Hike in Italy early April- any suggestions

Hello,

Hiking in Italy is a good idea!
A big help of planing a trip is using the Google Earth file of Hikr (http://www.hikr.org/hikr.kml). You can find the link at the frontpage also.
A difficulty can be that many (if not all) mountainlodges are closed. Maybe this is a problem?
A few years ago I made a beautiful trip in the mountains of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Unfortunately I don't have the route description anymore. :-(

Regards,
Sander

I did the trip in July so I can't say anything about the conditions in April.
My experience is that there is a lot of snow in the mountains of Switzerland and Austria during April. Especially higher up in the mountains.

Hi,

Probably not exactly what you have in mind, but Sicily might just be the perfect spot for hiking in April: High chance of good weather and the mountain ranges along the north coast (e.g. Nebrodi or Madonie) with altitudes of up to 2000 m are quite attractive.

When I was there at the end of March/beginning of April in 2006 conditions were perfect. But contrary to what you plan now, I had rented a car for day trips then. I could imagine that infrastructure for „from inn to inn“ might be a problem.

Hi,
maybe the following pages might give you some ideas. www.siciliaincammino.it
www.itinerarisicilia.it/sentieri/index.php
If you put into google: camminare Sicilia you'll find some news paper reports by people who have done long distance walks for example Nebrodi mountains.
You might be able to get in contact with them via facebook or so.
I very much wish to walk in Siciliy myself and looked into that type of walk several times, but never got round to do any of them.
Anyway I wish you a great walking experience

Hi,

In April you really want to stay below 2000 m above sea level. I would strongly recommend avoiding the Alps, because your long distance hiking options would be restricted at that time of year. I would go to Liguria and/or Tuscany.

You may wish to consider the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (AVML), which follows the moutain backbone of the Liguria region. It's moslty in the 500-2000 meter a.s.l. range and is mostly snow-free in April. You can also combine the AVML with other long distance trails in Liguria (see http://www.verdeazzurroligure.com)

A longer option (which can be combined with the AVML) is the Grande Escursione Appenninica (GEA), which follows the peninsular divide between Tuscany and Emilia. It will be mostly snow-free in April as well.

Umbria and Marche also have great trails. I would avoid Abruzzo because of the average elevation (too high).

Going hut to hut will not (always) be possible because most huts are closed in April, or are only open on weekends. You may have to stay in small hotels or B&Bs.

Feel free to send me a personal message if you need more info; I've lived in Tuscany for many years and I'm happy to help you plan :)

I recommend the Ligurian Coast with Cinque Terre...you could hike from Sanremo to La Spezia...

......Beh...innanzitutto bravo per la scelta,,,ottima direi-
Io ti consiglierei,come scrive churfirst , le montagne della Liguria,mare-monti."una settimana sulla costiera di levante e l'altra quella di ponente"
Valutando il periodo primaverile, il rischio del meteo avverso si riduce molto-

Ti giro link del trek "Verdeazzurro".
......Beh...innanzitutto bravo per la scelta,,,ottima direi-
Io ti consiglierei,come scrive churfirst , le montagne della Liguria,mare-monti."una settimana sulla costiera di levante e l'altra quella di pinente"
Valutando il periodo primaverile, il rischio del meteo avverso si riduce molto-

Ti giro link del trek "Verdeazzurro".
http://www.hikr.org/tour/post103672.html
Ciao-

I hiked across Italy in 7 days from the Tirreno to the Adria (Livorno to Cesenatico) in April a few years back. Crossed the Appenin range through the Casentino National Park, which was nice, mostly. Note:

- only little snow in the upper parts of the route
- I roughed it overnights (tent), except for a night in Stia
- for hiking the green Tuscan side is by far more attractive than the brown Emiglia
- be careful about dogs around remote farms, they are not chained and agressive
- Italian maps (even Army issue) are worthless
- you will find a lot of trash all over the place. Tons of it, even in the National Park
- it's hard to get food in remoter parts

It was a worthwhile experience but it also made sure, I will never do anything like this again in Italy.

Ciao, Ray