Hiking as a family

Family-friendly hiking routes are a wonderful option at any time of year. Getting in touch with nature and discovering new landscapes is the ideal activity to level up any getaway or trip.

There are loads of great trails all over Catalonia to suit all tastes. They are a distinctive and special way of discovering new places and experiencing them in their purest form.

Here are six hiking routes in Catalonia suitable for the whole family:

Els Ports, a natural setting to savour with the family

This activity starts in Prat de Comte. A visit to the permanent exhibition in els Ports Nature Park Visitor Centre is followed by hiking the 7.8 km la Mola trail with a guide to learn all about the surrounding countryside.

It’s a low difficulty route and recommended for children aged 10 and over. You need to register in advance and it’s run all year round.

Permanent orienteering trail in Sort

This activity tests the orienteering skills of the whole family along three low, medium and high difficulty routes. The three trails run through Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park and Alt Pirineu Nature Park.

Each route also features 15 challenges which families can do in any order they wish. This activity is available all year round. You can pick up the map of the permanent orienteering trail at Sort Tourist Office and Els Til·lers sports centre or download it from the Internet.

Step by step through the Queralt mountain range in Berga

This route boasts one of the finest views of el Berguedà and its trails are child-friendly. It runs through the Queralt mountain range which stretches across the northwest of the municipality of Berga.

The route can be completed in an hour and a half and you can also do it with a guide to get the lowdown on the local landscape.

Upland scenery in Vall de Núria

You can only get to the valley by rack railway or on foot. The rack railway route is 12.5 km long and runs through breathtaking scenery. You can get on at three stations: Ribes Enllaç, Ribes Vila and Queralbs.

Once at the top, you can also take the cable car up to Pic de l’Àliga at 2,170 metres above sea level. The resort is additionally a family-friendly facility certified by the Catalan Tourist Board. It hosts a wide range of activities for kids such as a children’s playground, a toboggan run, a zip-line and even a climbing wall.

It’s open all year round, except from 3 November to 4 December when it only operates on Saturdays and Sundays.

Biking through the Empordà wetlands in Sant Pere de Pescador

It’s an ideal route for cycling with the family. It only takes an hour and a half and its level of difficulty is low.

This circular route is an outstanding way to explore the local wetlands at any time of year. You can see the more than 300 species of birds which use this area as a place of refuge and migration stopover, many of them protected and extremely beautiful.

You start in Sant Pere Pescador town centre and follow the River Fluvià until you get to Sant Pere beach. Along this stretch you can take in the seaside scenery next to the sand before turning off to ride through fruit tree orchards. The tour ends along the local road heading towards the town.

You can do this excursion in spring, summer and autumn.

Spending a day as a goatherd in el Baix Camp

This activity shows you what a goatherd does. The day begins with a two-hour outing in the Prades Mountains. It includes a visit to Barrulles de Capafonts chapel, a picnic lunch by the River Brugent and finally a walk with the shepherd and their herd. To round things off, you can help put the goats in their shed.