Best Day Hikes near Geneva
Some of our favourite hikes are within easy reach of Geneva — in the Jura, the Chablais, the Valais and just across the border in the French Alps. Every one below is a trail we've actually walked, with a recorded GPS track you can download, and each is graded on the SAC hiking scale so you know what the terrain demands before you set off. We stick to T1–T3; here they are, easiest first.
T1 – Easy (hiking)
Well-marked, low-risk paths with no head for heights needed. (What the grades mean.)
- Gorges de l'Areuse: Noiraigue to Boudry — A flat, enchanting riverside walk through a wooded Jura gorge, past emerald pools and old stone bridges.
T2 – Moderate (mountain hiking)
Established mountain paths that get steeper, with some fall risk — proper boots and surefootedness recommended.
- Le Salève: Grande Gorge & Pas de l'Échelle — The classic circuit up Geneva's own mountain, with a sweeping view over the city and the lake.
- Le Grammont — A rewarding summit above Lake Geneva, with panoramic views across the Chablais and the Léman.
- Creux du Van — The Jura's giant rocky amphitheatre — a natural 'Swiss Grand Canyon', often with ibex on the rim.
- Derborence to Gryon — A quiet crossing through one of the wildest corners of the Valais.
- Bisse de Dayent & Barrage de Zeuzier — A Valais bisse trail following a historic water channel up to a mountain reservoir.
- Lac Chéserys: Flégère to Lac Blanc loop — A high balcony loop above Chamonix past turquoise tarns to Lac Blanc — where we camped out for the Milky Way.
- The Aletsch Glacier Path: Bettmerhorn to Bettmeralp — Further afield in the eastern Valais, but worth the trip — a high path alongside the largest glacier in the Alps.
T3 – Difficult (difficult mountain hiking)
The most demanding grade we cover — some exposure and pathless ground. (More on T3.)
- Lac Vert & Lac de Pormenaz — A steeper climb in the French Alps to two mountain lakes, with some demanding, exposed ground higher up.
New to these grades? See our guide to the SAC hiking scale, or go straight to the Swiss Alpine Club's own official difficulty scale (English PDF).