Digital hiking
Now, as the leaves are changing colour and the fog is settling, it’s time to put on your hiking shoes and backpack and hit the trail. It’s no secret that Switzerland is THE country for hiking. But what about the digital resources on offer? Read on to find out which apps you simply must install on your mobile phone before your next hike. And, as the main partner of the Swiss Hiking Trail Federation, we have put together our first brochure with suggested routes and tips for families.
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Planning your next experience
One app that can be very useful for hiking throughout Switzerland is SwitzerlandMobility. The app features maps of the entire signposted hiking network, 32,000 kilometres of non-motorized routes, public transport stops and a link to the SBB timetable, etc. The regional hiking apps are even more specialized. The following apps
- Canton of Graubünden (in German)
- Schwyz (in German)
- Uri (in German)
- and Berne (in German)
offer maps, suggested routes, ways of travelling to the region and much more.
The Swiss Parks app suggests summer and winter hikes for one or several days and gives tips on where to stay and eat. In addition to an interactive collecting game, the app also offers 60 meal recipes.
The Flower Walks (in German) app helps you discover more than 800 wild flower species and 60 habitats on over 40 rambles throughout Switzerland. Each hike can be accessed via public transport.
Anyone who likes to combine hiking with local food and its history should look no further than Cheese Trails (in French). Follow the old cheese transport routes from the 17th and 18th centuries across two hiking trails in Gruyère and become an Alpine shepherd with the help of the app. By solving puzzles, you learn more about the traditions of the Gruyère region.
What’s that called again?
Our grandparents were able to store all kinds of knowledge in their heads. What’s the name of that tree? What type of flower is that? What do you call this mushroom? The Alpenblumen Finder (in German) app, Flora Helvetica (in German) and Pilze 123 (in German) (for iPhone only) can help fill in the gaps in your knowledge and save you a time-consuming Google search. However, these apps are subject to a charge.
Staying safe on the trail
Safety should always be the paramount concern when out hiking. There are various apps that can help if the worst comes to the worst, and they are well worth having on your phone. Echo112, the Rega app or the Uepaa app (in German). All the apps are very easy to use. Rega and Echo112 can forward your GPS location in Switzerland or abroad to the local rescue services; Uepaa uses peer-to-peer technology developed by ETH Zurich for this service.
While the two rescue apps rely on your phone having a minimal network signal, the Uepaa app can identify your location without a mobile signal and notifies specified contacts, such as family members or friends, in the event of an emergency.
Checking the weather forecast for your hike is also key to safety and can help prevent being caught unawares by a storm in the middle of the countryside. Wetter-Alarm or the LANDI weather app (in German) help you avoid any nasty surprises when it comes to the weather.
Anyone who enjoys the great outdoors will be all too familiar with troublesome biting insects. Ticks can be found in almost every part of Switzerland and their bite can have far-reaching consequences. The tick app (in German), displays the risk potential of your current location in real-time. And should a tick bite you, the app will provide reminders at regular intervals to inspect the bite and check yourself for symptoms of Lyme disease.
For further tips and tricks on hiking, visit swisspost.ch/hiking, where you can download and print our new brochure, “Hiking experiences for families” (in German). You can also find out more on why we are committed to Switzerland’s number one sport.
Anyone still looking for inspiration can read articles in the Swiss Hiking Trail Federation’s magazine on the following topics:
- Powering a smartphone without a mains supply (in German)
- Where am I? (in German)
- Hiking in groups (in German)