For those unfamiliar with Appenzell’s traditions, here is a brief introduction: Once a year, eligible voters gather in a central square in the capital city of Appenzell and express their views on various legislative proposals by a show of hands. In this canton in eastern Switzerland, it sometimes takes a little longer for social developments to find their way into the law. For example, as recently as 1990, the Landsgemeinde refused to grant women the right to vote and stand for election at the cantonal level. A year later, the Federal Supreme Court put an end to this patriarchal spell and compelled the canton to allow women to participate in the democratic process.

Mountain biking also faces challenges in Innerrhoden. This is due in part to the generally conservative mindset of many people in the canton, but also to hiking tourism, which is particularly cherished in the idyllic hilly landscape. This includes a broad ban on mountain biking on narrow trails. Off-road cycling is permitted only on a few designated routes.

Voters rein in the parliament

The Grand Council, which together with the Landsgemeinde forms the canton’s parliament, narrowly voted in February to slightly relax the ban. Ride reported on this. This suggests that the majority of elected officials were apparently more progressive than their constituents. The Landsgemeinde has now referred the bill back to the government. The demand: There need to be crystal-clear rules on where mountain biking is permitted and where it is not, reports SRF from the Landsgemeinde. It is unacceptable that—as is the case in large parts of Switzerland—mountain bikers themselves decide whether a trail is suitable for them to ride. 

Parliament will now reintroduce the general ban on cycling on hiking trails into law; in one year, the Landsgemeinde will vote on the matter again. In the same year, Innerrhoden must present its recreational cycling network in accordance with the federal Cycling Paths Act, which primarily refers to mountain bike trails.

However, the 2026 Landsgemeinde was historic for another reason: for the first time ever, a woman, Angela Koller, presided over the assembly. As we recall, this was made possible by the Federal Supreme Court. Whether a ruling from Switzerland’s highest court will one day be needed to legalize mountain biking on trails in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the current debate was also imposed on the canton by the federal government. In this discussion, the anti-biking faction has just demonstrated once again who is in charge in Innerrhoden.