Hi Leigh,

It’s a very good question, thanks for asking. I’ve taken hut treks in New Zealand, Europe, Iceland, and Patagonia, and I think you’d find that navigating in the Picos can be much more challenging than in New Zealand or other places I’ve been. It does come down to the weather and visibility (fog is common in summer and snow in spring) as well as whether the ground is snow-covered, which would hide all of the trail blazes painted on rocks. It’s also very helpful to know which trails are easier and which involve scrambling and some exposure or terrain that could be dangerous in rain or falling snow.

My family has the experience and comfort in technical terrain that we’d have had absolutely no trouble pulling off our trip independently in good weather. Even in fog, on our last day the high terrain we traversed had frequent blazes marking the route (and the ground was dry and snow-free by then), so we would have been fine, I believe. But given the amount of snow and the limited visibility on the second day of our trip, I think we would have bailed on that day’s hike and been scrambling to find local transportation (in a rural area) to get ourselves back on our route the next day. Crossing the highest peaks, as we did, does present those possible complications. If you chose an easier route at lower elevations, or perhaps just going to one or two of the most accessible huts, you might not have any trouble navigating.

See more details in the Take This Trip section of this story (which requires a paid subscription to The Big Outside to read.

I hope that helps. Thanks and good luck.

I was thinking of going to Spain this summer with my family of 5 (teens 19, 17 and 17 and husband). We were thinking of doing a hut to hut trip in the Picos De Europa. We are all in decent shape and lived a year in NZ where we did about 5 of their great walks. We’ve also hiked a lot in the White Mountains and West VA including backpacking trips.

Do you think this is a trip we could organize on our own, booking our own huts? I did all that for the NZ walks and it was pretty straightforward. The trails aren’t that technical though. We’ve never needed a guide for any of our hikes. But from reading your blog the weather can change and it might be hard to figure out where to go on your own. It sounds like you could talk with a warden and figure it out correct?

We try to keep things on a lower budget so doing it on our own would be preferred if it was safe enough.

Thank you for the compliement, Torsten, and that detailed report about your hike, which sounds like a great adventure.

Thanks very much for sharing that report about trekking with Alberto, Nancy. That sounds very much like my family’s experience with him. And I agree that anyone enlisting his services will enjoy a similarly enriching, fun, and safe experience.

Hi Margaret,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience of hiking through the Picos with Alberto. I’m glad you took advantage of his guiding expertise because he knows those mountains so well, he’s well worth the cost. We loved Alberto and I had him over my house when he visited Idaho on a trip to the U.S. He’s an excellent guide and genuinely good, fun person.

Happy trails! Keep in touch.

That’s fantastic, Jakki. Thanks for the nice words and enjoy your trek. Those are such beautiful mountains.

Hi Sofia,

I think that is the only trail from Cordiñanes to the Refugio Collado Jermoso but the trail isn’t as sketchy as that photo makes it look; there’s no real danger of falling off short of being very clumsy, it’s just a bit exposed and psychologically scary. As the story describes, the snowstorm prevented us from reaching that refugio because our guide, Alberto (his contact info as above, at the bottom of the story itself) was more concerned about snow posing a real hazard on another part of the trail, which presumably is more dangerous that the section shown in that photo. You may want to look more into that and judge your own and your family’s comfort and skill levels before deciding. It is probably much safer in good weather, without snow, of course.

There are trails that are relatively easy to walk in the Picos de Europa and there are trails and routes that are much more difficult, involving some real scrambling and exposure. One of the challenges I found with planning this trip was identifying the easier versus harder trails. Alberto was invaluable to us.

Good luck.

Wow, such an incredible trip, thanks for sharing. I am planning to hike this exact route this coming summer with my family, and I am a bit skeptical of day 2. The picture you posted hiking the trail from Cordiñanes to the Refugio Collado Jermoso on the side of a cliff seemed a little sketchy. Is there another route that does not involve being on the side of that cliff that still takes you to the same sleeping accommodations?
Thanks!
Sofia

Hi Dylan,

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I do think that going in early season, when you could encounter several inches of snow as we did, makes the route much more difficult to navigate than in late summer, when there won’t be snow covering the frequent blazes marking the route. I will say that while much of the trail is quite obvious, parts of the route we took can become obscured and require good skills and probably solid pre-trip research on the route; and there are different trails through the Picos. There’s also some scrambling and mild exposure on sections that might make some backpackers uncomfortable but wouldn’t be a problem for anyone accustomed to that. And the Picos are known for fog rolling in off the nearby ocean and greatly limiting visibility.

All that said, many experienced backpackers would have no significant challenges navigating these trails, especially in good weather. And I would nonetheless recommend carrying a GPS device or app with the route pre-loaded on it.

Good luck, it’s a great hike. Thanks for your question.

Thanks, Emily. It’s a great hike. I’m sorry, I don’t have a GPX file of the route. Sections of it are quite obvious and easy to follow and other sections are well-marked by blazes but not obvious visually and can be obscured and very difficult to follow in bad weather with low visibility. Good luck and have a great trip.

What a lovely adventure and beautiful photos! Me and my boyfriend are thinking of doing exactly the same route this summer. Would you have any GPX that you could share with us? Would be awesome!

Thanks,
Emily

Hi Peter,

My entire family loved the Picos de Europa, as you probably gleaned from this story and the photos. As for carrying a pack weighing 12-15kg/26.5-33 lbs., that’s not unreasonable at all for a moderately fit hiker. The steepest terrain will be challenging but I was probably carrying over 25 pounds at times on our trek.

We flew into Bilbao and rented a car. We also enjoyed spending a few days after the trek in Bilbao and other coastal towns.

Have fun.

Thank you, Mary. I really love the Picos de Europa and would return in a heartbeat. See my Custom Trip Planning page to learn how I can help you plan your trip. Please keep in touch!

Thanks, Julie. The photos tell the truth about these mountains—they’re gorgeous. You can hike the Picos in fall, but I’d try to do it before mid-October. Good luck!

Thanks, Guido, I appreciate the comment and you pointing out the chamois-goat distinction.

One comment, the animal you have called a chamois is actually a goat. Chamois look quite different and have very characteristic horns.

You will not regret that! Enjoy.

Definitely helps to have a local in these situations. I already visited Picos but there are some parts I still want to see, will reach out to Alberto when the time comes! Thanks

Thanks, Kevin, and yes, that’s absolutely true. Without Alberto leading us, we would not have attempted to push on through the snowstorm and limited visibility. Besides that critical help, though, he knew the Picos like his back yard and we didn’t know them at all, so he could take measure of our abilities and stamina and take us to some of the very best areas. I’d highly recommend Alberto.