Anyone been to Zermatt, Switzerland in April? We will be there for 3 days at the end of April and were wondering if anyone had any advice about what temperature to expect. I know we can check weather sites for average temperatures and so forth but we were interested in an actual opinion of someone who’s been there during that time frame already. What activities Might be available during that time of year, etc. Will be 2 adults on trip.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
An opinion of one person who's been there once or twice is kinda useless compared to what you get from weather sites.
This being said, and deferring to official meteorological records, mid-April to mid-May is the transition period in the Alps. Seasonal snowpacks are melting, higher-altitude trails might be closed (the lower ones are already free of snow), glacier hikes are a big no due to danger. The upside is that waterfalls and Alpine streams are at their peak outflow.
Different gondolas/cable cars might be off for a few days for seasonal maintenance as well (check schedules in their webpages, it is the only sure way of knowing - they announce these offline dates already for the spring and summer seasons by now).
Posted by
Bern, Switzerland
981 posts
The upside is that waterfalls and Alpine streams are at their peak outflow.
Which has on several occasion caused damage to the train tracks, resulting in delays and outages for up to 24 hours. It has happened to me on three or four occasions.
Posted by
New York, NY
4007 posts
Jim, which train routes were those?
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8398 posts
I am assuming he means the one that leads from parking lots to Zermatt. I may be wrong.
Posted by
Paris
6909 posts
End of April is the tail end of skiing season in Zermatt, which closes on May 1 in 2020. So a near-full range of winter activities will still be available, and the trains and cable-cars will still run (subject to weather). Do expect snow in the mountains, but normally not in the village at this time. I went skiing there in early April a few years back and the weather was wintry at altitude, but definitely spring-like in the village.