Hiking in the Swiss Alps with Parkinson’s disease
Many hikers dream of trekking through the mountains of Switzerland. But what about those with Parkinson’s disease? Can they live that dream?
I say certainly!
The Swiss Alps trails range from easy to very strenuous, so there’s something for every ability.
Even better, Switzerland’s system of gondolas, cogwheel trains, and funiculars allows hikers to bypass the more difficult uphill hiking. This is especially beneficial if you have Parkinson’s or another movement disorder. You can ride up to high elevations to reach the trails that offer views that will knock your wool-blend socks off.
At first it felt like I was cheating – skipping the hard part – but I got over it quickly.
I was fortunate to spend nearly a week in Switzerland, surely one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. There’s a lot that a visitor can do in Switzerland, but I was there for one thing: hiking.
In this post I have tips for hiking in the Swiss Alps – what worked for our group of four and what didn’t – particularly for those with Parkinson’s disease. Maybe it will help you decide whether it’s doable for you, too.
(I’ll cover three of our hikes in detail in future posts. Here is the first one.)
The planning
Good planning is vital for travelers with Parkinson’s – or anyone, for that matter. I traveled with the Unshakable Husband and my brother and sister-in-law from North Carolina, all avid hikers themselves. The four of us met via Zoom for several planning sessions, starting about six months out from our departure.
Parkinson’s hiking tip
Part of the planning should also be consulting with your medical professional about your fitness and the particular risks of an overseas hiking trip that includes high altitudes.
After settling on a date, the next step was to choose which regions to visit. We had six days to work with. That’s not much time, especially for hikers who want to see as much of the country as they can. We narrowed it to two regions to explore: Interlaken and Zermatt.
Once we knew where we were going, we worked on plane tickets and lodging. For us, flying into Zurich but leaving from Geneva made sense because it would save us a day of train travel back to the starting point.
Our lodging would include mid-priced hotels and a night each at two of the “hiker huts” Switzerland is famous for.
Choosing which trails
The next planning step was to pick our hikes, or at least determine roughly where we wanted to go. There were so many choices! Literally hundreds of “YouTube videos offer ideas; we all immersed ourselves in videos, travel blogs, and even travel books from the library (I know, old school – but helpful).
Parkinson’s hiking tip
Be realistic, be choosy. Many of the people who make hiking videos are half the age of a typical person with Parkinson’s disease, and what looks easy for them may not be best for someone with balance and slowness challenges.
The routes we chose
Our first hike was in the Interlaken area, specifically around the town of Murren.
It started with a gondola ride from the town of Stechelberg (el. 2,800 feet) to the top of Mount Schilthorn (el. 9,750 feet). From there we hiked down, down, down to Rotstockhutte, a lodging place accessible only on foot and by helicopter.
We thought going down would be best for our lungs since we didn’t allow much time for acclimating to the thin alpine air.
After a night and a couple of meals at the hut, there was a shorter hike to Murren, then a gondola to take us the rest of the way down.
Parkinson’s hiking tip
You’d think going down to the valley where the hut sits would be a breeze. But downhill hiking has its own set of challenges: steep uneven steps, exposure to falls, knee pain, and burning thigh muscles. For sure, bring trekking poles. Also, resist temptation to look up at a view while stepping down. Stop first, steady yourself, stop, then gaze and sing praises of the beauty (if you’re into that).
The next hike was in the Zermatt region, home of the iconic Matterhorn. We started by taking a funicular from the tourist town of Zermatt up to the Blauherd station. From there we hiked a portion of the Five Lakes Trail to get to another hut, called Fluhalp. The trail was relatively flat and led us past Stellisee Lake. If the wind is calm, the lake surface reflects the Matterhorn for a classic photo op.
The third hike was to the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, one of many such bridges in Switzerland. This was a tough climb to the bridge, but we built in lots of rest breaks. The reward was walking across the bridge, an amazing feat of engineering and the third-longest pedestrian bridge in the world.
Parkinson’s hiking tip
Information about trails almost always includes a difficulty level: easy, moderate, strenuous, etc. Those words mean different things to different people. Use such information as a general guide. The more trail descriptions you look at, the better idea you’ll have in making your decisions.
About the trains
We needed to familiarize ourselves with the train system, which by the way is excellent. Switzerland is not part of the European Union and has its own train system, called SBB. A few different types of rail passes are available, and it took some time on the website to figure out which would work best for us.
After doing the math, we purchased the Half Fare Card, which worked for trains, buses, and gondolas. Even in the high-season month of July, we had no problem getting seats, but if you’re nervous about getting on, you can purchase tickets ahead of time.
Be aware, though, that if you have the half-price card, you MUST show the paper printout every time you buy a ticket. Keep it in a safe place!
Misc info and advice
- Traveling is fatigue-inducing even without the hiking. If flying across time zones is difficult for you, be sure to leave your first day open for acclimating. Click here for my post on how to adjust medications during time-zone travel.
- For fairest-weather hikers, July through September is an optimal time of year to go. Temperatures in Switzerland vary by region, but it rarely gets really hot.
- In the mountains, it does get cold and windy, so bring warm clothes in layers. And rain gear. All that hillside greenery means moisture happens.
- The national language is German (and French is spoken in Geneva), but most Swiss people who work in tourism and transportation know at least some English. Still, there were times we had a hard time finding someone to give us directions we could understand.
- For any all-day outing, bring enough medication. Set your phone or smart watch alarm to cue you to take your meds. It’s easy to forget to take pills when scenes of verdant mountainsides and colorful wildflowers grab all your focus.
- I suggest getting trip insurance. I do that for all my international travel. Be certain to set it up early in your planning.
And we’re off!
With our plan in place, we just had to wait for departure day. A week or two before leaving, we confirmed all our lodging and double-checked the terms of our flights.
Spending extra time dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s gave me assurance things would be OK. Lower that stress level! Every trip overseas will have glitches, but a solid plan is the best prevention.
Watch for future posts detailing three of the hikes we chose:
–Rockstockhutte to Murren
–Five Lakes Trail
–Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge
These pictures are beautiful! Looks like fun and well planned trip!
Thanks! Even the planning was fun for me, but I’m a little weird that way.