la montagne vs. les montagnes

Question

Fun exercise. I enjoyed it a lot, especially imaging myself walking on the beach, naked toes in the warm sand!

Just one simple question:

I am familiar with the expression, "a la montagne", as in "aller a la montagne". And, j'adore "la montagne".

But I have also heard "les montagnes" in phrases such as "L'ete, je marche dans les montagnes."

I have reviewed the lesson on singular/plural (collective nouns): "les cheveux"; "les toilettes"; "la police" etc. There is no mention of "la/les montagnes".

I would very much appreciate an explanation of when to use the singular, "la montagne" vs. the plural, "les montagnes."

Merci beaucoup !

Accepted Answer

Bonjour N. Hilary,
Thank you for your feedback! 
Usually, "la montagne" will be used when talking about a generic place: aller à la montagne, marcher à la montagne... 
"Les montagnes" is used when followed by an adjective for example: Les montagnes russes (= the roller coaster), les montagnes de Chine (= the Chinese mountains), les montagnes sacrées (= the sacred mountains) ...
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Bonjour N. Hilary,

Je fais des randonnées (marche) à la montagne -> not dans les montagnes unless you are imagining someone physically walking through the mountains
Je fais des randonnées en montagne en Espagne

Je fais des randonnées dans les montagnes d'Espagne -> implies all of the mountains found in Spain
"Les montagnes d'Espagne" would be used for a very specific context, such as describing a place etc.
Les montagnes d'Espagne sont très belles = The Mountains in Spain are very beautiful -> meaning all of them
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Merci Celine,Very helpful explanation. So, for clarification, the phase I wrote, "L'ete, je marche dans les montagnes" would not be correct, but would need to be modified to something such as: "L'ete, je marche dans les montagnes d'Espagne."?