Difficulty levels of hiking trails & snowshoe routes
Guidance for choosing a safe tour
Hiking trails and snowshoe routes vary considerably in length, gradient and technical difficulty. To help you plan your tour optimally, we present the common difficulty levels. This allows you to quickly identify which hike suits your fitness level, experience and equipment.
We base our information on the criteria published by SwitzerlandMobility and ASTRA.
Grade Hiking
Easy (hiking trails)
Hiking trails often follow wide roads, but they may also be narrow and uneven paths. There are no special requirements for using a hiking trail. Solid boots with skid-resistant soles and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions are recommended. Hikers should also carry a map.
On the map of SwitzerlandMobility and in the app, hiking trails are shown as yellow lines. Signposts and markings en route are yellow
Medium (mountain hiking trail)
Mountain hiking trails are hiking trails that may lead through rough terrain. Most are steep and narrow and partially exposed. Hiking on mountain hiking trails requires surefootedness and a good head for heights. Hikers should be in good physical condition and know the dangers to be expected in the mountains (falling rocks, danger of slipping/falling, sudden change in weather). Solid boots with skid-resistant soles and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions are recommended. Hikers should also carry topographic maps.
On the map of SwitzerlandMobility and in the app, mountain hiking trails are shown as red lines. The signposts are yellow with a white-red-white tip. Markings en route are white-red-white.
Difficult (Alpine hiking trails)
SwitzerlandMobility routes do not include Alpine hiking trails. Alpine hiking trails may lead across snowfields, glaciers or scree slopes and through rocks with short climbing sections, partially without trail. Hikers must be surefooted and have a good head for heights. They must be in excellent physical condition and know the dangers to be expected in the mountains (falling rocks, danger of slipping/falling, sudden change in weather). Solid boots with slip-resistant soles and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions are recommended. Hikers should also carry topographic maps, compass, altimeter, rope and ice axe.
On the map of SwitzerlandMobility and in the app, Alpine hiking trails are shown as blue lines. The signposts and markings en route are white-blue-white.
Fitness hiking
Easy
- Length: up to 12 km
- Elevation gain: up to 400 altitude meters
- Hiking time: up to 3 hours
Medium
- Length: up to 20 km
- Elevation gain: up to 900 altitude meters
- Hiking time: up to 5 hours
Difficult
- Length: more than 20 km
- Elevation gain: more than 900 altitude meters
- Hiking time: more than 5 hours
Fitness winter hiking
Easy
- Length: up to 5 km
- Elevation gain: up to 200 altitude meters
Medium
- Length: up to 12 km
- Elevation gain: up to 500 altitude meters
Difficult
- Length: more than 12 km
- Elevation gain: more than 500 altitude meters
Requirements
Winter hiking trails require increased attention and caution with regard to weather conditions and the risk of slipping. Apart from that, they do not place any special demands on users.
Fitness snowshoe trekking
Easy
- Length: up to 4 km
- Elevation gain: up to 200 altitude meters
Medium
- Length: up to 8 km
- Elevation gain: up to 400 altitude meters
Difficult
- Length: more than 8 km
- Elevation gain: more than 400 altitude meters
Requirements
Users of snowshoe trails must be aware of the difficulty level of the selected trails and be able to meet the corresponding requirements in terms of sure-footedness, a head for heights, and physical fitness. They must also be aware of the dangers in the mountains (avalanches, ice and rock falls, slipping and falling hazards, sudden weather changes).
