Liechtenstein has some attractive mountains and trails for mountain bikers. A question to the parliament and the response to it show that Mountain bikers are also allowed to use hiking trails in Liechtenstein.

The Principality of Liechtenstein shares a number of things with Switzerland: for example, the currency, a customs union and a network of hiking trails. And the two neighboring countries have something else in common, namely this article of law: "Paths that are not suitable for motor vehicles or bicycles or are obviously not intended for this purpose, such as footpaths and hiking trails, may not be used by such vehicles." Article 40 of the Liechtenstein Road Traffic Act of 1978 corresponds exactly to Article 43 of the Swiss Road Traffic Act of 1953. Both are relics from the time when there were no mountain bikes in Europe.

In 2022, Member of Parliament Thomas Rehak submitted a minor question to the Liechtenstein government. "How big a problem does the government think it is that mountain bikers are out and about off the permitted trails at any time of day or night?" he wanted to know. Two days later came the answer from Deputy Prime Minister Sabine Monauni. In the second sentence, she wrote: "Biking on official hiking trails is generally permitted, but off trails and roads, for example in the forest, is prohibited."

The extent of conflicts caused by the simultaneous use of hiking trails by hikers and bikers occasionally leads to conflicts, but the extent of these is still manageable, Monauni explains in her response. However, the trend towards less frequented paths and cross-country riding could exacerbate conflicts, she writes on behalf of the government.

Terra quasi incognita for mountain bikers

The Liechtensteiner Vaterland, one of two daily newspapers in the Principality, recently took up the topic. The editor takes up the common reservations about mountain bikers and confronts Roger Walser with them. He is the managing director of the St. Gallen-based consultancy Bikernetzwerk. Walser, who grew up in the Liechtenstein municipality of Triesen, as the text points out, endeavours to refute the criticism and advocates targeted trail development to guide bikers.

The editor concludes by stating that the Principality of Liechtenstein lacks a concept similar to the one Switzerland has initiated with its new bicycle law. The two cantons bordering Liechtenstein, Graubünden and St. Gallen, are further ahead in this respect. Graubünden has been focusing on mountain bike tourism for years and St. Gallen is working on a strategy. In the Principality, the topic is obviously not yet so hot that further steps have been taken.