no counterpart in Europe, I don't think the southwest, southern rockies, sierra nevadas, everglades, and to a smaller extent the appalachians are similar to Europe, they are much different. On the other hand, things like the cascades, Montana rockies, tetons, and all of Alaska are north American counterparts to Europe, so I guess it would be a more accurate comparison for these sort of places.
Thanks for the super insightful video!
I live in grew up in New Zealand, hiked all over, and now Minnesota Lake country. New Zealand hiking culture seems somewhere between the two but maybe more like the US.
Same as Canada
Also, there are Bears and wolfs in Europe too.
Hiking in our country is very limited as we have rebels in the mountainous parts .
we can't even wear camouflage apparel nor designs as rebels may think we're part of the military. Must be nice to to roam freely.
What country?
Well it’s all true but you mentioned only the most famous hiking zone in Europe .France ,Germany ,Switzerland and northern Italy are whay more popolated then the rest of Europe ( exactly like the main city in us ) you can have a very similar experience of wild hiking in Eastern Europe, the balkan,m and even southern Italy, this places are rich in flora and fauna and there isn’t so much industrialisation
In Europe we don't always hike hut to hut and we are often a day or more from the nearest settlement, especially in Northern Europe. It just isnt on the same scale as the US. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Scotland etc are a bit different from the GRs in France etc.
I'm more used to camping than using huts or bothies.
As for culture, I'm not sure I like the idea of the trail family concept and I dont have the annual leave to be able to do anything more than two weeks at a time. I couldnt afford to chuck my job to do a thru hike like the AT.
We also have a tradition of rambling and hillwalking and many of us do long distance walking and mountaineering. One thing that always used to differ was gear but this is changing. Shoes and trail runners are gaining popularity in Europe. You used to know the Americans as they would be wearing shoes and we would be wearing boots. I will use shoes on French GRs in the summer but still prefer boots in Scotland. I prefer keeping my feet as dry as possible whereas the US system seems to be to live with wet feet. In boggy Northern Europe that can be extremely uncomfortable and often dangerous. Also, tents. Fly first is more preferable in Scottish wet weather. We just dont have the weather to do without a fly😂 Finally, most of Europe doesnt have the predators that the US has. All I bother about are ticks.😂
Yeah, we have it easier to reach the trails. When I walk in France I get there by ferry and train. In Scotland I can use trains and bus. In Sweden there are the trains and bus as well. That makes it easier to do point to point rather than circular back to a car.
Thanks for sharing some insight. And related to trail runners vs boots... that could be an interesting video about gear differences in USA vs Europe 🙂
@@Greenbelly much less of a UL focus here in scandi, more of a survival focus with massive backpack. Things are slowly changing though packs are getting a bit lighter.
@nichootin I guess that's the bushcraft people. UL is everywhere. Greetings from an UL hiker from the Netherlands 😉
Same here. Try to be as lightweight as possible. Only sleep system is light rather than UL as a comfortable sleep is all important. The bushcrafter scene is something I don't really understand. A lot of them just seem to go to woods near their house and don't bother putting in the kilometres.@@lidewijvos
@@lidewijvos @BrokenBackMountains
dont get me wrong im UL too but most people i meet outdoors in norway arent, most common is the 20kg+ hiker. people are conservative here especially when i comes to outdoor equipment
I miss the difficulty comparison in video.
The meters climbed every day, the weather and access to water is also key etc...
That’s really hard to paint broadly and I think there are the same differences in Europe and the US. Some hikes have great water access, some not. Some hikes have insane elevation gains, some are pretty much flat. That’s more part of a “choose your trail” type of idea than a general sense of hiking in Europe vs the US.
The graphics of this video- cheffs kiss!
Thank you! We try 🤌
Thankfully, you are able to find remote trails in Europe, too. So you are able to finde the perfect hike for your needs.
Lets go Europe 🌍🙌
Americans making video about Europe, not taking into account one third of it 😅😅😅
Americans and Europeans made this video :)
I agree, I'm not a fan of this video and will state more later.
But many Europeans do the same and it's astonishing that they so often fall right into this stupid stereotype often enough. The US is one country, yet so often when I travel to Europe and start country hopping, people from each European country tend to generalize me within the context of some monolithic European backdrop of Europe v. the US. I didn't know French and Danish had so much in common.
How about this: North America has 22-23 countries (which includes all of Central America, most of the Caribbean, and yes, Greenland), Europe has somewhere between 44-50 countries, depending on the source. Perhaps we should drop the whole Europe v. US comparisons and make the "comparisons" between continents, of course in a healthy way.
Lastly, which European country is an actual reflection of all of Europe in terms of centuries of immigration? I can't think of one, perhaps the modern UK. The US and Canada each represent all of Europe in their ancestry and beyond. It's just what it is man. For example, the US is the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world after Mexico. There are more Irish Americans than Irish in Ireland. Italian Americans = nearly 1/3 the population of Italy. There are nearly 10 million Scandinavian Americans, which is nearly the population of Sweden, the most populated Scandinavian country. German American ancestry = nearly half the population of Germany. And so it goes.