Hiking during the summer (mid-June – late-August)
July and August are the main hiking months in Greenland where you will find plenty of locals enjoying the trails as well. There are several reasons for this:
Lots of daylight hours. On June 21, the sun does not actually set along the Arctic Circle. From June 3 – July 10, there is 24 hours of daylight, but even as late as Aug 23 there is no true darkness. Plenty of daylight for your explorations!
Generally comfortable temperatures. The typical range is between 0℃ at night up to 17℃ during the day. However, it has been known to snow, and wind chill will also impact these temperatures so make sure you bring appropriate gear.
Lots of wildflowers and edible plants. Greenland has a surprising diversity of plant life, despite having almost no trees in the typical sense of the word. A multitude of wildflowers take advantage of the warmer weather to show their colours and propagate, and berries and mushrooms are also very common. See our section on Flora along the Arctic Circle Trail for more details.
Really, there is only one potential downside to hiking during the summer. That is:
Flies and mosquitoes. Though they carry no diseases, the Arctic varieties are particularly annoying! They generally hatch around mid-June and are prevalent until around mid-August when the cold temperatures finally kill them. Make sure you bring insect repellent and a headnet as you will only escape if there is a wind.
