I hiked all over Europe: Best and least favorite spots

I spent a year hiking in 11 countries while traveling as a winemaker and nomadic freelance writer. Exploring the mountains is my favorite way to see a new place, and during that time I walked narrow rocky paths in the Dolomites, meandered through Scotland's green valleys, and even trekked past kangaroos in Australia.

There are four trails I'd return to in a heartbeat. In Leutasch I did the circular Rotmoosalm-to-Wettersteinhütte tour — roughly 9 miles with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain — and found dense forests, craggy peaks, meadows, streams, ice-blue lakes, and traditional huts in a single day.

A 7.5-mile hike to Lago di Sorapis in the Dolomites rewarded technical effort with opaque turquoise waters framed by pale rocky mountains. In Slovenia, the Kozjak waterfall loop is an easy 2-mile circuit to a 49-foot emerald fall that crosses a suspension bridge and ankle-high creeks, and France’s 4.3-mile Hérisson waterfalls trail winds past seven unique cascades beneath a bright green canopy.