Switzerland ranks #2 for hiking

Switzerland didn’t suddenly become good for hiking this week. The news is that a fresh 2026 ranking gave it a very specific place — No. 2 in the world — and that turned a broad travel cliché into something people could argue about. That matters because hiking trips are having a moment in 2026, and when a destination already has the trails, trains, and branding lined up, a viral ranking can push real travel decisions. In this case, the ranking came from TouchNote, which used AllTrails data and put Switzerland just behind Canada. (have-clothes-will-travel.com) ### What actually got ranked? This was not an official government index or a mountaineering federation scorecard. It was a TouchNote travel-data study built from AllTrails information across countries, using trail ratings, difficulty, reviews, and how photog(have-clothes-will-travel.com)m anyway. (have-clothes-will-travel.com) ### Why did Switzerland land so high? The short version is that Switzerland checks both boxes people want from a hiking fantasy — scenery and reliability. In the ranking, Switzerland posted an average trail rating of 4.77 out of 5 and a beauty score of 9.79 (have-clothes-will-travel.com) hiking that still gets rave reviews. (have-clothes-will-travel.com) ### Is that believable beyond one viral post? Basically, yes. Switzerland’s official tourism system says the country has more than 65,000 kilometers of waymarked trails, spread across everything from family walks to high alpine routes and long-distance cross(have-clothes-will-travel.com)marked paths, route categories, mountain transport, and famous multi-day routes like Via Alpina. (myswitzerland.com) ### What do hikers actually find there? A lot more variety than the usual Matterhorn postcard suggests. AllTrails lists more than 17,000 hiking-related routes in Switzerland and highlights top-rated walks ranging from the Lake Oeschinen Loop to Bachalpsee, the 5 Lakes Walk near Zermatt, and the Männlichen–Kleine Scheidegg Panorama Trail. (myswitzerland.com)ountain days all in one small country. (alltrails.com) ### So why wasn’t Switzerland No. 1? Because the ranking gave Canada the top spot. The exact methodology leans heavily on beauty and trail-platform metrics, so small changes in scoring can reshuffle the podium fast. Switzerland “came extremely close,” which is part of why the result spread — second place feels prestigious, but also debatable in a way that invites reposts and hot takes. (have-clothes-will-travel.com) ### Why is this showing up now? Because hiking travel is rising right now, especially among younger travelers. One of the headline numbers attached to the ranking was that 17% of Gen Z travelers are planning hiking-focused trips in 2026. That helps explain why a country ranking traveled so far on social platforms — it plugged directly into a live travel trend instead of just celebrating scenery for scenery’s sake. (have-clothes-will-travel.com) ### What’s the catch? The same thing that makes Switzerland impressive also makes it demanding. Many of its famous routes are mountain hikes, not casual park strolls, and the ranking itself tagged Switzerland as tougher than many competitors. Beautiful does not mean beginner-friendly. And popular panorama trails can get crowded, especially the cable-car-accessible ones. (have-clothes-will-travel.com) ### Bottom line? The ranking didn’t discover Switzerland. It quantified why hikers already obsess over it. If you want alpine scenery with a dense, well-marked trail network, Switzerland looks less like hype and more like the polished version of the hiking trip people think they’re booking. (myswitzerland.com)