This blog shares my experiences hiking the Via Alpina green trail across Switzerland. To read descriptions of the western portion of the trail, scroll down to see my “trail diary” posts below from 2013 (when we hiked from Lenk to Engelberg, west to east). To read descriptions of the eastern portion of the trail, see my “trail diary” posts below from 2016 (when we hiked from Mels to Engelberg, east to west). Each “trail diary” includes photos; to see the photos in a larger size, just click on them.
Feel free to post (in the comments box) any questions you may have. I’m happy to answer questions, offer advice and share tips about this world-class hiking trail.
And if you have hiked the Via Alpina green trail, please share your trip reports here! What did you encounter? Anything that other hikers should be warned about? Any good adventure stories? Thanks for your help. My friend John Brody from California hiked the Via from Lenk to Linthal in August 2017 with his daughter Gabby. He kindly provided me with updated trail information, which I have added to my “trail diary” posts.
P.S. The trail segments described in this blog are not the only way to hike the Via Alpina. You may choose longer or shorter segments. Different guidebooks recommend different ways to “split up” days on the trail. I and my hiking partners chose these particular segments for a variety of reasons (to enjoy some slower days, to stay at particular huts, to deal with health issues, etc.). As we say in the US, “Your mileage may vary.”
P.P.S. I am adding this post-post script on April 8, 2018. My wife and I are considering hiking a portion of the Via Alpina RED trail from Sücka, Liechtenstein through portions of Austria and Switzerland to the Italian border. So I am now researching the red trail (after having hiked the green trail). If we go, it would likely be in August, 2019. Have any of you hiked that portion of the Via Alpina red trail? So far, I have not found any guidebooks for the Via Alpina red trail. As you can tell, we are hooked on hut-hopping in the Alps!
My Via Alpina 
Hi – Here’s the start of my own account of the Swiss Via Alpina – I’ll have more to come. https://thefiresnob.com/2018/10/15/via-alpina-intro/
I used your site quite a bit in my planning!
Many thanks for your initial trip report, Will! Looking forward to more. I agree with you that it’s possible to hike the Via at very low cost (we, like you, used frequent flier miles via credit card, etc). And also like you, I hope to hike part of the Via Alpina red trail next (we’re aiming for August 2019). Cheers! —Bill
I used your information as well as a blog by Tom Galbraith to help plan my trip last year with my 16 yr old grandson. As the Galbraiths suggestion, we downloaded the Via Alpina Route 1 book detailing the route East to West as a start to our planning, as well as maps from a Swiss website. We hiked from July 14 to the 31st 2018, but while we carried all we needed with us, we used any and all aid from cable cars, gondolas and trains if we were tired or if it was just to steep in the beginning – Surenenpass – as my grandson has bad knees and I was 74 with knee braces on both knees. We had a wonderful time, staying in huts and hotels in the valleys, eating out once a day but carrying lunch from the Coop or in one case, eating at the top of Jochpass to miss a rain shower. After Sefinenfurke my grandson said he had had it – was a long day – so we took the train to Adelboden for a day of enjoying the town and then skipped Lenk and went on to Bern for a holiday. We were constantly running into 3 ladies from Australia who were my age and who totally kicked our butts – my grandson respected them above all others, even the mountain bikers carrying their bikes up the pass to ride down thru the snow patches to Altdorf. My grandson got over his fear of heights and gondola cars, loved trying all the food everywhere, and while he only came along to keep me company – this was my idea, not his – he was thrilled, if tired of hiking, at the end. He capped it off swimming with the hoards down the river in Bern.
Many thanks for your trip report! Sounds like you had a good experience on the Via.