Summer Hiking & Walking

There is a number of Zermatt summer hiking and walking routes in and around Zermatt, with Zermatt being the starting point for a lot of these treks and excursions. These routes, a lot of which are ski runs in the winter are also ideal for mountain bike enthusiasts.

There are 400 km of summer hiking and walking trails around Zermatt, taking from 30 minutes to one or more days, going from gentle larch forests to the foot of millennial glaciers.

It is easy to set off the village and just follow the yellow signs that point to the various summer hiking trails. In no time you will find yourself in thick forests, alpine lakes, picturesque valleys, over hanging bridges, crossing mountain streams, past waterfalls, in the foot of glaciers!

Whether you set off for a casual hike to Smut or the steep hike to Edelweiss and further on to Trift, the scenery will never disappoint. Watch out for the local wildlife, the marmots, the chamois, or the deer who just might be in your path!

Alternatively, you can take one of the three lifts from Zermatt that take you up the different parts of the mountain (one way lift ticket will be required), walk around the various mountain stations and then head back down to Zermatt.

You can see below the panoramic summer map of area and mountains surrounding Zermatt with all trails numbered. Yellow signs in and around Zermatt will indicate the name of the path and direction to follow. As you can see on the map the trails are divided in four different categories:

  • Green, easy walking trails suitable for everyone
  • Orange, medium difficulty hiking trails that require a basic level of fitness
  • Red, hard hiking trails that require advanced level of fitness
  • Dotted red, red trials that are on high altitude and possibly on glacier

Trails are numbered and divided based on different areas of the mountains, Sunnegga and Rothorn, Gornegrat, Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Trift, Täsch and Randa. The easiest and shortest trails are on the Sunnegga/Rothorn and Gornegrat areas where you can also benefit from using Sunnegga Express or Gornegrat Bahn to get up the mountain. On the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Trift areas trails are harder and longer. Also note that in the Trift area there is no lift and all trails start from the village.

Below you can find all the trails numbered and named, including the areas they cover, and the time it will take to complete. Please note that times are one way, unless the same name for starting and end points or ‘Rundweg’ is mentioned in the name.

Summer Hiking around Zermatt

Sunnegga – Rothorn

1 Abenteuerweg: Rothorn – Ritzengrat – Tufteren 1h40
3 Blumenweg: Blauherd – Tufteren – Sunnegga 1h20
4 Direttissima: Tufteren – Tiefenmatten –Zermatt 1h20
4a AHV-Weg: Winkelmatten –AHV-Weg – Schönegg 1h00
5 Gamsweg: Rothorn –Kumme – Tufteren 1h50
6 Gourmetweg: Sunnegga – Findeln – Ried – Zermatt 2h25
7 Kristallweg: Rothorn – Fluhalp – Stellisee – Blauherd 1h45
8 Murmelweg: Blauherd – Stellisee – Sunnegga 1h10
9 Panoramaweg: Blauherd – Ritzengrat 50min
10 Peak Collection: Rothorn 30min
11 5-Seenweg: Blauherd – Stellisee –Grindjisee –
Grünsee – Moosjisee – Leisee – Sunnegga
2h30
12 Waldweg: Sunnegga – Tufteren – Patrullarve – Ried – Zermatt 1h50
13 Weg zur Freiheit: Rothorn –Oberrothorn 1h25

Gornegrat

14 Arvenweg: Riffelalp – Findelbach –Winkelmatten 1h10
15 Aussichtsweg: Gornergrat – Rotenboden 40min
16 Bahnweg: Zermatt – Täsch 1h20
17 Gletschergartenweg: Riffelberg –Gletschergarten – Furi 1h50
17a Hängebrückenweg: Furi –Hängebrücke–Gletschergarten–Furi 1h00
18 Mark Twain Weg: Riffelberg – Riffelalp 50min
19 Naturweg: Riffelalp –Grünsee – Moosjisee – Sunnegga 1h40
20 Riffelalpweg: Riffelalp – Ritti – Moos –Winkelmatten 1h30
21 Riffelseeweg: Rotenboden – Riffelsee – Riffelberg 1h00
21a Gletscher-Trekking: Rotenboden – Monte Rosa Hütte SAC 4h00
22 Sonnenweg: Gornergrat – Rotenboden – Riffelberg 1h05
23 Swiss Topwalk: Riffelalp – Riffelberg –Gornergrat 3h00
24 Weg der Stille: Gornergrat –Kelle –Grünsee 1h45

Matterhorn Glacier Paradise

17b Gornergletscher im Wandel der Zeit: Furi – entlang des Gornerbachs – Gletschergarten – Furi 2h45
25 Säumerweg: Trockener Steg – Gandegg – Furgg – Furi 2h30
26 Matterhorn glacier trail: Trockener Steg – Hirli – Schwarzsee 2h00
27 Hörnliweg: Schwarzsee – Hörnlihütte 2h15
28 Lärchenweg: Schwarzsee – Hermetje – Furi 1h40
29 Matterhorn Trail: Schwarzsee – Stafel – Zmutt – Zermat 2h55
29a Schönbielhütte: Schwarzsee – Innerer Stafel – Schönbielhütte – Stafelalp – Furi 5h50

Trift

30 Edelweissweg: Zermatt –Alterhaupt (Edelweiss) -Trift – Höhbalmen – Zmutt – Zermatt 7h30
31 Botanischer Lehrpfad: Zermatt – Trif 2h10
32 Wisshornweg: Zermatt–Schweifinen–Wisshorn–Trift–Zermatt 6h40
33 Platthorn/Mettelhorn: Zermatt –Alterhaupt – Trift– Furgji – Platthorn/Mettelhorn 5h20
34 Rothornhütte: Zermatt –Alterhaupt – Trift– Rothornhütte 4h40

Summer Hiking around Täsch and Randa

Täsch

41 Arigscheis 4h10
42 Rundwanderung 1h10
43 Panoramaweg 1h25
45 Täsch – Täschhütte 3h25
46 Täschalp – Pfulwe – Fluhalp 4h55
47 Täschalp –Weingartensee 4h40
48 Täschalp – Tufteren 1h45
49 Täschalp –Kinhütte 3h05

Randa

60 Dorfwaldweg 1h20
61 Weisshornhütte 4h30
62 Domhütte 4h30
63 Gross Kastel 3h40
64 Schaliberg 3h45
65 Kreuz 1h45
66 Waldweg 2h20
67 Kinhütte 3h30
68 Europahütte 3h45
69 Rundweg Hängebrücke 4h

Popular hiking trails around Zermatt include no. 4a AHV-Weg, no. 15 Aussichtsweg, no. 11 5-Seenweg, no. 30 Edelweissweg, no.1 Abenteuerweg, no. 17a Hängebrückenweg and many more… For more information and details on various popular hiking trails please visit the relevant Zermatt Tourism page.

So what are you waiting for? Pack your hiking gear and come to Zermatt for an unforgettable hiking holiday! A Mountain Exposure luxury chalet is the ideal cozy base to return to after a day’s walking. Our dedicated year round team will be delighted to give you any further information that you may require on hiking trails in Zermatt and offer the ideal chalet for you.