Looking for suggestions and advice for a trip to the Pistoia Mountains the last week in June

canfish2

New member
I'm interesting in a five day stay in the Pistoia Mountains the last week in June. I'll be coming from a two week stay at a villa near Florence where I'm leading a writing workshop and my partner and I will be looking for a place to unwind afterwards. I'm assuming we'll rent a car so we can explore the area. We're outdoorsy and love natural beauty and would like to hike and walk and be in natural places and also explore the towns and other wonderful things in the area. And relax. We'd love suggestions for things to do (not big on "must see" tourist events) and suggestions about which of the towns in the area would be a good home base to stay in--and why? what are the benefits of the different towns in the area? How would you choose where to stay? We're more inclined probably to a place with a kitchen so we can do some of our own meals. And would also love to learn about the spas in the area. We love hot water! Any other tips about exploring the area would be very appreciated.

 
Ciao there and welcome to our forum!
If you love the outdoors, you'll love the "montagna Pistoiese"! It is definitely an area that is off most peoples itineraries, you wouldn't say there are any "tourist" centers in the area. Even Pistoia is generally off people's "must see" places, so you won't have problems with hordes of people anywhere. The mountains over Pistoia are great for hiking. I wouldn't be able to recommend one town over another, the area consists mostly of small villages along the roads, you blink and you've practically missed them. There are many old farmhouses and villas transformed into apartment rentals so I would suggest you look for those, which won't be "in" a town but more likely on the roads to and from. I would look for one with a pool, so you can definitely also choose to stay in and relax. It should be warm by then, so I am sure it will be appreciated.
If you don't want to stay in the mountains per se, you could always stay in Pistoia and drive out every day.
In particular, if you're into hiking, I'd head out to Abetone. I'd buy a local CAI trekking map once you're in the area that shows all the trails. While the area is known for skiing, in the summer all those slopes are also perfect for walks. While some higher up might offer less tree cover, the paths in between Pistoia and up at the crest do offer woods and shade.
Take a look at these articles that offer some ideas of what to do/see in the area. It seems we're missing some of the trekking routes we've done, we'll have to work on adding some of those soon.
Also in the area, but headed toward Lucca, the area known as the 10 Castella is interesting to explore.
As far as thermal baths, you'll have to head to Montecatini Terme and Monsummano Terme as being the closed to Pistoia... those are all pretty posh and at established spa centers. If you want a bit more adventure, you'll have to head further west to Bagni di Lucca where you can find springs still outdoors.

If you've never been, I would also recommend you completely rule out Pistoia as the area you want to be in and head to Maremma. It has hot springs (San Filippo, Saturnia, Bagno Vignoni) as well as lots of hiking opportunities. Lots of small interesting villages to explore, from Pitigliano to Sovana to Sorano. Since you'll have a car, the area will be at your fingertips. You can also head to Monte Amiata for more hiking. Just a thought, take a look into that if you hadn't already considered it.
 
This is a rich and valuable response! I'm away for the weekend, but will happily return to your response next week and begin to research these areas. Thanks so much. I'll check back in later.
 
We're looking at an airbnb on a farm near Talamone, near the Park. Do you have any suggestions for five days in that region? And I've heard you must hire a guide to hike in the park in the summer Do you know anything about that?
 
That's a lovely area, we've also stayed around there. The Park dell'Uccellina has their own guides, you just have to book one of the ones they offer, they have specific times and form groups to take people into the park during the summer time. We've been on several, all very nice combo of info and walk. Take a look at the park website for info on the tours: https://parco-maremma.it/en/visit-the-park/ The site says to contact them for the schedule, I am sure it is early for them to have it already on hand but closer to the time they'll have it for sure.
They've added tours on horseback, on bike and on chariot (!) that we didn't get a chance to do when we last visited, means we will have to go back!
 
I'm not so sure about wanting to have to be with a guide or hiking with a group. Is that going to be typical wherever we go? Would we need to do the same if we go to Pistoia region? I found a nice airbnb on a farm near Barga. Do you have any suggestions for how to choose between these two areas? I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the choices.
 
Thinking back, I recall having done a hike with my husband at the park without a guide so I went back on the site to check.

I can confirm, NOT all the itineraries require a guide! This one doesn't, for example:
or these two

It would seem it depends on the itinerary, take a look at all of the ones they have on foot here:
Some routes say that only groups that are bigger than 20 people need to book a guide, so that means they allow families and couples to enter without one.

This is not typical wherever you go, it is just how the Parco dell'Uccellina does things. I've only run across it at places that are protected habitats, such as the Uccellina park and the Massacciucoli lake near Lucca. I think that since this park is big, there are areas within that are protected and those are the ones that require a guide. You cannot go out of the routes they have set out. The beach on the inside of the park is actually beautiful - you head to Marina di Alberese, park there and then walk south along the beach as far as you want. All free sandy beach, most people stop closest to the parking lot so the further away you walk down the less crowds.

Everywhere else we've hiked we've just had to get hiking maps - there are lots of marked CAI hiking trails across all of Tuscany (red and white markings) - and just gone on our own. But in that case also getting a book with recommended itineraries is useful, so you know whether you can do a ring hike or have to go out and back. How much Italian do you speak? the better guides are in Italian, and by guides here I mean paper book ones ;)

I understand feeling overwhelmed, there is a lot of choice across all of Tuscany! If your writing workshop goes well, you will be back, right? Take pressure off yourself and think you will come back to Tuscany, so you can choose either one and plan to visit the other the next time ;)

Some considerations to help choose: Pistoia is closer to Florence so you could choose Lucca/Pistoia this time and save Maremma for the future. Pistoia is below the Appenines so hiking means going up in elevation, thus cooler temps in summer. From Lucca you can also head north in to the Garfagnana valley and there is lots of hiking there as well in the Apuan Alps. We've done this one a few times: https://www.discovertuscany.com/hiking-in-tuscany/monteforato-trekking.html adding in a visit to the Wind Caves, a stop at the Ponte del Diavolo, a visit to Barga. We've stayed in Gallicano and Barga on two separate occasions to focus on the area.

Another off the beaten area is the Lunigiana, at the north end of the Apuan Alps, so you can also head to Aulla and explore that area, including hikes into the mountains.
The beauty of Tuscany is that there is lots on offer across the region, packed in into a small space overall and every single time you visit you can explore a new place and not feel like you're seeing the same thing! I also love the outdoors and hiking so for the end of June, maybe my personal choice would be Lucca/Pistoia as it is higher elevation than Maremma and thus should offer cooler days. Whatever you choose, I don't think you'll go wrong. The problem will be that 5 days will fly by and you might not even get in all that you would like :)
 
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