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Hiking Swiss Alps and Berner Oberland: hiking shoes or ASICS?

We are taking the Germany-Switzerland-Austria tour in October. I want to be careful about what shoes to pack. Can I get by hiking in regular workout shoes, or would I be better off using hiking shoes? Any tips for good hikes? I live in Washington state, so I do a fair amount of hiking.

Posted by
2527 posts

Asics or equal worked well for me while hiking in the Berner Oberland area. Rick offers information on a number of hikes, so that would be a good starting point. The scenery is magnificent. Enjoy.

Posted by
8375 posts

We did GAS in 2014. The only hiking (on trails) was during the short Switzerland stop in Mürren. There, you could hike whatever you preferred - easy, groomed trails, or more challenging mountain trails. We took easy trails in the same walking shoes we used for the whole trip. There were trail maps available all over town, at the gondola stations and at hotels, that give you all sorts of information to help pick what you want to hike. Its well established and not the remote wilderness area of which you might get the impression from reading RS.

Posted by
432 posts

A good pair of trail walkers/runners will work. We do a lot of hiking where we live - alpine and mountain tracks and trails, and found the trails in the Alps pretty well maintained and groomed. We used fairly light hikers on the alpine trails in Switzerland and Austria and didn't miss our heavier hikers at all. Have fun!

Posted by
8252 posts

I hiked quite a bit out of Murren and was happy for my hiking shoes. I think it depends which trails you go on.
I found hiking shoes work just fine in the city and are great for cobblestones as well.

Posted by
351 posts

While I agree your Asics will be suitable for most trails that I have experienced in the area, I would still recommend waterproof hikers due to the likelihood of having to walk in the rain, through puddles/water and an occasional pile of snow. Having wet socks and feet is not ideal.

Posted by
1336 posts

Having hiked for a week in the Val d'Anniviers of Switzerland, I would suggest either trail shoes or hiking shoes, not workout shoes. Although the trails are very well maintained, they are graveled with sharp rocks (they hold in place better). But the rocks will wear through the soles of running shoes pretty quickly. It's possible to wear five fingers but my husband regretted it :-)

Posted by
13800 posts

I'm with Stan. I took this tour in 2016 and you'll have 2 days in Muerren. Your guide may organize some activities on one or both days. One AM the guide organized for those that wanted to go up to the Schilthorn then meet him after lunch to go up the funicular to Almendhubel. The group had a choice of a number of hikes. I hiked down from Almendhubel on an easier trail (part paved, part was regular dirt trail) and did fine in the athletic shoes I normally wear on any RS tour. The next day as a group we went down via cable car to Stechelberg and the bus, drove to Truemmelbach Falls and then were driven to Lauterbrunnen. Most of us went up and an informal group and did the Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike (got started together but each person/party took their time to enjoy) where again, athletic shoes were fine. (I had done this one before on the 21 BOE and also wore my regular athletic shoes).

I use Altras and mine are not waterproof. I would not take boots unless you plan some aggressive hikes. I would want for the shoes to have some tread on them.

Posted by
222 posts

We did this tour last September and as those who have taken it have mentioned you do not need hiking shoes.
For the normal walks with the guide and to the nearby villages a good athletic shoe or low cut lightweight hiker would be sufficient. You would have to go looking for more difficult trails and terrain to need a true hiking boot.
As one of my two pairs of shoes I always bring one with Gortex. One of our full days there it rained all day so it was nice to have them.