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A junction in the woods, three paths heading off under the beeches, and on one trunk, at eye level, a small yellow stripe. It does not tell you where you are going or how far: it only tells you that you are still on your route. That is the whole art of waymarking, and also its limit.
The French hiking federation sums it up in its official charter: waymarks are there to guide, direct and reassure walkers all along their route [1]. In France, its rules apply to more than 180,000 km of paths [1]. But cross a border and the same colours no longer say the same thing: two white and red bars mean a GR in France, three white-red-white bands a mountain trail in Switzerland.
In France: the colour tells you the type of route
The French hiking federation’s charter, in its 2019 edition, sets three codes for walking routes [1]. White over red, two stacked rectangles, marks a grande randonnée, a long-distance path approved by the French hiking federation, such as the GR20 in Corsica or the Tour du Mont Blanc. Yellow over red marks a GR® de Pays, also approved. Yellow alone marks a PR, a local walking route. GRs and GRs de Pays are waymarked in both directions; a PR may be marked in one direction only, although the charter prefers both [1].
Two signals complete the code. Before a change of direction, the ordinary mark gets an arrow: white on a GR, yellow on a GR de Pays or a PR [1]. In front of a wrong turning, a a diagonal cross, meaning do not take this path repeats the route’s colours: white on red for a GR, yellow on red for a GR de Pays, yellow for a PR [1]. Where two routes share a section, only the GR marking stays alongside a GR de Pays, but a PR’s marking continues all the way round [1].
| Mark | Route | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Two circles joined to a triangle | Mountain biking | Yellow for local loops, red for long crossings of more than 80 km; a loop’s difficulty shows in green, blue, red or black |
| Orange rectangle | Horse riding | Two orange rectangles above two orange circles for carriage-driving routes |
| Yellow marks, closely spaced | Snowshoeing, beginners’ loop | A loop of 1 to 2.5 km starting from a resort or village; to get started, see snowshoeing for beginners |
Source: Charte officielle du balisage et de la signalisation, FFRandonnée, 2019 edition.
In Switzerland: the colour tells you how demanding it is
Switzerland made a different choice: its colours sort paths by what they ask of the walker. The federal law on footpaths and hiking trails sets three categories, signed to a national standard, SN 640 829a [2]. A hiking trail is signed in yellow and makes no particular demands [3]. A mountain hiking trail keeps yellow signposts, but with white-red-white tips, and its waymarks are white-red-white: often steep, narrow and partly exposed, it calls for sure feet, good fitness and a head for heights [3]. An alpine hiking route has blue signposts with white-blue-white tips and white-blue-white waymarks [3].
Swiss signposts usually give a walking time rather than a distance. It is based on an average speed of 4.2 km/h on the flat, without breaks, adjusted by a Suisse Rando formula for ascent, descent and gradient; it is rounded to the nearest five minutes, and to the hour for times over three hours that fall within five minutes of it [3]. It is a time without breaks for an average walker: yours may differ, and our guide to estimating walking time explains how to adjust it.
In the Austrian and German Alps: the difficulty is on the signpost
In the Austrian and Bavarian Alps, the waymark changes little from one path to the next. According to the German Alpine Club, the intermediate marks painted on trees and rocks are usually red-white-red, whatever the difficulty of the path [4]. The difficulty is shown on the yellow signposts instead: a blue dot for an easy path, a red dot for a moderately difficult one and a black dot for a difficult one, as on ski runs [4]. At the bottom of the signpost is the name of whoever maintains the path, often a section of the Alpine Club [4]. The same page also mentions white-red-white marks: remember the red and white bands rather than their order. To compare these colours with other scales, our guide to mountain walking grades sets them side by side.
In England and Wales: the colour tells you who may use the path
At home, the logic changes again: the coloured arrow shows neither difficulty nor the type of walk, but the legal status of the path [5]. The government sets out who may use each category [6], as summed up in the table below. So a red arrow is no promise of a track fit for a car: Natural England points out that it shows a status, not the condition of the route [5]. On a National Trail or a waymarked circular walk, the arrow comes with the route’s own symbol [5].
| Arrow | Category | Who may use it |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Footpath | On foot |
| Blue | Bridleway | On foot, on horseback and by bicycle |
| Purple | Restricted byway | Any transport without a motor |
| Red | Byway open to all traffic | Any vehicle, cars included |
Sources: Natural England, booklet NE68 (colours); GOV.UK (users). Mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs may use all these categories.
In the United States: paint blazes
Across the Atlantic, the mark is called a blaze: a rectangle of paint on a trunk or a rock. The best known is the Appalachian Trail’s, a white rectangle 2 by 6 inches, about 5 by 15 cm, which has marked the trail since the 1930s [7]. Two blazes one above the other, 2 inches apart, warn of an abrupt change of direction or a spot that calls for extra care; the body that manages the trail asks for them to be used sparingly, or they stop meaning anything [7]. Colours then vary from park to park: in Shenandoah National Park, white marks the Appalachian Trail, blue an ordinary hiking trail and yellow a horse trail [8].
Elsewhere: the signs to look for in seven more destinations
Every country keeps its own logic. In Canada and Australia, the thing to look at is the grade that parks give each trail: it also tells you how much waymarking to expect.
| Country | What you will see | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | White-and-red marks; at junctions, a numbered red-white-red flag | You are on the right path, nothing more; its grade, from T to EEA (via ferrata), is in the path description [9] |
| Spain | A white stripe above a red, yellow or green one | The colour gives the length: over 50 km (GR), 10 to 50 km (PR), under 10 km (SL) [10] |
| Greece | Yellow diamond on the E4, red on the national long-distance paths | A code set by the state in 2017; paths waymarked earlier keep their old marks [11] |
| Norway | Cairns, some painted with a red T; in forests, blue or red | The T: a route maintained by the DNT trekking association. In large forest areas, blue marks summer paths and red ski routes, which may cross boggy ground [12] |
| Canada | In national parks, a rating from ‘easy’ to ‘route’ | Few markers on a difficult trail; a ‘route’ is only a suggested line, not maintained [13] |
| Australia | A grade from 1 to 5 on signs, in the state of Victoria for instance | At grade 5, expect an unmarked track: you need to be able to navigate [14] |
| New Zealand | Orange triangles on trees, poles above the tree line | A marker of another colour shows conservation work, not a track [15] |
Official sources accessed 23 October 2026.
When the waymarks run out
The French charter says so in its very first articles: waymarking goes with maps, guidebooks and route cards [1]. A mark hides behind a branch, fades under moss or disappears with a felled tree. If you have not seen one for a while, I can only see one sensible course: go back to the last mark you were sure of rather than guess your way forward, then look at the map again. A compass does the rest, and our guide to navigating with a map and compass explains how. To work out what the detour will cost you, estimate your walking time.
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FAQs
What do white and red waymarks mean?
In France, two stacked rectangles, white above and red below, mark a GR®, a long-distance path approved by the French hiking federation and waymarked in both directions. In Switzerland, three white-red-white bands mean something else: a mountain hiking trail, often steep and partly exposed, which calls for sure feet and a head for heights.
What does a cross painted on a tree mean?
On a waymarked path in France, a diagonal cross, known as a St Andrew’s cross, marks a wrong turning: do not take that path. It repeats the route’s colours: white on red for a GR, yellow on red for a GR de Pays and yellow for a PR, according to the French hiking federation’s official charter.
What is the difference between a GR, a GR de Pays and a PR?
The GR, marked in white and red, and the GR de Pays, marked in yellow and red, are routes approved by the French hiking federation and waymarked in both directions. The PR, a local walking route marked in yellow, may be marked in one direction only. All three codes appear in the federation’s official waymarking charter, 2019 edition.
What does white-blue-white mean in Switzerland?
It marks an alpine hiking route, the most demanding category of the Swiss network, with blue signposts. According to the official signage manual, such routes may cross snowfields, glaciers, scree and short sections of scrambling, with no guarantee of fixed aids, and call for an altimeter, a compass, and a rope and ice axe on glaciers.
What do yellow and blue arrows mean on footpaths in England?
In England and Wales, a yellow arrow marks a footpath, a public right of way on foot; a blue arrow marks a bridleway, open to horse riders and cyclists as well. Purple and red mark routes where other kinds of transport have a right to pass. The colour shows the path’s legal status, not its difficulty or condition.
Sources
- Fédération française de randonnée pédestre, Charte officielle du balisage et de la signalisation, 2019 edition, accessed 23 October 2026. ffrandonnee.fr https://www.ffrandonnee.fr/Media/Default/Documents/federation/espace-professionnels/Charte%20officielle_balisage_signaletique_ffrandonnee_Edition%202019_d.pdf ↩
- Suisse Rando and Swiss Alpine Club, Itinéraires en montagne en dehors du réseau officiel des chemins de randonnée : recommandation en matière de signalisation, 3 September 2021, accessed 23 October 2026. swisshiking.ch https://www.swisshiking.ch/fr/media/download/8fe933b8364a386cf930fe9c19b3c72c2e5f5d99 ↩
- Swiss Federal Roads Office and Suisse Rando, Signalisation des chemins de randonnée pédestre, manual, slow traffic guidance no. 6, 2013, accessed 23 October 2026. swisshiking.ch https://swisshiking.ch/fr/media/download/d2b3e6921c5476fccc67b4c0f66771f169539373 ↩
- Deutscher Alpenverein, Schwierigkeitsgrade von Bergwegen, 2 July 2025, accessed 23 October 2026. alpenverein.de https://www.alpenverein.de/artikel/schwierigkeitsgrade-von-bergwegen_8de95a6d-b490-4963-86cf-a0907c48a331 ↩
- Natural England, Waymarking public rights of way, booklet NE68, 2008, accessed 23 October 2026. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414626/waymarking-rights-of-way.pdf ↩
- GOV.UK, Rights of way and accessing land: use public rights of way, accessed 23 October 2026. gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/right-of-way-open-access-land/use-public-rights-of-way ↩
- Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Trail Design, Construction and Maintenance, trail management policy, accessed 23 October 2026. appalachiantrail.org https://appalachiantrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Trail-Design-Construction-and-Maintenance.pdf ↩
- National Park Service, Stony Man: The Appalachian Trail, Shenandoah National Park, accessed 23 October 2026. nps.gov https://www.nps.gov/places/000/stony-man-the-appalachian-trail.htm ↩
- Club Alpino Italiano, Sentieri. Pianificazione, segnaletica e manutenzione, Quaderno di escursionismo no. 1, 4th edition, 2010, accessed 23 October 2026. cai.it https://www.cai.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-1-Quaderno_1_2010.pdf ↩
- Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada, Manual de señalización de senderos GR®, PR® y SL®, 2021 digital edition, accessed 23 October 2026. fedme.es https://fedme.es/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024_ManualSenderosFEDME_21.pdf ↩
- Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, decision 151344/165, Καθορισμός τεχνικών προδιαγραφών χάραξης, σήμανσης, διάνοιξης και συντήρησης των ορειβατικών πεζοπορικών μονοπατιών, ΦΕΚ Β 206, 30 January 2017, article 10, original text as reproduced by e-nomothesia.gr, accessed 23 October 2026. e-nomothesia.gr https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-periballon/upourgike-apophase-151344-165-2017.html ↩
- Den Norske Turistforening, DNT’s marked trails and routes, accessed 23 October 2026. dnt.no https://www.dnt.no/en/Trips/Tips-and-tricks/articles/Routes/ ↩
- Parks Canada, Guide to trail ratings and descriptions, accessed 23 October 2026. parks.canada.ca https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/experiences/sports/randonnee-hiking/niveaux-sentiers-trail-ratings ↩
- Parks Victoria, How walking tracks are rated, Victoria, Australia, accessed 23 October 2026. parks.vic.gov.au https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/hiking-and-bushwalking/choose-the-right-hike/how-walking-tracks-are-rated ↩
- Department of Conservation, Walking track categories, New Zealand, accessed 23 October 2026. doc.govt.nz https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/walking-and-tramping/track-categories/ ↩
Camping, wild camping, bushcraft and hiking
Guillaume Hoarau writes for Outfarer about camping, wild camping, bushcraft and hiking. A survival-skills enthusiast and a collector of old field manuals, he likes clear explanations, lists that earn their place and other people’s stories, which he tells well.
