The 8 best hikes in Santa Catarina, ranked
A hiker on the rim of a canyon in the Serra Catarinense at sunrise
A ranked, opinionated list of the 8 hikes in Santa Catarina worth planning around, from wilderness beach trails to canyon rims 1,800 metres up.
1. Trilha da Lagoinha do Leste — Florianópolis
The 4-hour round-trip from Pântano do Sul to Lagoinha do Leste is the definitive Ilha de Santa Catarina hike — 200 metres of climb, an ocean view from the ridge that stops conversation, and an untouched beach at the far end reached by no road. The trail is well-marked in orange paint blazes, doesn’t require a guide, and delivers a swim in a wilderness cove as the reward for the effort. Sign in at the ranger post at the trailhead; there's no fee but they count you in and out.
Do this in the shoulder seasons — April, May, September, October — when the temperature at midday stays under 26°C. Summer is punishing; you’ll cook on the return climb. Take 3 litres of water per person, sunscreen, a hat, and don’t attempt in flip-flops. The alternative Matadeiro trailhead is 15 minutes shorter but starts with a beach walk that gets sludgy after rain. Ranks first because it combines coastal Santa Catarina and hiking into one perfect four-hour package no other trail in the state matches.
2. Morro da Igreja rim trails — Urubici
At 1,822 metres, Morro da Igreja is the highest road-accessible point in southern Brazil, and once you’re at the ranger gate the rim trails run for another 3 to 5 km along the top of the cliffs — with the Pedra Furada rock arch at the marquee viewpoint 400 metres from the car park. The rim walk beyond the arch is the payoff most day-trippers skip: 90 minutes of araucaria forest and open grassland at elevation, with cliff-edge views over the Serra Geral escarpment.
Entry R$25 per person, park closes at 4pm, and the gate keeps a 40-car cap on weekends. Winter mornings are minus five and require proper insulation. Summer afternoons hit 22°C and are the best walking conditions. The trail is easy grade — Portuguese-style flat rim walking — but the altitude means you’ll be a bit puffed regardless of fitness. Ranks second because the setting is genuinely unlike anywhere else in Brazil and the trail infrastructure is properly maintained.
3. Cânion Fortaleza — technically Rio Grande do Sul but accessed from Santa Catarina
The Fortaleza canyon is the second most famous in the Serra Geral (after Itaimbezinho) and, though it sits on the Rio Grande do Sul side of the state border, most visitors reach it from Cambará do Sul via São José dos Ausentes — a 90-minute drive from the Santa Catarina highland towns of Bom Jardim da Serra and São Joaquim. The rim trail runs 7 km round-trip along a 900-metre cliff edge with three viewpoints, and you can hike the whole thing in three hours with plenty of time at each stop.
This is the hardest cheating entry on the list — you cross a state line — but any Santa Catarina highland trip should include it, and it's the single most spectacular hike within reach of the state. Park entry R$65. Book online three days ahead; the park caps daily visitors. Go on a cloudless day or you’re looking at grey soup where the canyon should be. Ranks third with an asterisk that would be unfair not to declare.
4. Trilha do Morro do Baú — Ilhota
Morro do Baú is a 819-metre granite dome between Blumenau and the coast, and the summit trail is the classic serra-de-litoral hike in the state. Four hours round-trip, 600 metres of climb, and a summit with a 360-degree view over the Vale do Itajaí to the west and the Atlantic to the east. The trail is technical in places — ropes fixed by the local hiking club on the final 100 metres — and demands proper hiking shoes and a head for exposure.
Access is through the Parque Botânico do Morro do Baú, R$15 entry, closed Monday. This is the state's classic day-hike challenge for locals, and you’ll meet plenty of them on weekends. Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday for solitude. Skip after heavy rain — the granite gets treacherous. Ranks fourth because it's the most serious summit hike in the state and delivers a genuine sense of achievement plus the best view in the Vale do Itajaí.
5. Trilha do Farol de Naufragados — Florianópolis
At the southernmost tip of Ilha de Santa Catarina, the 1883 Farol de Naufragados lighthouse sits at the end of a 3-km walk through Atlantic Forest from the trailhead at Praia dos Naufragados. The walk is nearly flat, well-marked, and takes an hour each way with time at the lighthouse for the view over the entrance to Baía Sul. It's the least demanding proper hike on this list and probably the most photographed.
The catch is getting to the trailhead — you either drive to Caieira da Barra do Sul and hike the additional 4 km from there (making it a 14-km day), or take a boat from Pântano do Sul or Ribeirão da Ilha to the beach at Naufragados for R$40 return. The boat option is the sane choice. This ranks fifth because it's the easiest way to see genuinely wild coast on the island, and the lighthouse is a proper 19th-century Portuguese-engineered installation still in service.
6. Cânion do Funil — Lauro Müller
Less famous than Fortaleza but genuinely inside Santa Catarina, the Cânion do Funil is accessed from Lauro Müller via a 6-km hike through the Serra do Rio do Rastro's forested slopes to a viewpoint over a slot canyon 200 metres deep. The trail is unmarked in places and best done with a local guide, R$150 per person for a day, book through the tourist office in Lauro Müller. The total day is six hours including the drive to the trailhead.
This is the Serra Catarinense's insider hike — most tourists driving the famous Serra do Rio do Rastro road blow past the turn to Lauro Müller and never learn the canyon exists. Ranks sixth because the effort-to-reward ratio is high but the practical barrier of needing a guide keeps it off most itineraries. Go on a clear day; the canyon in fog is nothing but a very cold walk in the woods.
7. Ilha do Campeche day hike — Florianópolis
Ilha do Campeche is a small offshore island reached by boat from Praia do Campeche (R$80 return, 15 minutes each way), and once on the island the trail circuits a 4-km loop past pre-colonial rock engravings and a small beach on the far side. The island is a national heritage site with a strict daily cap of 800 visitors, so you book through Costão do Santinho or a Campeche kiosk two days ahead. This is the only entry on the list that requires a boat.
Total time on the island is three hours because the boats run to a schedule, and the trail takes 90 minutes if you stop to swim on the far beach. The engravings are 4,000 years old and are the most accessible pre-colonial rock art in the state. Ranks seventh because it's more of an activity than a hike, but the walk itself is real and the setting is remarkable. Skip in strong easterly winds; boats cancel.
8. Rota das Cachoeiras — Corupá
Corupá is a small town in the north of the state with 14 waterfalls linked by a marked hiking route that runs 22 km total — you can do the whole thing over two days with an overnight in a valley pousada, or day-hike the best 8-km segment from the Cachoeira Braço Esquerdo to the Cachoeira Rainha. Elevation gain 300 metres, mixed forest and open valley, and swimming pools at three of the falls. Guide not required but recommended for the two-day version, R$300 per day.
This is the northern-state answer to the Trilha da Lagoinha del Leste — a proper day of walking through varied terrain with rewards along the way. Ranks eighth because it's less spectacular than the coastal or canyon options but scores well on effort-to-reward and lets you swim between climbs. Best done September through November when the falls are full but the humidity hasn’t peaked. Cash-only pousadas at the far end; book by WhatsApp through the Corupá tourist office.
Before you book
The questions people ask about Santa Catarina, answered with this month’s numbers.
Trilha da Lagoinha do Leste from Pântano do Sul — you get a proper hike (four hours), a wilderness beach for a swim, and you’re back at your Florianópolis hotel by 5pm. It captures the coastal-Santa Catarina experience better than any other single day and doesn’t require a guide, permit or advance planning beyond bringing water and sunscreen.
For the Cânion do Funil hike from Lauro Müller, yes — the trail is unmarked. For the Rota das Cachoeiras' full two-day version, recommended but not required. For everything else on this list, no — the trails are marked, the ranger posts sign you in, and independent hikers do them all the time. Take offline maps regardless.
May, September and October — cool enough for the coastal hikes not to cook you, dry enough that trails are firm, and clear enough that highland views deliver. Winter (June to August) is fine for coastal hikes but the highlands are cold and often fogged. Summer (December to March) is brutally hot for anything with sustained climbing.
