Switzerland Switzerland has an excellent network of biking routes and many services to make your biking trip convenient and comfortable. Here is an overview of how to find cycling routes in Switzerland, where to cycle with children, how routes are marked, rules of the road, where to rent bikes and how to use public transportation with bikes.
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Official Cycling Routes in Switzerland
Switzerland has three types of official marked paths suitable for bikes: blue for road cycling, yellow for mountain biking, and purple for skating, which can also be used by bikes. These paths have a number that correspond to route information you can find on SchweizMobil.
In addition, there are many local bike paths, marked and unmarked, that do not appear on SchweizMobil and in my experience are more suitable for leisurely family outings. More on that below. We haven’t ventured into mountain biking yet, so if anyone wants to guest post on that, let me know.
Cycling Routes (Blue)
The blue cycling routes are documented on SchweizMobil – Veloland. These routes are intended for long distance road cyclists. So I only use this website to start my research. There are never enough details about the route for me to know if it will be good my kids or not. All routes are on paved roads, sometimes on quiet country lanes, but also on high volume traffic roads, sometimes without a bike lane. You really have to analyze the map to guess what conditions you’ll get.
Skating Routes (Purple)
I prefer the purple skating routes, documented on SchweizMobil – Skatingland, because these paths are almost always separate from roads, sometimes on sidewalks next to the road. They are always paved, since skates cannot go on dirt. These paths are also usually pretty flat, which is better for skating. As far as I can tell, bikes are always allowed on skating paths.
Family-friendly bike routes
Most Swiss cycling websites focus on long routes for serious bikers or challenging mountain biking routes. Plus many cycling routes in Switzerland are on busy roads and not all have bike lanes. Through some trial and error, we have found many cycling routes in Switzerland that are good for children. Most are along lakes and rivers, with easy paths separate from car traffic.
See our list of Family-friendly bike rides in Switzerland
Bike path signs
Official paths are well marked, so just follow the bike or skate symbols and/or numbers on the red sign markers. Sometimes bike symbols are painted on the ground. Sometime the bike path crosses to the wrong side of the street. It’s usually pretty straightforward.
Local cycling paths
Many areas have local cycling paths that are not part of the national network. These paths are usually marked with a bike symbol but do not have a numbered route like the official routes above.
These local biking paths tend to be the best for families but also the hardest to find. Most do not appear on SchweizMobil and if they do, only a portion of the local path is used as part of a longer road cycling path.
For example, SchweizMobil doesn’t include the excellent bike path along the Reuss River. But it does show an official cycling route on the busy road a couple km parallel to the river. I only found the bike path along the river by studying various maps and guessing that the service road next to the river might allow bikes. Good thing or I might have missed this:
Biking on unmarked paths
Some local bike routes are not marked at all or require some guesswork. It’s hard to find official info on this, so the below info is based on my experience biking on these routes and reading the local signs. Please use your own good judgement and follow all posted rules and regulations.
We’ve ridden on several local routes that are a combination of service roads and walking paths (small yellow marker). These have been my favorite bike paths for kids, but it’s not always clear if we’re allowed to ride there or not.
In general, fast bikes are not allowed on walking paths. However, in many areas, slow bikes are allowed on walking paths unless marked. I discovered this when reading a map at the Greifensee, which outlined rules for fast vs. slow/family bikes. For example, below left, the sign show mixed use bikes and pedestrians and is combined with bike path signs. Yes, you can bike there, but pedestrians have the right of way. Below right, the sign shows pedestrians only; no, you cannot bike there, go on the other path.
Renting bikes in Switzerland
You can quite easily rent a bike at many train stations and private bike shops throughout Switzerland with the Rent A Bike website. We highly recommend making reservations in advance, especially for weekends and summer holidays. Bike rentals at popular biking destinations like Lenzerheide and St Moritz often are booked out well in advance of school holidays.
Riding public transportation with bikes
You can ride most trains in Switzerland with your bike. You will need a ticket for yourself and a bike ticket. Look for train cars marked with a bike symbol, which means there is extra space to place bikes during the journey. Generally, you cannot take your bike on trains on weekdays during commute hours. On a few intercity trains, you need reservation for your bike during summer season. So always check the route details on the SBB.ch website to see if there are any bike restrictions.
For more details, see How to take your bike on Swiss trains
Biking road rules in Switzerland
I haven’t yet found a website detailing Swiss biking road rules in English. Here are some links to some in German.
2 responses
Hey man – great post – thank you very much. Already planning an adventure thanks to you!
Mike
Thanks! Hope you have fun.