Best Peaks to Climb in May
66 catalog summits list May in their published season window.
May is the catalog’s first big Northern Hemisphere expansion: dozens of USA peaks, UK and Irish hills, and the Nepal 8000 m list still in its pre-monsoon window.
Bolivian Cordillera peaks (Illimani, Sajama, Huayna Potosí) appear on the austral dry-season side of the calendar — winter there, not summer. Half Dome’s cables window is marked as a shoulder approximation (late May–early October).
If you want snow-free Sierra or Colorado trails, May is early; if you want Everest-region logistics, it is prime.
Countries in season
Day hike (18)
- Mauna Kea — USA · 13,796 ft · High-altitude drive / hike · Year-round; summit can be cold or snowy in winter
- Teide — Spain · 12,198 ft · Class 1 hike · May–Oct
- Telescope Peak — USA · 11,043 ft · Class 1–2 hike · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- Haleakalā — USA · 10,023 ft · Drive / Class 1–2 hike · Year-round (summit is cold; storms year-round)
- Black Elk Peak — USA · 7,242 ft · Class 1 hike · May–Oct
- Mt. Mitchell — USA · 6,684 ft · Class 1 hike · May–Oct
- Kuwohi — USA · 6,643 ft · Class 1 paved walk · Apr–Nov (road season varies)
- Hallasan — South Korea · 6,398 ft · Class 1 hike · Apr–Nov
- Mt. Rogers — USA · 5,729 ft · Class 1 hike · May–Oct
- Mount Vesuvius — Italy · 4,203 ft · Class 1 hike · Apr–Jun or Sep–Oct
- Slide Mountain — USA · 4,180 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- Hunter Mountain — USA · 4,040 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- Black Dome — USA · 3,980 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- Blackhead — USA · 3,940 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- West Kill Mountain — USA · 3,880 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa — United Kingdom · 3,560 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- Mt. Monadnock — USA · 3,165 ft · Class 1–2 hike · May–Oct
- Cadillac Mountain — USA · 1,529 ft · Drive / easy to moderate hike · May–Oct
Strenuous hike (16)
- Mt. Sherman — USA · 14,036 ft · Class 2 hike · May–Oct
- Mauna Loa — USA · 13,679 ft · High-altitude hike · Year-round (weather dependent)
- Jebel Toubkal — Morocco · 13,671 ft · Class 2 hike · May–Oct
- Mount Rinjani — Indonesia · 12,224 ft · Strenuous day / overnight · May–Oct
- Charleston Peak — USA · 11,916 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Oct
- Mount Etna — Italy · 11,014 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Oct
- San Jacinto Peak — USA · 10,834 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Oct
- Sandia Crest — USA · 10,678 ft · Drive / strenuous day hike · May–Oct
- Mount Apo — Philippines · 9,692 ft · Strenuous day / overnight · Mar–May
- Mt. LeConte — USA · 6,593 ft · Strenuous day / overnight · Apr–Oct
- Ben Nevis — United Kingdom · 4,413 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Sep
- Ben Macdui — United Kingdom · 4,295 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Sep
- Scafell Pike — United Kingdom · 3,209 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Sep
- Mount Brandon — Ireland · 3,123 ft · Strenuous day hike · Apr–Oct
- Lugnaquilla — Ireland · 3,035 ft · Strenuous day hike · Apr–Oct
- Cadair Idris — United Kingdom · 2,930 ft · Strenuous day hike · May–Sep
Scramble (7)
- Mt. San Antonio — USA · 10,064 ft · Strenuous day hike / scramble · May–Oct
- Half Dome — USA · 8,840 ft · Strenuous hike / cable scramble (permit) · Late May–early Oct (cables up) shoulder month
- Mt. St. Helens — USA · 8,363 ft · Class 2–3 scramble / permit climb · Late spring–early fall for summit climbs
- Carrauntoohil — Ireland · 3,409 ft · Strenuous scramble / non-technical · May–Sep
- Old Rag Mountain — USA · 3,268 ft · Class 3 scramble (permit) · Mar–Nov
- Helvellyn — United Kingdom · 3,117 ft · Class 2–3 scramble · May–Sep
- Tryfan — United Kingdom · 3,010 ft · Class 3 scramble · May–Sep
Snow / glacier (6)
- Sajama — Bolivia · 21,463 ft · Snow climb · May–Sep
- Illimani — Bolivia · 21,122 ft · Alpine glacier · May–Sep
- Huayna Potosí — Bolivia · 19,974 ft · Glacier climb · May–Sep
- Mt. Shasta — USA · 14,179 ft · Snow / glacier climb · May–Jul
- Mt. Hood — USA · 11,249 ft · Snow climb · May–Jul
- Hvannadalshnúkur — Iceland · 6,919 ft · Glacier climb · May–Sep
Alpine technical (5)
- Trisul — India · 23,359 ft · Alpine climb · May–Jun or Sep–Oct
- Ama Dablam — Nepal · 22,494 ft · Technical alpine · Apr–May or Oct–Nov
- Illampu — Bolivia · 20,958 ft · Technical alpine · May–Sep
- Ausangate — Peru · 20,945 ft · Alpine climb · May–Sep
- El Capitan — USA · 7,569 ft · Elite big-wall · Apr–Oct (climbers)
Expedition (14)
- Mt. Everest — Nepal/China · 29,032 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Kangchenjunga — Nepal/India · 28,169 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Lhotse — Nepal/China · 27,940 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Makalu — Nepal/China · 27,766 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Cho Oyu — Nepal/China · 26,864 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Dhaulagiri — Nepal · 26,795 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Manaslu — Nepal · 26,781 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Annapurna I — Nepal · 26,545 ft · Extreme expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Shishapangma — China · 26,335 ft · High-altitude expedition · Apr–May or Sep–Oct
- Nanda Devi — India · 25,643 ft · Technical expedition · May–Jun or Sep–Oct
- Mera Peak — Nepal · 21,247 ft · Trekking peak · Apr–May, Oct–Nov
- Denali — USA · 20,310 ft · High-altitude expedition · May–Jul
- Island Peak — Nepal · 20,285 ft · Trekking peak · Apr–May or Oct–Nov
- Mt. Logan — Canada · 19,551 ft · High-altitude expedition · May–Jul
Permits
All peaks · All months · Permit calendar · Open the 3D atlas