# An autumn weekend in the Montseny: guided mushroom picking and beech forests, an hour from Barcelona

One night in a Montseny farmhouse to see the golden Santa Fe beech forest, climb to Montsoriu castle and go out on Sunday for mushrooms with the park guides.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montseny/itineraries/montseny-autumn-mushrooms-beech-forest · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Montseny

The Montseny is an hour from Barcelona and Girona, and in autumn it has three things that justify staying overnight: the golden Santa Fe beech forest, mushrooms and chestnuts. A day doesn't allow for everything without rushing. With a night in a farmhouse you can see the beech forest first thing on Saturday, before it fills up, climb to a Gothic castle above Arbúcies and go out on Sunday with the park guides to learn to recognise mushrooms.

## Where to sleep

AccommodationWhereFor whom

Can BarrinaFarmhouse hotel in the Tordera valley, with a restaurantCouples: holm-oak grill and valley views

Hotel Rural Can Vila19th-century farmhouse by the riding school, at the foot of the massifWith a dog: admitted for €20 a night

Xalet La CorominaSmall hotel in Viladrau, on the Osona sideFor eating chestnuts: its kitchen is a Chestnut Ambassador

## If there are no mushrooms on your date

Swap Sunday morning for Montsoriu castle: a free guided visit at weekends at 10:15 and 12:30, with a booking. It is the Gothic castle of the viscounts of Cabrera above Arbúcies, reached on foot. In the afternoon, the beech forest again, or a long lunch in Viladrau with its chestnut cooking.

## If you walk more

On Saturday, from Santa Fe, the PR-C 208 climbs through the beech forest to Les Agudes and the Turó de l'Home, the two summits of the massif: 11.5 km and about five hours. It is the same forest, but all the way up.

## El plan

### Saturday · 9:00 · The Santa Fe beech forest
Arrive before ten: on autumn weekends the car park at kilometre 21 of the BV-5114 fills up and the Diputació regulates access from Fogars de Montclús, with the Bus Parc. The loop round the reservoir is 2.6 flat kilometres among beech trees; with stops, two hours.

### Saturday · 14:00 · Lunch at La Fonda del Montseny
On the square of the village of Montseny: grill, Viladrau chestnut sausage and, in autumn, sautéed porcini. At the weekend it is open from 9:00 to 18:00. Book.

### Saturday · 17:00 · Tagamanent at sunset
A short half-hour climb from El Bellver to the summit with a church and castle remains, and back to your accommodation.

### Sunday · 10:00 · Guided mushroom outing
Four hours in the forest with the Aprèn guides: recognising species, telling the edible ones from their look-alikes and the rules for picking. €4 for adults and €3 for ages 6 to 12. On 15 November it leaves from Sant Martí de Centelles, next to Aiguafreda, and on 29 November from La Garriga.

### Sunday · 14:45 · Lunch and the drive back
Lunch at Can Barrina, with holm-oak grill and seasonal mushrooms, or go back to the Fonda. You come down in daylight and are home before seven.

## Un consejo más

Sign up for the mushroom outing as soon as you decide on the trip: places are limited and go in order of registration, on 938 429 361 or at apren@apren.cat.

## Cuándo no ir

Sunday middays in November at Santa Fe, if you can't stand crowds: it is the busiest time of the year.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Barcelona?
A little over an hour by car to Santa Fe or the village of Montseny.

### Which days are there mushroom outings?
Only the Sundays on the park's programme. In 2026 the 15th of November in Aiguafreda and the 29th in La Garriga remain.

### When is the beech forest in colour?
From mid-October to mid-November, depending on the year.

### Can I bring a dog?
Yes: on walks, on a lead, and the Hotel Rural Can Vila admits them. On the mushroom outing, ask Aprèn.

### Can I take mushrooms home?
The mushrooms belong to the owner of the forest. On the outing, anything you pick, have the guide check it.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Cabanes als Arbres**, desde 159 € / night: Sixteen cabins in the Sant Hilari forest
Cabanes als Arbres is in Sant Hilari Sacalm, in the Guilleries, at between 960 and 1,000 metres above sea level, with the Montseny in front. There are sixteen wooden cabins scattered through the forest around La Vileta, a farmhouse more than seven centuries old that serves as reception. They fall into three categories, Magia, Cupido and Natura, which differ in price and setting, but all are octagonal, 30 m², with a 10 m² terrace facing the Montseny, the Pyrenees or wherever the sun rises or sets.
Almost all hang from one or two trees; the Tallareta rests on piles. You climb up by a suspension bridge, a vertical ladder or both, and in the cabins held between two trees the ladder is about 4 metres. For that reason they only admit children aged 10 and over, always accompanied by an adult. Animals cannot enter the cabins.
A night without sockets or an indoor shower
The cabin has no electricity. You light your way with rechargeable lamps and head torches, and the cabin's basket also holds a walkie-talkie. Charge your phone before you arrive. Inside there is a hand basin with a water reserve and a dry toilet: instead of water you add sawdust, and it is emptied and cleaned every day for composting. The showers, the full bathroom, the lounge with fireplace and the bar are in the farmhouse, where there is also wifi and a computer with internet.
For the cold, each cabin has a bioethanol fireplace. The website charges a supplement on 24, 25, 26 and 31 December and 1 January, so you can sleep here in midwinter. In summer the farmhouse pool is open. There are also private outdoor spas, booked by sessions, and a massage room.
Breakfast is included. From 9:00 it is left in a basket at the foot of the tree and you haul it up with a rope whenever you like. You cannot cook in the cabin: if you do not want to go down to the village, order a hot dinner delivered to the cabin, at €26 per person, when you book or on arrival.
Arriving by car and walking through the forest
You arrive by the Vallclara road and park among the trees, next to reception. From there you follow the forest signs on foot to your cabin; some are about 10 minutes away. Bring walking boots and a small rucksack instead of a suitcase. Check-in is from 16:00 to 19:30; if you are going to arrive later, let them know by phone or email. Check-out is before 12:00.
Prices on its website: the à la carte night for two with breakfast, from €159; packs with dinner, spa and massage, from €239. From here you are close to the Selva side of the Montseny: Montsoriu Castle, above Arbúcies, and the climb up Matagalls from Collformic. More ideas in Montseny.
- **Can Barrina**, desde 150 € / night: Can Barrina is a 17th-century farmhouse at kilometre 12.7 of the road from Sant Esteve de Palautordera to Montseny, at the entrance to the village and inside the natural park. It had stood uninhabited for thirty years when its present owners bought it in 1984; they refurbished it in the 1980s, extended the house with two side wings and opened it as a hotel with a restaurant. Above the door are engraved the year of the farmhouse and that of the refurbishment, 1620 and 1987. It has a pool and a terrace facing the valley of the River Tordera.
Six room types and their prices
The website publishes the price per room and night, and what changes from one to another is mainly the view:

Double with interior views: €150.
Double with pool views: €155.
Double with garden views: €165.
Superior with fireplace and forest views: €195.
Family suite: €185 for two people and €290 for four.
Golfes apartment, for four: €295 the first night and €200 each following night.

The house also highlights its Montseny Suite. The website does not say whether breakfast is included, or the check-in and check-out times, or whether animals are admitted: ask when you book. If you book directly by phone or email, they offer a welcome gift and discounts with their Green Card; mention it when you call.
For a family of four, the suite or the attic
With two children you have two options. The family suite comes to €290 a night for four. The Golfes apartment, also for four, costs more the first night, €295, but drops to €200 from the second: if you stay a long weekend, it is the cheapest option per night. In winter, the superior rooms are the ones with a fireplace.
Dinner without taking the car
The Can Barrina restaurant is in the same farmhouse: holm-oak grill, seasonal mushrooms, home-style stews and rustic dining rooms with a fireplace, and in summer the terrace over the Tordera for dining outside. It does not publish opening hours, so book a table at the same time as the room. The farmhouse also organises weddings and celebrations: ask whether there is one on the day of your stay.
The Montseny's Vallès side, on foot and by car
From the farmhouse you can walk up to the square of the village of Montseny, where La Fonda del Montseny serves meals Wednesday to Sunday. Down the road, at km 7.5, is the Can Vila riding centre, with horse rides in the Montseny that cross the Tordera. For the beech forest of Santa Fe and the climb to the Turó de l'Home you have to go down towards Sant Esteve and take the Sant Celoni road, the BV-5114; in autumn, at weekends, check first whether the park is regulating access. A car is essential for getting around: Bus Parc 576 goes up to the village from Santa Maria de Palautordera, but only at weekends and on public holidays.
- **Hotel Rural Can Vila**: The Hotel Rural Can Vila occupies an early 19th-century farmhouse at kilometre 7.5 of the Montseny road, in Sant Esteve de Palautordera, at the foot of the natural park. It was restored with its original materials, stone, wood and iron, and shares an estate with the Can Vila riding club: from many windows you see the forest and the riding arenas. It is a small hotel, with nine rooms, with the riding centre and the tracks of the lower Montseny on the doorstep.
Nine rooms named after plants
Each room is named after a plant or a place in the massif. Six face outwards: Farigola, Espígol, Malva and Romaní, standard doubles, and Lledoner and Alzina, special doubles. The other three are interior: Montseny, a standard double; the Sant Elies junior suite, and the Matagalls family suite. The interior ones are reached by lift.
All have a king-size bed, television, internet connection, safe, minibar, air conditioning and heating. The hotel has parking, a reading room and a meeting room for twelve people, and can call you a taxi. The website does not publish room prices or check-in and check-out times: the booking engine gives them.
Breakfast at €10 and cancellation in stages
Breakfast is not included: it costs €10 per person. An extra bed is €35, and room prices are given without VAT. If you cancel more than 30 days ahead you pay nothing; between 30 and 15 days you lose 40% of the deposit, between 15 and 7 days 60%, and with seven days or less, all of it.
With a dog and with horses
The hotel accepts pets for €20 a night. Next door leave the Can Vila horse rides, which the hotel advertises at €28 an hour and which cross the River Tordera; they also hire bicycles with prior booking. The restaurant, in a glazed annexe facing the arena, opens at weekends for guests, with Catalan seasonal cooking and compulsory booking; on weekdays you will have to dine out.
Montclús castle, fourteen minutes on foot
On foot, in about fourteen minutes, you reach Montclús castle, which locally is also called the Moors' castle. By car, the valley of Santa Fe is about half an hour away and Collformic, the start of the climb to Matagalls, about 40 minutes. Up the road, towards the village of Montseny, the farmhouse Can Barrina has a restaurant with holm-oak grill and a terrace over the Tordera valley, and in the village square La Fonda del Montseny serves meals Wednesday to Sunday.
- **Xalet La Coromina**: The Xalet La Coromina is at Carretera de Vic, number 4, at the entrance to Viladrau, the chestnut village on the north face of the Montseny, already in the province of Girona. It is a mountain house of wood and stone with a garden, a hotel and restaurant in one, and what sets it apart is the cooking: it is one of four restaurants in Catalonia with the title of Viladrau Chestnut Ambassador, and its chef, Juan Antonio Cuartero, is the Official Chestnut Chef. Staying here is, above all, dining at the house and not having to drive afterwards.
Wood, a freestanding bath and a family room
The website presents three types of room. The doubles are of natural wood, with a king-size bed and views over the valley. The Montseny Suite is the largest, with a freestanding bath and a sitting area. The family room keeps the mountain-refuge feel and is the one to take if you are travelling with children. Booking is done on its online booking engine; the website does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times or rules about animals, so ask beforehand on +34 676 237 016 or at info@xaletcoromina.com.
Breakfast is served to guests, and in good weather it is taken in the garden.
Weekend massages in the woods
The house has opened a massage space surrounded by woodland. There is a 50-minute relaxing or deep-tissue massage for €60, the couples version, both in the same room, for €100, and two short 25-minute massages, legs and feet or neck and head, for €35. Appointments are on Saturdays and Sundays from 17:00 to 19:00; on weekdays, depending on the day, ask. Book on the website, by phone or by WhatsApp on 670 85 15 54, and they call you to confirm.
Dinner at the house, except Wednesday and Thursday
The Xalet restaurant serves lunch from 13:00 to 15:30 and dinner from 20:30 to 22:45 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and public holidays. On Wednesdays and Thursdays it is closed: if you stay those nights, you will have to dine in the village. The menu revolves around the Viladrau chestnut, with mountain and seasonal dishes, and the dining room has a log fire in winter and large windows onto the Montseny. Tables can be booked on the website until 15:00 for lunch and until 22:00 for dinner.
Viladrau as a base for the north of the massif
From here you reach Collformic in about twenty minutes, where the climb to the Matagalls starts. To the east, via Arbúcies, you reach the Montsoriu Castle, which is visited with a guide on Saturday and Sunday mornings; the plan Montsoriu Castle and chestnuts in Viladrau puts the two together on a Sunday. Vic is about 25 km along the Carretera de Vic. A car is necessary: the Bus Parc 436 links Vic and Viladrau, but only at weekends and on public holidays.