Hiking in Switzerland; what you need to know

Hiking is THE number 1 hobby in Switzerland. Not suprising; this county has it all. Mountains, lakes, meadows, rivers, waterfalls and the best hiking infrastructure in the world. Here we show you all the things you need to know for the perfect hiking trip in Switzerland.

The basics

First of all; you need to know your limits. Especially when you don’t have any experience in the mountains, don’t plan anything high up, or long hikes. Every year tourists need to be rescued, as they overestimate their abilities and/or underestimated the trip. Apart from being dangerous, a rescue by a helicopter is also a costly thing.

That said, the hiking trails in Switzerland are color-coded:
– yellow marked (T1): easy hiking, well signposted. Mostly flat or not too steep. Can be done in normal sport shoes and no maps required.
– white/red/white marked (T2/3): mountain hiking. Paths are well marked and relatively easy to find. Special footwear required (hiking boots recommended). Some tricky parts may be included, like scree.
– white/blue/white marked (T4/5): alpine hiking. Experience required. Often trails are hard to find, so orientation is key. Maps are needed. Exposed hiking with danger of falling.

Switzerland has over 65.000 km of marked trails. These are all maintained by volunteers of the organisation Schweizer Wanderwege (or Swiss hiking), of which we are proud sponsors.

Useful apps

To plan a hike, we normally use the website Switzerland Mobility (schweizmobile.ch). Here not only all hiking trails can be found, but also cycle, mountainbiking, canoe and inline skating. And for winter activities there are also winter hiking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing routes. It is an amazing library for all outdoor enthusiasts. You can either plan a hike yourself, or choose one of the national or regional routes. Switzerland mobility is also available as a app, and with GPS location on the phone, navigation is easy enough. Please note that internet access in the mountains may be limited, so do not solely rely on this! For 35 CHF a year you can use the paid version, which means you can download parts of the maps. This enables offline use; combined with GPS it’s a perfect navigation tool.

The weather is another important factor, especially in the mountains where from one moment to another everything might change. We always check the weather on Meteo Schweiz before we leave. The app has a rain radar, which is very usefull. You can also configure the app with your places of interests (either towns or mountains), so you will receive warnings for those areas (like thunderstorms). These will of course only work with internet access. For winter hiking and showshoeing, we check the snow conditions and avalanche risks on the White Risk website.

Speaking of avalanches; if you ever get in trouble, you can notify the general alarm number for ambulances (144) or the mountain rescue organisation Rega (1414). The Rega also has an app, which you can use to immediately notify the Rega and share your location. Needless to say; we also support the Rega and we have the app installed.

What to bring on a hike

Well, it depends a bit on what you have planned; an 10 hour alpine hike requires a bit more than a 2 hour walk through the park. But in general, the following things are always in our backpack

• Food and water. Switzerland has an abundance of springs, but just in case we always take a water filter (especially where cattle roams free)
• A first-aid kit
• Rain jacket
• Warm clothing
• Hiking poles
• Emergency blanket
• When we rely on our phones for navigation; a power bank
• Cash; some mountain huts or farmers do not accept cards

Transport

We do not owe a car and frankly, living in a city we don’t need one. The Swiss public transport is well-organized, on time and you can get to the tiniest village in the furtherest valley without problems. For hiking it is even better to travel by train and bus; apart from being the green option, you also can to a A to B hike, rather than being forced to hike in a loop. It provides so much more freedom!

The only app you need is the SBB app. Planning a trip in advance means you might get lucky and get a connection for a reduced fee. If you are in Switzerland for a longer time, either a Half-Fare Card makes sense (costs 185 CHF, but gives you 50% off every trip) or the Day Saver ticket (which has to be booked in advance).

Accomodation

For overnight hikes there are several options. Most popular by far among the Swiss are the mountain huts. These are mostly operated by the Swiss Alpine Club; there are 153 huts all over Swiss mountains. These vary from bivouacs to fully staffed; but these are definitely not hotels. You often share a room with strangers, showers are absent and you eat whatever is on the menu that night (although they cater to vegetarians and special diets). As they are located high up, you can only get there by hiking. It is a bit Spartan, but a real Swiss experience. Booking in advance is required, on the holidays and on the weekends most are booked out.

And then for a controversial topic; wildcamping. This is actually forbidden in most cantons, however, above the treeline it is tolerated, HOWEVER, under certain conditions.

It is strictly forbidden in:

• Federal no-hunting areas and wildlife sactuaries
• Nature reserves
• in the Swiss National Park (Graubünden)
• in protected biotopes (fen, bogs)
• in restricted military zones

You can check here for restricted areas. In general though, one night above the tree line is allowed. Animals should not be disturbed, especially at dusk. When you are close to a mountain hut or a farm, you should ask the owners for permission.

The SAC has published a leaflet that will help with the decision making and planning (in German). And always follow the credo of the SAC: “leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but impressions”. In contrast to wildcamping, an emergency bivouac (sleeping under the the sky without tent) is always allowed.