Snow, fires and silence. Eight winter trips that don't involve a lift queue.
Winter travel does not have to mean ski lifts. Some of the quietest weeks of the year are best spent under a heavy duvet in a country whose name ends in -land, on a cross-country trail through a national park, or in a hot spring that opens straight onto snow. The eight trips below trade the chairlift queue for things you actually remember.
Hossa National Park, Finland
Eastern Finland near the Russian border. Cross-country trails, ice fishing on Julma Olkky and silence that takes a day to get used to. The park has marked routes for snowshoers and a network of wilderness huts that are free to use overnight. Stay in Suomussalmi or one of the small lakeside cabins at Karhunkainalo and walk straight from the door.
Lofoten in February, Norway
The fishing season is on, the cod racks are full, and the aurora shows up most clear nights. February is paradoxically warmer than parts of southern Norway thanks to the Gulf Stream. Base in a rorbu at Reine or Hamnøy, drive the E10 to Å when the wind drops, and book a small-boat orca safari out of Skjervøy in the same trip.
Hokkaido onsen towns, Japan
Niseko gets the snowboarders. Noboribetsu and Lake Toya get the locals. The sulphur baths at Jigokudani run hotter than 90 degrees underground, and the ryokan kaiseki dinners are at their best in January when the snow crab and yellowtail are running. Combine with two nights at an onsen in Nyuto, deeper into Tohoku, for the full effect.
Romanian Carpathians
Magura village by Piatra Craiului, with the Zaganu refuge for long walks and the village stoves to come back to. Brown bears are denning, lynx tracks turn up on the trails, and the local pensiuni serve plum brandy at the wrong time of day. Most foreign visitors are British or Dutch hikers booked through Carpathian Travel; the rest are Romanian families on a weekend break.
Bavarian Forest, Germany
Cross-country skiing, lynx tracking and the country's first national park. The Buchenau and Bayerisch Eisenstein loops are well-prepared all winter, and the wildlife enclosures near Neuschönau are an honest way to see the species you will probably not spot on the trail. Trains run on the Waldbahn from Plattling into the park itself, which is rare for a wilderness this remote.
Bohemian Switzerland, Czech Republic
The sandstone formations of Hřensko in snow are quietly other-worldly, particularly around the Pravčická brána arch and the gorges of the Kamenice. Day trips run from Děčín or Bad Schandau across the German border; the park is small enough to cover on foot in two days. Stay at Penzion Pravčická Brána for a proper Czech inn experience.
Highlands of Iceland in winter (with a guide)
Strictly off-limits in your own car this time of year - the F-roads close from October to June. With a guide on a super-jeep, the interior around Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk is empty in a way summer never allows. Midgard Adventure out of Hvolsvöllur runs single-day and multi-day trips; expect snowstorms, hot springs and a hut to yourself.
Quebec's Charlevoix
Snowshoeing above the St Lawrence, ice cider tastings at Domaine Pinnacle and small inns with serious kitchens. La Malbaie and Baie-Saint-Paul are the bases; the Massif de Charlevoix runs a quiet ski-tour programme for anyone who does want to climb. The Train de Charlevoix from Quebec City runs in some winters, which is the romantic way to arrive.
