From your experience what would be your choice of a US alternate to Switzerland. I see the criterion as Nature, Snowy Mountains and lakes, the greenery alike.

Vail.

The Wallowas in NE Oregon are sometimes referred to as America's "Little Switzerland". Sure, the comparison is mostly a marketing ploy, but the area is stunningly beautiful.

Northwest Montana and Glacier National park

Ouray, Colo., sits in a bowl of spiky mountains and is gorgeous. Snowy sometimes...

Vail, Colorado

I agree with Van Ness. Ouray, CO is the way to go for Swiss-like scenery, not Vail. While you're there, go to the outdoor hot natural spring pools.

North Cascades National Park, Washington or the western half of Glacier NP. They both meet all your criteria. The North Cascades LOOK more like the Alps, but they don't quite have as dramatic a difference between the low valleys and high peaks-it's still dramatic and beautiful, but not exactly like Switzerland. At Glacier the mountains look distinctly different than they do in the Alps, but they do have that more dramatic high peaks-low valley landscape that Switzerland does. You can google for photo galleries for these places.

If you include British Columbia there are some mountain ranges there that resemble the Alps. Google for pictures of Mt. Assiniboine-it looks just like the Matterhorn.

Colorado's mountains, though beautiful (especially near Ouray), look nothing like Switzerland. They're too dry, not as green, not snow capped enough year round, the vegetation is strikingly different, etc etc.

There is no equivalent! The food, the atmosphere, the language... everything's very different.

Can I bend the rules just a tad? If we expand the criteria to include Canada, then the mountains of British Columbia get my vote.

What makes Switzerland so great to me is the relief.... you have some 10,000 ft peaks, but the valley right next to it goes down to near sea level. You'll get more of that in BC than in the US.

When we took our German relatives (who are Swiss citizens and live in Switzerland) to Hurricane Ridge in Washington state's OP, they thought it was remarkably similar to *some* of the terrain in Switzerland. And the valley in Sequim is pretty close to sea level (and it was the height of the beautiful lavender season). They were pretty impressed.

Independence pass to Aspen, Maroon bells, GLACIER N; pARK and of course the Columbia icefields in Alberta Canada. You can combine both Glacier N.Park and the road Jasper -Banff and get the best.Paul