Where and which way?
A clever system of hiking trails exists in Switzerland. Based on a network of signposted routes, it comprises thousands of trail intersections, giving you an almost infinite choice of routes.
At all major trail crossings, such as train stations, bus stops or town centers, you will find signposting boards on which various routes are indicated. The target points are listed according to the distance from top to bottom. For example: if you start in A and want to go to D via B and C, you will see B at the top, then C, and at the bottom D. The time it takes to reach the target points are also indicated.
If you add up the length of all hiking trails in Switzerland, the result is a total of around 65,000 kilometers. This network covers the country almost nationwide. Practically from every house in Switzerland, a hiking trail is reachable within a few hundred meters. Only high mountains do not have hiking trails, as they are dedicated to alpinists.
There are three types of hiking trails: easy, intermediate and demanding. Depending on the level of difficulty, the routes are marked with different colors:
- Yellow: hiking trails. These are walking routes on even or moderately sloping paths that do not represent a high burden for the hikers.
- White-red-white: mountain hiking trails. These are walking routes, which often open up to rough terrain and thus require higher endurance, steadiness of the foot and sometimes resistance to vertigo.
- White-blue-white: alpine hiking trails. These are very demanding hiking routes that lead into the high mountains, partly through trackless terrain, over snowfields and glaciers, as well as through rocks with short climbing points. The walk requires solid hiking experience and/or the assistance of a mountain guide.