The Best Forests and Natural Parks in Spain
Does Spain have forests? More than most people expect. Forest land covers 56% of the country, and Spain has the third largest forest area in the EU, behind only Sweden and Finland. If you work remotely from a Spanish city, the useful question is a different one: which of these woods can you reach on a free day, and what do you need to book first. This page answers that, with the official figure for each place.
How much of Spain is forest
Spain has 28.58 million hectares of forest land, 56% of its territory. That number includes 9.14 million hectares of scrub and pasture with less than 10% tree cover. The part with real tree cover is 19.44 million hectares, about 38% of the country by our calculation. Figures near 37% that you will see quoted online are tree-cover measures like this one, not the wider forest land figure. The 56% and the 38% are both right. They measure different things.
The national forest inventory counts about 8.4 billion trees with a trunk diameter of 7.5 cm or more at chest height. (Source: MITECO, Anuario de Estadística Forestal 2024, June 2026. EU ranking: Eurostat, 2023 data.)
Forests in Spain you can reach from the city where you work
These are the ones that work as a day trip from a base with good internet. Rules are the ones published for 2026.
| Forest | Base | How to get there | What to book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montseny (beech and fir above 1,000 m) | Barcelona | R2 train to Sant Celoni, then park bus 573 to Santa Fe on weekends and public holidays | Nothing. The bus day ticket is 2.65 euros |
| Fageda d'en Jordà, in the Garrotxa volcanic park | Barcelona or Girona | Bus to the park towns around Olot | Nothing |
| Sierra de Guadarrama pine forest | Madrid | Cercanías C-8 train to Cercedilla. The C-9 mountain line to Cotos was still closed for works in October 2026, with a replacement bus | Nothing |
| Hayedo de Montejo (beech) | Madrid | Bus 191C reaches Montejo de la Sierra. The beech wood is 8 km past the village | A free guided walk. Online places go by lottery twice a month |
| Anaga laurel forest, El Pijaral trail | Tenerife | By road from Santa Cruz or La Laguna | Mandatory online booking, at most 14 days ahead, released on Mondays at 07:00 Canary time |
| Garajonay laurel forest | Tenerife or La Gomera | Ferry from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián de La Gomera, 45 to 90 minutes | The ferry. The park pages list no permit for walking |
| Sources: Diputació de Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya, Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Guadarrama, Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rincón, Cabildo de Tenerife and Parques Nacionales, read in October 2026. | |||
Montseny is the easy win for anyone living in Barcelona. It has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1978 and now covers 50,166 hectares. On autumn weekends and public holidays (10 October to 8 December in 2026) the park opens reception points with free parking and a park bus stop, so the train is the calmer option. In the south, Los Alcornocales, in Cádiz and Málaga, holds what the Andalusian government calls the largest preserved cork oak forest on the Iberian Peninsula, inside a park of 173,620 hectares. Plan on a car.
The best forests in northern Spain: Irati, Muniellos and Fragas do Eume
The famous ones are in the north, and they are not day trips from a big city. Plan a weekend.
Selva de Irati (Navarre). A beech and fir forest of about 17,000 hectares across the French border. UNESCO describes its beech forest as the second largest in Europe. In high season two of the entrances charge a maintenance fee of 7 euros per car in 2026. High season is autumn above all, and at weekends car access can be limited. (Source: Government of Navarre and UNESCO.)
Bosque de Muniellos (Asturias). Described officially as the largest oak forest in Spain. Only 20 visitors are allowed each day. The permit is free and you ask for it online, but booking for the whole year opens on 15 December of the year before, and places are given strictly in order of request. (Source: Government of Asturias.)
Fragas do Eume (Galicia). A 9,000 hectare park of Atlantic riverside forest near A Coruña, with oak, chestnut and more than 20 species of fern. In summer the road to the Caaveiro monastery closes to cars and a shuttle runs instead. (Source: Turismo de Galicia.)
Two more for the list. Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas in Jaén covers 209,763 hectares, and the Andalusian government calls it the largest protected natural area in Spain. And in Ordesa y Monte Perdido, in the Pyrenees, you cannot drive to the valley floor in busy periods. You leave the car in Torla and take a bus, 6 euros return in 2026.
Is there a rainforest in Spain?
Not a tropical one. What Spain has is laurel forest, or laurisilva, in the Canary Islands. UNESCO describes the one in Garajonay National Park on La Gomera as a living remnant of the old rainforests and warm temperate forests of the Tertiary, almost permanently wrapped in cloud and mist. It has been a World Heritage site since 1986 and laurel forest covers about 70% of its 3,984 hectares.
So the honest label is a subtropical cloud forest. It is evergreen, and the Canary Islands national parks are the ones whose visitors spread most evenly through the year, January included. (Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Parques Nacionales.)
National parks in Spain: how many and which get crowded
Spain has 16 national parks. A 17th, a marine park off El Hierro, is still a proposal. Together they received 15.8 million visits in 2025, and five parks took about three quarters of them by our calculation: Teide with 5.11 million, Sierra de Guadarrama with 2.37 million, Picos de Europa, Timanfaya and Garajonay. If you want quiet, avoid those five on a weekend. (Source: Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales, May 2026.)
Six Spanish beech woods are also part of a UNESCO World Heritage site shared with other European countries, added in 2017. Montejo and Tejera Negra, both within reach of Madrid, are two of them. At Tejera Negra you must book the inner car park in autumn, 4.55 euros per car.
Spain forest fires: what the fire season changes for visitors
Fire season changes what you can do in a Spanish forest. In 2025 fires affected 354,747 hectares of forest land in Spain, more than three times the ten-year average, with 63 large fires. From January to 27 September 2026 the figure was 279,301 hectares. (Source: MITECO, provisional data.)
For a visitor it means rules, and each region sets its own. Catalonia is a good example. From 15 March to 15 October you may not light any fire on forest land or within 500 metres of it without authorisation. The region also publishes a daily danger level from 0 to 4 for every municipality, and at level 4 access to forest areas is restricted. Check the level the night before a summer hike in Montseny or the Garrotxa. (Source: Generalitat de Catalunya.)
Can you camp in the forests of Spain?
Do not count on it. Each park writes its own rule, and these two are typical. Sierra de Guadarrama states that free camping is not permitted and allows an overnight bivouac only in set zones. Ordesa bans it in its main valley except at the Góriz refuge area with a booking. (Source: the two national parks.)
Questions about forests in Spain
Are there forests in Spain?
Yes. Tree-covered forest takes up 19.44 million hectares, and forest land in the wider sense reaches 56% of the country.
Which is the largest forest in Spain?
It depends on what you count. The largest protected natural area is Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas, with 209,763 hectares. Irati, at about 17,000 hectares, is one of the best known single forests.
When is the best time to visit Spanish forests?
Autumn for the beech woods of the north, which is also when parking fees and booking rules apply. The Canary laurel forests are green all year. In summer, check the fire danger level first.
Choosing where to base yourself? The Spain profile has costs and climate by city, and our guide to living in the Canary Islands covers the islands where the laurel forests are.