May in the Alps

In general, May is early in the season for regular hiking but it depends on the altitude/elevation of the trail segment you want to hike, if you stay low enough, below the snow and snow-melt-mud line, you can hike in May.

The higher Alpine trails are likely to still have snow, or mud from snow melt, in May. Of course, the condition of the hiking trails will depend on the weather in the period preceding your visit, which none of us can know.

Whether there is snow or mud on the trails also depends on the altitude of the trails you're considering, which we don't know. Conditions on a segment of trail at 10,000 feet are driven by air temps 25 degrees F colder than on a segment of the same trail at 3,000 feet (the air temp difference is ~ 3 and 1/2 degrees F for every thousand foot difference in elevation).

The differences in elevation in the Alps can be extreme! You mentioned Chamonix: the town is at 3000 ft but a short gondola ride away the top of the Aiguille du Midi is at12,000+ ft and 30 degrees colder!

Another factor is whether a trail is on a north (shaded) slope or on a south (exposed to more sun) slope.

I would move trip to June July,, for hiking at alitudes anyways. It has not been my experience that crowds are an issue on hiking trails. Even in high season.

Two summers ago we were in Wengen in late July, we had a few nice hikes planned, ( they were awesome) hotel staff told us there was still snow on some trails till late June that year.

May in the Alps is not the best time of year. It can be quite muddy, the weather changes rapidly and not everything at higher elevations is open. I would move the trip back to July. Crowds aren't a factor on hiking trails. Although Alpine weather can be volatile at anytime of year, you can expect less sudden changes in the summer.

Thanks for all of the input! I have some decision making ahead of me!

While hiking is not THE reason we're going on our trip, we certainly will want to take in some easier hikes to enjoy the scenery. A later trip will help us do that.

Thanks everybody!

We spent three weeks last May on a trip to Italy and Switzerland. We were advised to start the trip in Italy which was good advice. Our last week of the trip was the last week in May and we trained up to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn. Rates were down on rooms and there were few tourists and the weather was good. From there we headed to Wengen( lots of great trails from there) for six nights. The hiking was fine--some snow at higher elevations and of course plenty up at the Jungfrau--but trails weren't too muddy and there were lots of nice waterfalls from the melting snow. Again we found lower room rates and nice weather. The lift in Murren was still closed and the Mannleichen Lift in Wengen opened the day before we left. I would not hesitate to make such a trip in late May. Certainly there were fewer tourists but all the guests at our hotel were there to hike and it was fun to share hiking stories and experiences. We did not take heavy clothes--just layers and gloves--so we packed light which was ideal for train travel.

I can only speak for the Swiss Alps. I have gone to Murren the last 2 Mays (May 28 2009 - June 1 2009 and May 25 - 28 2008). We explored Lauterbrunnen and Wengen but stayed pretty close by as it goes for hiking. All the lifts were working up there and there were few tourists. We did not hike up far enough to see any snow and barely any mud. We were lucky the weather was basically perfect both years (I think one day of a little rain each year). I did notice this past year when booking at the same hotel that they were opening up a whole week earlier and there seemed to be more people around.