Switzerland, a country of hikers. But the maintenance of the extensive network of hiking trails is becoming increasingly complex owing to the extreme weather.
Take Raron in canton Valais, for example: many of the hiking trails in this municipality are mountain hiking trails. It takes a lot of time and money to maintain them, says municipal president Stefan Troger.
“The burden on the municipalities is increasing year on year,” he tells SRF News. The reason for this is increasingly extreme weather events but also the sharp increase in use: hiking became a trend during the Covid pandemic and many people now also use the paths on their bike or e-bike.
The increased strain is affecting trails throughout Switzerland, which has one of the largest hiking trail networks in the world at 65,000 kilometres. The issue has also reached national politics, but the government recently responded to a question in parliament by saying that it considers the cantons to be responsible for hiking trails.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts