Trans Swiss Trail
Verified OSM superroute: SchweizMobil national hiking route 2, Trans Swiss Trail, Porrentruy to Mendrisio, 510.1 km OSM walking. Official stage 7 crosses Lac de Neuchâtel by boat (not walking). Vertical figures sampled from Copernicus GLO-30.
Byline
- The Hiking World editorial · author
Desk byline for seed records. Named surveying editors replace this once a trail is verified.
Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.
Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog
Moderate (Easy technical / Medium physical)
- SAC T2 (mapped — no official SAC grade)
- Mountain hiking. Continuous trail, some steep ground, sure-footedness helpful.
- YDS Class 1
- Class 1. Walking on an established path; low fall risk.
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Ingested from OpenStreetMap relation 1107386 (ODbL). The mapped line and 2D length are derived from that geometry. Ascent, descent, and high/low points are sampled from Copernicus GLO-30 (copernicus-dem:glo-30) and remain provisional. Water, permits, and hazards were not taken from OSM tags and must be verified.
OSM walking 2D length is 510.1 km (relation 1107386; type=superroute, ref=2, network=nwn, operator=Wanderland Schweiz). Numbered stages 1–32 stitched. lengthKm is verified walking: 510.1 km is within 3% of the official 510 km (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-2; https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/experiences/route/trans-swiss-trail/, 510 km / 32 stages / 17,700 m ascent, checked 2026-09-09). Official km is the ±3% cross-check, not this DataPoint.
Official transport leg (not walking, not in lengthKm): stage 7 Neuchâtel → Murten begins with a scheduled boat across Lac de Neuchâtel to Cudrefin because there are no suitable trails (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-2/stage-7; SchweizMobil text on https://www.j3l.ch/en/V1910/things-to-do/sport-leisure/hiking/trans-swiss-trail, 19 km walking after the boat, checked 2026-09-09). OSM gap 7.1 km from 46.9910°N 6.9332°E (Neuchâtel) to 46.9593°N 7.0138°E (Cudrefin). That chord is not densified and is not walking distance.
DEM high 2,109 m is an alpine-pass sample on the Gotthard section of this north–south line. GLO-30 cumulative ascent 17,114 m is the same order as the official 17,700 m figure (same MySwitzerland table, checked 2026-09-09). High point left as Copernicus.
typicalDays 32 is the official SchweizMobil stage count (https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/experiences/route/trans-swiss-trail/, checked 2026-09-09), not Math.round(lengthKm/12) and not a duration statute. Season June–October is the same technical table (checked 2026-09-09).
Water was not mapped to named WaterSource points (no honest atFraction). Villages and inns exist; they were not positioned from an official named list this pass.
Water
No water sources recorded.
Permits & fees
No permit required.
Getting there
Sourced legs to the Porrentruy (OSM line start) base start station — where this trail record begins. This is not a route planner: durations are approximate and marked provisional until an official transport page confirms them.
Rail · Basel (BSL) → Porrentruy
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg is the usual air gateway for the Jura start (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuroAirport_Basel_Mulhouse_Freiburg, checked 2026-09-09, CC BY-SA). SBB continues to Porrentruy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porrentruy, checked 2026-09-09, CC BY-SA). SchweizMobil route 2 starts at Porrentruy (https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/experiences/route/trans-swiss-trail/, checked 2026-09-09).
en.wikipedia.org · 2026-09-09 · wikidata · official · provisionalFerry · Neuchâtel → Cudrefin
Official stage 7 crosses Lac de Neuchâtel by scheduled boat because there are no suitable trails; walking resumes at Cudrefin (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-2/stage-7; SchweizMobil text on https://www.j3l.ch/en/V1910/things-to-do/sport-leisure/hiking/trans-swiss-trail, checked 2026-09-09). Not walking distance. No fare is copied here.
schweizmobil.ch · 2026-09-09 · official · provisionalRail · Mendrisio → Zurich / Basel
The OSM line ends in Mendrisio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendrisio, checked 2026-09-09, CC BY-SA). SBB continues toward Chiasso and the north.
en.wikipedia.org · 2026-09-09 · wikidata · official · provisional
No walking permit on the Swiss public Wanderland network (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland, checked 2026-09-09). SAC and private hut booking is logistics. Stage 7's lake boat is an official transport leg, not walking.
Plan from your location
Type a city, then pick a match. These links open external search tools — they do not fetch fares or timetables.
Trailheads
- Porrentruy (OSM line start) car-free: yes
- Mendrisio (OSM line end) car-free: yes
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Hazards
- Official boat on stage 7: Lac de Neuchâtel is crossed by scheduled boat Neuchâtel → Cudrefin; not walking distance (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-2/stage-7; https://www.j3l.ch/en/V1910/things-to-do/sport-leisure/hiking/trans-swiss-trail, checked 2026-09-09). Confirm current sailings before travel; no fare is copied here.
- Length and the Gotthard section: official 510 km / 17,700 m of walking ascent over 32 stages (https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/experiences/route/trans-swiss-trail/, checked 2026-09-09). Alpine weather on the Gotthard stages is ordinary mountain weather, not a glacier route.
- No walking permit on the Swiss public Wanderland network; SAC and private hut booking is logistics, not a trail permit (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland, checked 2026-09-09). There is no walking fee on that page.
Questions
Do I need a permit for Trans Swiss Trail?
No trail permit is listed on this record for Trans Swiss Trail.
When is the best time to hike Trans Swiss Trail?
On this record the best season is: June–October (MySwitzerland / SchweizMobil).
How difficult is Trans Swiss Trail?
Trans Swiss Trail is graded MySwitzerland: technical Easy, physical Medium · SAC T2 (mapped — no official SAC grade) · YDS 1. A sourced hazard on this record: Official boat on stage 7: Lac de Neuchâtel is crossed by scheduled boat Neuchâtel → Cudrefin; not walking distance (https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-2/stage-7; https://www.j3l.ch/en/V1910/things-to-do/sport-leisure/hiking/trans-swiss-trail, checked 2026-09-09). Confirm current sailings before travel; no fare is copied here.
How long is Trans Swiss Trail?
The OSM 2-D length on this record is 510.1 km (verified). Published figures may differ. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail
How do I get to Trans Swiss Trail?
The record’s base start is Porrentruy (OSM line start). A primary gateway on the record is EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (BSL). Trailhead transit notes are not included in this public FAQ.
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