2 min summary Best time to go Map & highlights Walking Cycling Winter activities Photography

Best time to go to the Julian Alps

Snow tends to fall from December to April, especially in alpine areas, and then thaws to allow outdoor activities like mountain biking and hiking to take over from cross country skiing and frozen photography. The best time to go on vacation in the Julian Alps is any time other than July and August.

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Best time to go to the Julian Alps

There’s no snow this year in Ljubljana, it's just too warm. They used to get constant snow in the capital from January to April but not any more. The Julian Alps are a different setting. They’re at a higher altitude and people can still expect snow there in the winter.

The winter season in the Julian Alps runs from December to April and turns alpine villages like Kranjska Gora into ski resorts. As the snow melts in May you can expect to find the Soca River flowing with more force (grade II and III rapids), whilst high above the wild meadows of the Pokljuka Plateau become blanketed in spring daffodils, dandelions and purple flowering crocuses. June to September is the best time to go hiking or cycling in warmer temperatures, although Lake Bled, especially, can get busy in the summer vacations, so it’s best to avoid there in favour of lesser-visited Bohinj.

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The Julian Alps, month by month

As the snow begins to fall in December, high mountain passes, such as the Vrsic Pass, get set to close until the end of April. It’s the winter activity season in the valleys and around the lakes, and even in Ljubljana you’ll find local folk busily dusting off their Nordic skis and snowshoes in readiness for the trails around alpine ski resorts such as Krvavec, Cerkno and Vodel. January, February, March and April in the Julian Alps are all about the white stuff with some resorts, including the high altitude Kanin-Sella Nevea (2,000m), said to stay open for skiing until as late as June. January is also the best month for a winter photography vacation in Slovenia, with all of those frozen waterfalls and magical misty mornings making uncrowded Lake Bled a brilliant base to begin. May is a good month for white water rafting and kayaking down the Soca River, and both activities are really popular in the Slovenian springtime. A slightly more sedate springtime pace can be had cycling and hiking on many of the mountain and lakeside trails in Triglav National Park. Solar-powered chairlifts are still running to whisk walkers up into the 2,000m-plus peaks surrounding the forested trails stretching over the Pokljuka Plateau. Although spring temperatures are starting to creep above zero in the Julian Alps, the higher you go the colder it’s going to get. Night-times, especially, can be very chilly even in May. Layers are the key, as are a pair of hand-knitted Slovenian socks available in all good local markets. Summer season in the Julian Alps kicks off in June, with lakeside festivities and traditional concerts taking place all the way through July, and to the end of August. Expect the bypass between Bled and Bohinj to be very busy; weekends especially so. Prices rise with the water temperature, but swimming or boating on both lakes is still worthwhile, especially in Bohinj where it’s not as crowded as Bled. September sees the summer crowds creep back from whence they came and the temperatures dip down to a very bike- and hike-friendly 22°C in the alpine foothills and shaded spruce forest trails. Activity trips wind to a halt in October – along with the forest bears, who duck into hibernation. November can be foggy and damp, whilst locals wait for snow to lighten the gloom.

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Julian Alps Weather Chart

MIN °C

MAX °C

RAIN (mm)

JAN

-6

FEB

-5

MAR

-3

109

APR

136

MAY

139

JUN

159

JUL

153

AUG

156

SEP

148

OCT

135

NOV

-1

167

DEC

-5

104

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More about Julian Alps

Julian Alps travel guide

Slovenia is a small, compact country. However, armed with a copy of our Julian Alps vacations guide, a whole new world of walking, cycling or skiing awaits.

Julian Alps map & highlights

One of Europe’s oldest national parks, Mount Triglav, forms the centerpiece to Slovenia's Julian Alps and despite some tourists believing that Lake Bled is the be all and end all, we beg to differ.

Walking in the Julian Alps

As soon as the thaw kicks in, Slovenians kick on their walking shoes; ski resorts return to being alpine villages and guest house hosts get ready to welcome walkers with home cooked breakfasts and packed lunches for the trail.

Cycling in the Julian Alps

Single gravel tracks and tarmac rural roads in Triglav National Park are well-maintained and well-signposted, which adds up to a whole lot of love in Slovenia for cycling in the Julian Alps.

Winter activities in the Julian Alps

Cross country skiers, snowshoe shufflers and eager tobogganists are exploring the snow-covered slopes around ski resorts like Vogel, whilst photographers are making the most of an uncrowded Lake Bled.

Photography tours in the Julian Alps

Take your tripod, macro lens and polarising filter on a photography tour in the Julian Alps and you’ll return with more snaps of lakeside reflections and snow-capped mountain peaks than you ever thought possible.

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Written by Chris Owen

Best time to go to the Julian Alps

Best time to go to the Julian Alps