Trails in the Canton of St. Gallen

Wedged between Lake Constance, Lake Zurich and the Liechtenstein border, the canton of St. Gallen forms a large ring around the two Appenzells. The Säntis and its 2,502 m tower over the Alpstein massif, while the seven peaks of the Churfirsten plunge toward Lake Walen ⛰️. Further south, the Sarganserland leads to the slopes of the Pizol and its five high-altitude lakes.

For trail running in the canton of St. Gallen, the terrain changes with every valley. The green hills of the Toggenburg alternate meadows, beech forests and isolated farms, while the limestone ridges of the Alpstein demand sure footing and sometimes poles. The good season stretches from May to October, with cool mornings and summer storms to watch out for on the summits 🌦️. The föhn wind that blows up the Alpine Rhine valley also brings mild days well into autumn.

On Finishers, the canton's trail calendar is still modest, but the neighbors put on a show. Just across the Rhine, the LGT Alpin Marathon links the Liechtenstein plain to the heights of Malbun on June 12, 2027. In nearby Graubünden, the Madrisa Trail offers four formats from 11 to 54 km around Klosters on August 6, 2027. To broaden your horizons, the trails in Graubünden and the ultra-trails in the canton of St. Gallen are worth a look 🧭.

The Toggenburg is where Simon Ammann grew up, the four-time Olympic ski jumping champion from Unterwasser, proof that the slopes around here forge character 🎿. After the effort, local tradition says that the St. Gallen sausage is eaten without mustard, a topic on which the locals do not compromise 🌭. Whether it's an exploratory loop above Wildhaus or a committed crossing of the Alpstein, every profile finds a trail to suit it here, and the mountain races in the canton of St. Gallen await those who love to climb.