Spring is a beautiful time to visit Switzerland, with wildflowers popping out and bursts of sunny weather. However, most mountain areas are not open for the summer hiking season until late June. So you need to choose your activities carefully, staying at lower elevations and checking current conditions before heading out.
Here are our top suggestions after spending many years exploring spring in Switzerland with our family.
Contents
- 1. Enjoy Spring Flowers
- 2. Waterfalls
- 3. Mountain Viewpoints
- 4. Low elevation trails with a view
- 5. River walks
- 6. River Gorges
- 7. Lakes walks
- 8. Fun hikes for kids
- 9. Bike riding
- 10. Forest Walks
- 11. Lake Cruises
- 12. Panorama trains
- 13. Quaint villages & city tours
- 14. Castles
- 15. Fun Museums
- 16. Chocolate Factories
- 17. Cheese Dairies
- 18. Scenic driving tour
- 19. Thermal Baths & Water Parks
- 20. Spring Skiing
- Last Tip: Don’t Wait for the Weather
1. Enjoy Spring Flowers
Starting in mid March, flowers start blooming in the lowlands all over Switzerland. Here are some of our favorite places to enjoy spring flowers in Switzerland.
See all flower posts.
2. Waterfalls
While the snow is melting in spring, it’s a perfect time to visit a few waterfalls. In early April, you can start visiting these waterfalls, which are tourist attractions.
See all Waterfall posts.
These lower elevation hikes to waterfalls are ready as soon as the snow melts. The Walensee waterfall hike is usually ok by late April. Pigniu is better in late May.
3. Mountain Viewpoints
Some mountains are open in spring, enabling you to enjoy the views even if the trails are closed. Here are a few of our favorites for spring.
4. Low elevation trails with a view
These trails still have fantastic panoramic views despite the lower elevations.
See also Best Spring Hikes in Switzerland
What to Expect in the Swiss Alps in Spring
Most mountain transport is closed until mid to late June. Even if the mountain transport is open, the trails aren’t necessarily ready for hiking because they are still covered in snow or too muddy for hiking or covered with debris.
It all depends on the weather and how late the snow and cold weather stay in the mountains. Some summers, the trails are covered in snow until July or a rogue mountain snowstorm can blow through in the middle of June. So no guarantees. Definitely check the websites for current conditions for heading out.
In general, pick trails that are lower elevation and don’t require mountain transport. Trails by rivers and lakes are good choices. In May and June, it’s waterfall season and many of those trails start in the valleys. The more famous mountain peaks are typically open year round, so you can ride up and get a view even if you can’t hike.
5. River walks
Spring is a great time to walk along rivers. Most of these are open year round, but definitely prettier in May when everything turns green.
See all river trails.
6. River Gorges
Switzerland has lots of dramatic river gorges with interesting rock formations, wild flower beds, moss walls, and waterfalls. Here are a few of our favorites for spring.
See more river gorges.
7. Lakes walks
These lakes are perfect for spring and some nice for walking all year round.
See more circular lake trails
8. Fun hikes for kids
These lower elevation theme trails don’t have mountain top views, but they are still beautiful in lush valleys and forests. Plus they have fun interactive activities for the kids.
However, some elements of theme trails may not yet be in working order after winter hibernation. So if you visit in spring, you might find some elements missing or in disrepair.
9. Bike riding
Spring is a great time to walk or bike along rivers and lakes. Most of these are open year round, weather dependent.
See more bike rides.
10. Forest Walks
No Swiss town is far from a forest filled with walking paths. Here are two of the nicest near Zürich.
See more forest walks.
11. Lake Cruises
Switzerland has lots of big lakes and a few rivers where you can enjoy the views from a boat instead of a trail. Here are a few we suggest:
- Lake Lucerne
- Lake Thun
- Lake Geneva from Montreux
- Lake Zurich to Rapperswil
- Walensee
- Lake Brienz near Interlaken
12. Panorama trains
Another great way to enjoy mountain views before trails are open is to ride one of the panorama trains. Here are a few good options for spring:
- GoldenPass Line – Lucerne to Interlaken to Montreux
- Bernina Express – Chur to St Moritz to Poschiavo
- Glacier Express – Zermatt to Chur
- Gotthard Panorama Express – Lucerne to Lugano, including boat cruise
14. Castles
Switzerland has a few charming castles that are a fun way to experience the history of this small country.
See more Swiss castles.
15. Fun Museums
Switzerland has many interactive museums that make learning fun for kids and adults. Here are a few of our favorites.
16. Chocolate Factories
You can’t visit Switzerland without indulging in the chocolate experience. Here are our favorite chocolate factory tours.
17. Cheese Dairies
Cheese is a big part of the culture in Switzerland. These cheese factories have interesting tours and fun activities for kids.
18. Scenic driving tour
Many spectacular views can be seen directly from the road. So driving around Switzerland can be a great way to enjoy the beauty, with the flexibility to stop of pictures any time you like.
When I’m hosting visitors, my favorite tour starts in Zurich, going to Luzern over the Brünig Pass to Brienz. Then loop back over the Susten pass and back along Lake Lucerne and Lake Zug. See map of this route.
On this tour, you drive past seven gorgeous lakes, over two mountain passes, though darling mountain villages and past one enormous glacier.
Make sure the passes are open and free from snow, which is not a given in spring.
19. Thermal Baths & Water Parks
If the weather turns cold and rainy, it’s nice to warm up at these indoor swimming areas with spa facilities.
20. Spring Skiing
Most Swiss ski resorts close at the end of March and beginning of April. If you want to ski in April, you have to choose the highest elevation resorts.
The following ski resorts usually have some slopes open until mid April, perhaps a bit longer. Opening times may change due to poor snow conditions. Check status before making final plans.
- Zermatt – most lifts open thru 21 April 2024, a few lifts until 1 May 2025
- Davos – Davos Parsenn until 14 April 2024
- Arosa Lenzerheide – a few lifts at Arosa and Rothorn until 14 April 2024
- Titlis Engelberg – Jochpass until 14 April 2024, glacier slope to 5 May 2024
- Jungfrau Region – Männlichen thru 7 April 2024, Mürren-Schilthorn thru 21 April 2024, Kleine Scheidegg thru 28 April 2024
- Flims Laax – limited service through 14 April 2024
- Engadin St Moritz – most lifts open thru 7 April 2024, Corvatsch partially open thru 28 April 2024, Diavolezza thru 5 May 2024
Last Tip: Don’t Wait for the Weather
This is our family motto. If we stayed home every time rain threatened, we’d never go hiking in Switzerland. We’ve been on many hikes where we started in the rain and shortly after, the sun came out and we finished the hike in short sleeves. We’ve also had the reverse.
Be flexible: It rains a lot in Switzerland and cloud cover often obscures the beautiful scenery you wanted to admire. But Switzerland often has micro-climates, so even if it’s raining where you planned to go, it might be sunny just a two hour drive away. I like meteo.search.ch for checking the weather, particularly their precipitation and cloud cover maps.
Be prepared: Weather can change quickly. Definitely bring quality rain gear and umbrellas just in case.
Have a rainy day plan: All is not lost if you get socked in with rain. Your best bet are museums, factory tours and indoor swimming, preferably at thermal baths.
See all our Rainy Day suggestions here.
5 responses
How about some walks around the Lake of Geneva and in the nearby Juras?
I don’t get out to western Switzerland as much as I would like. I’d recommend https://www.ourswissexperience.com/en/ for Jura and https://letsexplore.ch/ for Geneva area.
Thanks! I would have loved your website during our visits to Chamonix. It was so difficult to find quality info for families for that area. I’m excited to use your website next time we go. I’ll definitely share your website with my community. What a great resource. I’d love to be in contact and exchange ideas.
How many years have you been living in Switzerland?
The experience and knowledge you’ve acquired is incredible!
So many great tips 🙂
I’ve been to the cheese factory in Emmental since my “Heimatort” through marriage is Langau im Emmental.
Great additional ideas!