Trails in Valais

Between the Rhône and the 4,000 m giants, Valais looks like a trail running playground designed to measure 🏔️. The Matterhorn towers over Zermatt, the Val d'Anniviers faces five legendary peaks, and the Dents du Midi watch over the Chablais region of Valais. For a trail in Valais, all you have to do is pick your valley and get going.

The terrain changes quickly. On the valley floor, paths run alongside apricot orchards and bisses, those irrigation channels carved into the rock face. Higher up, the alpine pastures, moraines and ridges climb well above 2,500 m, with 360° views of the neighboring glaciers, enough to slow your pace for a photo. The season starts in spring on the hillsides, climbs toward the passes in July, then stretches into October among the golden larches 🍂. In winter, the snow even invites a few races on white trails.

The Valais trail calendar reads like a mountain guidebook. Sierre-Zinal links Sierre to Zinal in early August, and Matterhorn Ultraks slips beneath the Matterhorn in Zermatt. In Verbier, the Trail Verbier St Bernard by UTMB® attracts runners from all over the world in July 🌍. Shorter formats are not forgotten, with the Trail des Dents du Midi in Champéry, the Nendaz Trail or the Trail des Châteaux in Sion on December 5, 2026. To step things up a gear, head to the ultra-trails in Valais.

Valais is spoken in French, German and local dialect, and the food follows suit: raclette at the alpine pasture, dried meat and rye bread set you back on your feet after the effort 🧀. As for cultural references, Rainer Maria Rilke, who settled at Muzot near Sierre, found his refuge and his verses here. Whether you're a curious beginner or a seasoned long-distance regular, choose the format that suits you, and the scenery will do the rest.