☀️ Snow-Free Trails

232 Snow-Free Trails in Switzerland — April 2026

232 hiking trails scored for snow conditions using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and weather models. Driving times from Saalsporthalle Zürich.

Last updated: Apr 11, 2026, 07:24 AM UTC

261
Snow-free
41
Mostly clear
77
Some snow
99
Snowed in
50
≤60 min drive
78
≤90 min drive
112
≤120 min drive
103
Round trips 🔁
Network:
Drive:
Distance: –
Max ascent: m

Showing 232 trails

Snow status
Snow-free
Mostly clear
Some snow
Snowed in

How are these trails selected?

We extract all hiking trails in Switzerland from OpenStreetMap (network tags: nwn, rwn, lwn), filter for day-hike distances (4–80 km), then score each trail on three axes:

Quality Score (0–100)

  • Network importance — National (nwn), regional (rwn), and local (lwn) hiking networks. Higher-tier networks are generally better maintained and more scenic.
  • Wikipedia fame — How many language editions of Wikipedia cover the trail (via Wikidata sitelinks). Popular, well-known trails score highest.
  • Distance fit — Trails in the 15–40 km sweet spot for day hikes get a bonus.
  • Trail completeness — Trails with operator info, trail markings (osmc:symbol), elevation data, and descriptions score higher.

Snow-Free Score (0–100)

Each trail's geometry is sampled against our Sentinel-2 satellite snow layer using the route-forecast API. Cloud gaps are filled with weather model estimates (Open-Meteo freezing level + topographic downscaling). A score of 100 means completely snow-free; 0 means fully snow-covered.

Driving Time

Driving time from Saalsporthalle Zürich to the trailhead (first coordinate of the trail geometry), computed via Valhalla routing engine using the auto (car) costing profile. Times reflect current road network conditions from OpenStreetMap.

Round Trip Detection

Trails where the start and end points are within 1 km of each other are marked as round trips 🔁. This helps identify loops that don't require car shuttles or transit planning.

Validation

Click "🗺️" to open any trail in the TrailSplits planner with the snow overlay enabled. This lets you visually verify the satellite-based snow assessment against the actual trail route on the map.