Valais fires up trails, Graubünden disappoints with gravel roads
The headliner among the new SwitzerlandMobility routes is the "Valais Panorama Bike". Four days, start at the Grimsel Pass, grand finale over the Saflisch Pass to Brig. Not all the trail delicacies have made it onto the official route, but what is included is real mountain biking. This also applies to the legendary Stockalper Trail, which will be officially signposted as an MTB route from summer 2025. The route has long been a favorite in the ride tour database. With over 70,000 downloads, it is the second most popular tour.
Also new at the start: the "Esserts Bike" in the Val d'Hérémence and the "Vercorin Bike" above Sierre - both honest, trail-rich routes, just as you would expect from a mountain biker.
New SwitzerlandMobility tours in Valais:
- Valais Panorama Bike, Upper Valais: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-81 and ride-mtb.com/touren/valais-panorama-bike
- Essertse Bike, Val d'Hérémence: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-141
- Stockalper Bike, Brig: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-779
- Vercorin Bike, Sierre: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-161
Graubünden: Where has "Home of Trails" gone
And Graubünden? The trail pioneer is delivering three new routes for 2025 - albeit with remarkably little substance. The output: Gravel as far as the eye can see. The "Gneida Bike" in Brigels looks like a relic from the early days of mountain biking. The route text? An ode to boredom: "Colorful hay meadows, panoramic alpine roads and green mountain forests characterize this enjoyable tour." You could be forgiven for thinking that Austrian tourism experts had helped write it. From the region that once proudly called itself the "Home of Trails" of all places.
The "Rätikon Bike" in Prättigau is a supposed ray of hope. The tour gets off to a furious start, with a top trail to the Garschina hut and on along the Rätikon to the Swiss Gate. But then: a descent into everyday gravel. Over 18 kilometers and over 1000 Elevation loss on a wide forest highway.
New SwitzerlandMobility tours in Graubünden:
- Gneida Bike: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-224
- Val da Siat Bike: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-258
- Rätikon Bike: schweizmobil.ch/mountainbikeland/route-321
Enthusiastic Valais, weakening Graubünden
The new SwitzerlandMobility routes should not be put on a pedestal. The official (homologated) routes have always been the result of what was feasible - no more, no less. This time, however, they serve as a seismograph for the development of mountain biking in Switzerland: Valais is setting the pace, full of momentum and enthusiasm - a real trail turbo. In contrast, the (official) canton of Graubünden is obviously increasingly losing its mountain biking spirit and is coming up with dusty gravel road tours for 2025.
Overview of the new SwitzerlandMobility routes: schweizmobil.ch/en/these-are-the-new-switzerland-mobility-routes
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.