Switzerland in April
 

Hi all, I'm planning a Europe trip with some friends and we will be in Switzerland in April. We love hiking, but I'm having some difficulty figuring out what hikes will be do-able in April. Can anyone give me any tips for what trails will be open beginning of April? We're all young and fit, so we were hoping to do more intense/mountain trail hikes versus just a gentle stroll through a meadow (if you know what I mean). Thanks so much! :)

In early April there will still be a lot of snow on many of the trails esp once you are out of the valleys (some of the mountain passes are snowed in until June).

You should google the trails - or the nearest towns - to see what the usual timing is. But remember that the weather will be different every year so there are no guarantees.

There will definitely be places for nice walks but no guarantees for anything above the valleys.

Hi meganbobegan,

Well, yes, there will be some hikes above the valley in the mountains open all year -- the Swiss do keep some hikes "open" all winter long. I do hesitate to say the trails will be open in reality since there may well be mounds of snow and ice on the trails -- but nothing very daunting. Some of my best and most scenic hikes were when I got too cold to ski Zermatt and went hiking in the mountains instead. Whether the open trails will be challenging enough for you, well, that's another thing.

As stated above, go to the website of each town where you'll be staying. Usually you can find it at www.townname.ch. Usually Swiss towns will show the list of winter hiking trails -- just pursue the links for sports/active, then wintertime.

Have fun as you plan!

s

There were some lovely lower-mid level hikes to be had on & around Mt. Rigi in mid-April. A variety served by lifts.

Another nice area was Urmiberg near Brunnen, on Lake Lucerne.
Again, small two-person gondola lifts help you get up to start various hikes. Not well-known, but quite pretty, should be passable in April.

Switzerland has more than 60,000 (sixty thousand) kms of well signposted hiking trails. About 70 per cent of them will be free of senow in April.
For sun and panoramic mountain views: sunny slopes of Valais (Sion - Ayent - Crans/Montana - Ventone - Varone - Leuk - Erschmatt - Hohtenn - Blatten - Ried/Moerel - Fiesch, etc.)
For walks through endless jonquil fields: Solothurn - Weissenstein - Jura Trail - Plagne - Les Pres d'Orvin - Chasseral - Mont d'Amin - Vue des Alpes - Tete de Ran - Gorges de l'Areuse - Creux du Van - Grandson/Yverdon.
Walks in southern Switzerland are fine too (Rivera - Monte Tamaro - Monte Lema - Luino - Arcumeggia - Sasso del Ferro - Laveno; Monte Generoso - orimento - Sasso Gordona - Alpe d'Urio - Cavazza - Chiasso, etc.