Winter walking on groomed paths: waymarks, boot spikes and daylight

Two o’clock in the afternoon, on the shortest days of the year: in Grimentz, in the Swiss canton of Valais, the sun has already slipped behind the mountains, according to the Swiss hiking association Schweizer Wanderwege [1]. Astronomically, it does not set there until 4.46pm on 21 December 2026 [2]. Nearly three hours’ difference, and that is winter walking in a nutshell: the path is groomed, the snow squeaks underfoot, and the light waits for no one. The good news: a winter path asks for neither skis nor snowshoes, just sturdy boots, a set of slip-on spikes in your rucksack and an eye on the time.

What a winter path is, and who grooms it

A winter path is not a summer path under snow. In Switzerland, where the network is described in most detail, signposted winter walking paths are open to all and generally intended for people on foot. They are checked and groomedCompacted and smoothed by machine: fresh snow becomes a firm layer that bears your weight, which you can walk on in ordinary winter boots., and run as far as possible away from roads with traffic [3]. Technically they match a yellow-waymarked walking path, and mainly call for extra attention to the weather and the risk of slipping [3].

The difference lies in the upkeep. Paths waymarked in yellow, white-red-white or white-blue-white are neither checked nor maintained in winter, and can become impassable or even dangerous, Schweizer Wanderwege warns [4]. A winter path, by contrast, is cleared by a council vehicle, or packed by a piste machine about 5 m wide into a firm layer that takes your weight. When temperatures swing, in strong sun or when ice forms, the surface is milled again, regularly and daily if need be. So says the guide published in 2020 by Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), Schweizer Wanderwege and SwitzerlandMobility [5].

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Who does the work? In Switzerland, a sponsoring body: a municipality, a cable car company, a tourist board, a specialist association, or several of them together [5]. The country has around 6,000 km of signposted winter routes, counting winter walking paths and snowshoe trails together [1]. In Germany, many regions and mountain huts have paths cleared and levelled [6]: more than 140 km are groomed around Oberstdorf in the Allgäu, and around 280 km in the Chiemgau, according to the German Alpine Club (DAV) [7]. In Austria, since the 2025/26 winter, the first 18 winter paths carry the Austrian hiking quality seal (Österreichisches Wandergütesiegel), with continuous waymarking and regular, sometimes daily, maintenance [8].

How to recognise a winter path

In Switzerland it’s easy: winter walking paths are signposted in pink, with a walker symbol on the signs [1], and the signs go up specially every winter [4]. Snowshoe trails are pink too, but carry a white snowshoe symbol and are not tracked [1]. Their difficulty is shown in blue, red or black on the boards at the start, and sometimes on the signposts [3]. In boots, then, you follow the walker, not the snowshoe.

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Elsewhere, signage depends on the place. In Germany and Austria, the winter walking map from the local council or tourist office shows which paths are groomed; the certified Austrian paths have their own winter signage [8]. In France, ski resorts and Nordic areas lay out routes for people on foot: Nordic France, which brings together more than 160 cross-country sites, describes trails designed so that people on snowshoes or on foot can explore without getting in the skiers’ way [9]. The resort or Nordic centre map shows where they go.

Why you stay on the groomed path

Because it was planned for winter. In Switzerland, the body in charge works with a local avalanche commission or with specialists from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF to identify where avalanches or falling ice could strike, and routes the paths so that, as far as possible, no avalanche danger threatens them [5]. The German Alpine Club puts it its own way: on secured routes such as hut access tracks and toboggan runs, avalanche danger is practically ruled out when they are officially open [10]. The detail that changes everything sits in those last two words: officially open.

In Switzerland, a closed path must be marked on the spot, with a clearly visible sign at every access point [5]. And beside the track lies open ground that nobody has assessed for you. Even so, the DAV advises a look at the avalanche forecast before every winter walk, including on secured paths, and notes that the risk is often underestimated in Germany’s lower hill ranges [6]. Forecasts use the five-level European Avalanche Danger Scale, from 1, low, to 5, very high [11]. You’ll find them from the SLF for Switzerland, the Bavarian avalanche warning service, lawinen.at for the Austrian provinces and Météo-France for the French mountains.

Staying on the path also protects wildlife, which has to save its energy in winter. Schweizer Wanderwege asks walkers to keep dogs on a lead, especially in woodland, and to respect wildlife quiet zones and protected areas [4].

Ski pistes and cross-country tracks are not winter paths

A freshly groomed piste looks like an invitation, but it is not a footpath. What is allowed on it is decided country by country, and often resort by resort. Take France, where municipalities set the rules for their pistes by mayoral order. In Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes), for the 2025/26 season, the pistes are closed to anyone not wearing skis, a snowboard or similar equipment; walkers are tolerated on just three easy runs, at their own risk [12].

In Switzerland, winter paths should avoid crossing ski pistes wherever possible, and share their route only in exceptional cases [5]. They may share a cross-country ski track for short stretches, in which case you walk along the edge [5].

Boots, gaiters, spikes and poles

When it comes to kit, winter walking stays pleasingly simple. On Swiss winter paths, sturdy footwear with a sole that grips on snow, or spikes, is expected, along with weather-appropriate clothing, and a topographic map is recommended [3]. The DAV suggests sturdy mountain boots with a lugged sole and clothing in layers [6], as explained in our guide to the three-layer system. Gaiters are often overlooked: once snow gets into your boot, it won’t dry out in a hurry [10].

Which leaves the slip-on spikesSmall metal points, often on short chains, stretched over the sole with a rubber harness. In German they are Grödel, and they are often called microspikes. The German Alpine Club describes them as the simplest form of crampon.. Their points grip on hard old snow, crust and icy snow [6]. On the certified Austrian paths they count as a spare in the rucksack, for the odd icy patch [8]. When snow thaws and refreezes often, things get slippery, and spikes and poles then help [6]. Walking in them takes a little practice: lift your feet clearly and don’t shuffle, or the points will catch [10].

Snowshoes only come into their own in fresh, deep snow away from the groomed paths; on firm, well-trodden tracks, walking in boots is usually more comfortable [10]. That’s another chapter, covered in our beginner’s guide to snowshoeing.

Daylight: when it gets dark in winter

In winter, the light sets the limits of every outing. Cold and snow slow your usual pace, and the days are shorter, Schweizer Wanderwege reminds walkers [1]. How much shorter? We worked it out for six places using data from the U.S. Naval Observatory [2]: on 21 December 2026, Oberstdorf gets 8 hours 27 minutes between sunrise and sunset, and Aviemore, in the Highlands, just 6 hours 40.

Three things stand out. The earliest sunset is not on 21 December but on 11 December in Oberstdorf, Innsbruck and Davos, and on 15 December in Aviemore: after that, evenings are already drawing out, while Alpine mornings keep getting darker until early January [2]. So the day grows first in the afternoon: by 1 February, Oberstdorf gains 50 minutes in the evening but only 18 in the morning. And after sunset there’s a good half hour of civil twilightThe period when the centre of the sun is up to 6° below the horizon. After it ends, artificial light is normally needed for ordinary outdoor activities.: in Oberstdorf it ends at 5.06pm on 21 December [2, 13].

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On a valley floor, night comes sooner still. The times in the table assume a flat horizon [13]; in Grimentz the sun disappears behind the mountains by 2pm on the shortest days [1]. So plan backwards: aim to be back well before sunset, with time in hand for your slower pace in snow. For winter outings with climbing, the DAV allows at most 200 to 300 m of ascent per hour [10], less than the summer figures set out in our guide to estimating walking times.

Britain and the US: where winter paths exist, and where they don’t

Here in Britain, as far as we know, there is no network of groomed winter paths like those in the Alps. Heading into the hills in winter, especially in Scotland, calls for equipment and skills beyond those needed for summer hillwalking and on-piste skiing, as Mountaineering Scotland points out [14]. Snow erases all trace of paths up there [14]. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service publishes avalanche reports for six Scottish mountain areas: Creag Meagaidh, Glencoe, Lochaber, the Northern and Southern Cairngorms, and Torridon [15].

In the United States, some state parks come closest to a winter path. Governor Thompson State Park in Wisconsin rolls about 8 km (5 miles) of multi-purpose trails for winter walkers, snowshoers and skiers; walkers, snowshoers and dogs, on the other hand, are not allowed on the tracked cross-country ski trails when they are snow-covered, with one exception [16]. There, too, the ski track belongs to skiers. Avalanche.org brings together avalanche forecasts for the US.

A pink signpost or a freshly groomed track, the hush only snow can make, and a glance at your watch around 3pm: a winter’s day needs little more. Pop the spikes in your rucksack and go while the light is still golden.

Nolwenn Bastide

Trail running, snow, water, nature and destinations

Nolwenn covers trail running, snow, water, nature and destinations for Outfarer. Curious about everything, from meteor showers to night-train timetables, she has a knack for unearthing the one detail that changes everything, and putting it in a single sentence.

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