Hiking in southern Swiss Alps late September

I would like to plan a hike in Swiss Alps starting Monday September 28 for five days. I am flying into Geneva, staying with a friend there. I know this is late in the hiking season. Can anybody recommend hiking trails, probably in lower elevations in the southern part of Switzerland, but still with beautiful scenery. I will need to overnight in chalets or guest houses. Thanks for your assistance.

1. www.myswissalps.com/hi king/hohtenn-lalden

I usually only do Hohtenn to Ausserberg, but there is plenty of good hiking onward to lalden

2.

www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg

Short, easy, very scenic. best by far to start at Männlichen.

Also, other walks in the Jungfrau region -

Check the list in this report:

www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim

3.-www.myswissalps.com/hi king/muottasmuragl-alplanguard

4.- www.myswissalps.com/hi king/preda-berguen

The section on hiking in this forum has a long list of choices, with a decision tree sorting process mentioning distance, difficulty, altitudes, etc. See:

www.myswissalps.com/hi king

Altitude will be more important than latitude for snow.

How strenuous do you want your hikes to be?

I've listed mainly easy ones.

There are some good ones in the Jura, closer to Geneva, but I'd need to ask a friend or so to get specific details.

Thanks for your response, and will look at your links soon. I would like moderate-level hikes, around 15 km per day. For the hikes you mentioned, are there lodges or guesthouses to overnight in?

<<"Thanks for your response, and will look at your links soon. I would likemoderate-level hikes, around 15 km per day. For the hikes you mentioned, are there lodges or guesthouses to overnight in?">>

The hikes that I mentioned are generally too short to ned overnight accomodations. The longer route (Hohtenn to Lalden) passes through villages with inns or small hotels.

Here is an excellent source of information about hikes, with detailed maps, height profiles, places to stay, and things to see, as well as public transport connections.

www.schweizmobil.ch/en /schweizmobil.html

I have found it necessary to try various place names as search terms; my first choice does not always work. So, I work in combination with a good map, such as the one on the Swiss Mobility web site, or the Swiss Topo site I note below.

Some routes have names- The Via Alpina, for example.

www.wanderland.ch/en/r outes/route-01.html

There is a map for all of Switzerland.

Another really good map is at:

map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=swisstopo&X=1900 00.00&Y=660000.00&zoom =1&lang=en&bgLayer=ch. swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe

If you spend some time with those sites, you will have a lot of information to help you find good hikes for your choice of conditions.

I've spent that past 3 years hiking in the Swiss alps from early September to mid October. It's possible to get enough snow to make a trail unpasable in that time frame but it's only really a problem if you stay somewhere high, wake up in the morning and find the way down obscured and difficult. Mostly keep your eyes and ears open and your plans flexible. If the locals tell you the pass is not clear make another plan. Some huts would be closing around that date.

<<"and will look at your links soon.">>

Good thought. We await your reactions to the data.

Slowpoke and jackdebeaar, thanks for all your advice. Some of the hikes look fantastic. But I've decided to postpone my Switzerland trip until next year, when I can go first weeks of September, and when the weather should not be a concern. I've decided this year to trek in Kashmir instead, which has the benefit of being closer to my Bangkok home.

Have a great trip to Kashmir! We hope to welcome you back here next year.

Arno