Italy’s Best Natural Parks

Italy’s Best Natural Parks We Love and Top Nature Activities in the Country

Images of Italy tend to conjure up bustling cities, ancient buildings and crowded landmarks, with queues spilling out of doorways from every pizza restaurant and gelato spot. Whilst the vast majority of the countries’ tourism focuses on cities such as Rome, Naples and Venice, or coastlines like Amalfi or Cinque Terre, it often leaves huge areas of the rest of the country completely overlooked. Although these famous areas are well worth visiting, it’s common for Italy’s best natural parks and nature activities to be easily forgotten in favor of the well-trodden tourist trail.

We spent two months exploring some of Italy’s most hidden gems and, although we would still recommend visiting the well-known man-made wonders of the country; they’re famous for a reason after all – we’d implore you to make time to get off the beaten track a little. Hidden in the more remote regions are magical mountain forests full of wildlife, secluded, solitary beaches with crystal-clear waters, and some of Europe’s most incredible hiking routes.

With a doubt, Italy’s natural wonders are just as wonderful as the man-made ones. We just hope you make sure not to miss them.

Italy’s Best Natural Parks

Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta Geoparco

38080 Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy

Open: 24/7, year-round. Check online before visiting for any alerts or warnings.

Cost: No cost to enter, but parking fees may apply. Various costs are involved with activities but there are no fees to hike

Facilities:

  • Visitor center
  • Campsite
  • Accommodation options
  • Toilets and showers
  • Swimming pools
  • Outdoor sports
  • Recreational activities
  • Equipment rental
  • Hiking trails
  • Towns
  • Bars
  • Restaurants
  • Markets

No article on Italy’s best natural parks would be complete without mentioning The Dolomites. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the mountain range in North Eastern Italy makes up a section of the Italian Alps. Composed of dolomite rock, the pale color causes a magical sight: enrosadira, or alpenglow. The park is separated into various areas and Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta Geoparco centers around the Brenta group, with majestic peaks, idyllic lakes and ancient glaciers.

While visitors to the region can choose to spend their days simply enjoying the scenery in the fresh mountain air, the more active amongst you will be glad to hear of the area’s extensive hiking network. However, with an altitude ranging from 477 to 3558m, don’t underestimate allowing time to become accustomed to the altitude before undertaking any strenuous activities. Those enjoying the trails should also know to be wary of wildlife – the mountains are home to brown bears, and the lucky ones may glance a look during their exploration of the area.

Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta Geopark
Foto credit: Marco Pedergnana

The largest natural park in Trentino, it’s also the largest protected region in the Alps at nearly 400,000 hectares.  This huge site offers many options for visitors, with plentiful amenities for anyone looking for equipment rental. Whilst we’re yet to visit, we’ve heard incredible things about the hiking trails. It’s the main focus of outdoor activities within the park, with over 1000 kilometers of beautiful trails to choose from.

Lake Molveno is one that comes repeatedly recommended and going by online reviews, it’s a firm favorite. Offering a circular trail of 11.3 kilometers, it begins at the town of Molveno and follows the lake’s shore. A moderate hiking option that’s accessible to most; providing views, swimming spots and amenities at the start and finish – the best of all worlds.

Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga

Monti della Laga, Amatrice, Province of Rieti, Italy

Open: 24/7, year-round. Check online before visiting for any alerts or warnings

Cost: No cost to enter, but parking fees may apply. Various costs are involved with activities too. No fees to hike

Facilities:

  • Visitor centers
  • Museums
  • Picnic areas
  • RV dump stations
  • Information panels
  • Observation hangars
  • Bridleway and horse riding centers
  • Accommodation options, e.g. hotels, holiday farms, motorhome sites, bed and breakfasts, rooms in private houses and apartment rentals

Ask any local which region in Italy you should visit when you have the luxury of more time on your hands, and Abruzzo receives a resounding recommendation. Italy’s little-known central region contains all of the magic that encapsulates Italy, with very few of the tourists that flood here to experience it.

A visit to Abruzzo will provide everything you could wish for from a trip to the country: rolling hills, mountainous backdrops, idyllic coastline – littered with world-class food and wine. The wild nature of the lesser populated mountains also provides sprawling natural areas and national parks where visitors can go in search of impressive wildlife – a welcome surprise on any tourist’s itinerary. Brown bears, golden eagles and Apennine wolves, who’d have thought nature like this existed in the same country that provides Pompeii and the Colosseum?

Italy’s Best Natural Parks

With our own vehicle, we had the luxury of exploring the region on our individual timescale and itinerary. Our priority often focused on finding the best places to park our campervan, so we a good amount of time around the vicinity of Lago di Barrea – a heart-shaped body of water nestled in the Apennine Mountains. A free motorhome camp allowed us to park our campervan on the shores, enjoying mountain bike trails by day and visits of gorgeous stray kittens searching for food by night. Visitors to the area can also enjoy one of the area’s many hiking trails, or a swim in the azure waters if weather allows.

Nearby Citivella Alfedena, a medieval village known as the smallest in Abruzzo’s national parks, also provided us with an unexpectedly enjoyable few days. The town was the epitome of mountain wilderness and during our first afternoon, a coffee at a roadside bar allowed us to view majestic Italian deer parading through the village streets. A wolf museum and lynx wildlife sanctuary provided further unexpected wildlife encounters. We’d highly recommend a few days spent in this area to experience the true mountain wilderness of Italy.

Our road trip also led us to the mountain plateaus of Campo Imperatore where we spent a few nights parked up in awe of the landscape around us. We only saw a handful of other people during our entire time there, mostly travelers on motorbikes enjoying the incredibly scenic roads.

 A highlight of our time in this area was grilling fresh arrosticini –  the Abruzzuo take on a kebab, where chunks of sheep meat and fat are stuck generously onto skewers. After a few nights of camping in the mountains, we stumbled upon a remote butcher’s shop where we could buy the meat fresh and cook it ourselves over coal grills, surrounded by mountains and the sheep that freely roam them. This took Italy’s culinary delights to a whole new level and was the perfect welcome back to ‘reality’ after a few days off-grid.

Parco Nazionale del Gargano

Parco Nazionale del Gargano

Via Sant’Antonio Abate, 121, 71037 Foggia Italy

Open: 24/7, year-round. Check online before visiting for any alerts or warnings.

Cost: No cost to enter, but parking fees may apply. Various costs are involved with activities too. No fees to hike.

Facilities:

  • Visitor centers
  • Campsite
  • Toilets and showers
  • Swimming pools
  • Outdoor sports
  • Recreational activities
  • Hiking trails
  • Bike rentals
  • Towns
  • Bars
  • Restaurants
  • Markets

Gargano National Park is located in Puglia, Southern Italy, in what is commonly known as the ‘spur’ of Italy’s boot. The promontory juts out into the Adriatic Sea and provides visitors with a wealth of wonderful natural landscapes to explore. From the National Park, the Umbra Forest, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and miles of idyllic coastline, it’s worth dedicating a few days to really appreciate what this area of Italy has to offer.

Our highlight of the area was taking the time to truly enjoy the stunning beaches. The coast here is known for its limestone cliffs, rock formations, and sea caves; with the bright white of the rock providing striking contrasts against the turquoise of the water.

Vignanotica Beach was recommended to us by locals and we spent the day dipping in and out of the bright blue water, with our own private limestone cave as a base. Whilst the beach is made of pebbles, this allows for the water to be completely crystal clear. Snorkelling is a great option here, with the water so pristine, so bring along your gear if you’re feeling like exploring underwater as well as above it.

Vignanotica Beach Italy

After a day spent relaxing on Vignanotica’s shores, we headed to another highlight of Gargano to explore Riserva Naturale della Foresta Umbra, or The Umbra Forest. Spanning an area of about 15,000 hectares, visitors could easily spend a few days enjoying the UNESCO beech forests. Anyone with a keen eye should be on the lookout for the wildlife that call the forest home: Italian roe deer, wild cats, boars, badgers, weasels, dormice, and birds such as owls and woodpeckers.

The area offers fifteen different paths to follow, and visitors are welcome to travel on foot or by wheels. We chose to spend our day exploring by bike, with the shaded canopies of the trees providing perfect cycling temperatures. Those who are visiting without their own bikes will be glad to know rentals are possible, as well as many other amenities available within the area.

Riserva Naturale della Foresta Umbra

We hope to have given you some inspiration for your next trip to Italy, and that you can make time for some natural wonders amongst those made of stone – or carbohydrates!

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