It’s not too late to plan an incredible hut-to-hut trekking trip for 2026. In this guide, we break down where availability still exists and how you can still make your Alps hiking trip happen this summer.
Introducing the 2026 Trail Updates Map
NEW: 2026 TRAIL UPDATES MAP
Today, we’re launching the first version of our 2026 Trail Updates Map — a new way to explore the latest trail conditions, closures and mountain updates directly on the trail map inside The Hiking Club platform.
For years, hikers have relied on scattered social media posts, group chats and outdated forum threads to understand what conditions are really like on the trail. The problem? Those updates rarely include context. A beautiful photo of snow coverage or a washed-out bridge only helps if you know exactly where it was taken — and when.
The 2026 Trail Updates Map changes that.
Instead of endlessly scrolling through feeds hoping to find relevant information, you can now see real-time trail updates directly on the map itself.
Best of all, the 2026 Trail Updates Map is completely free to access inside The Hiking Club platform. Simply create a free account to start exploring the latest trail photos, closures and mountain updates across the network.
See the latest 2026 trail conditions by TRAIL
The 2026 Trail Updates Map brings together the latest trail photos, route and transport closures into a single map-based experience, helping you understand what’s happening across the trail network before you head out this season.
With the 2026 Trail Updates Map, you will be able to:
Explore the latest uploaded trail photos directly on the map
Search updates by specific locations such as mountain passes or sections at higher elevation
View trail closures and warnings in context
See transport disruptions including gondola and chairlift closures
Scroll back through previous uploads to understand how conditions change throughout the 2026 season
Share important updates and images with fellow hikers
First updates loaded onto the 2026 Trail Updates map on May 29th, 2026 from the Tour du Mont Blanc.
VIEW Trail Updates on your planned itinerary
For paid customers of The Hiking Club, our new Trail Updates feature becomes even more powerful.
Instead of viewing updates only on the general trail map, paid members can see trail conditions, photos, closures and transport alerts directly alongside their planned itinerary route. This makes it easier to understand exactly what’s happening on the sections you’ll be hiking in the days ahead — latest snow conditions on a mountain pass, a trail detour, or a gondola closure affecting your planned route.
By combining live trail updates with your personalised itinerary, The Hiking Club helps you stay informed and make smarter decisions before and during your hike.
Powered by The Hiking Community
The 2026 Trail Updates Map is powered by people on the ground — the hikers out there walking them every day.
Each June, The Hiking Club team heads to the Alps for our annual “Break The Trail” hikes, capturing the first comprehensive overview of trail updates, snow conditions and route information.
We then pass the baton to our incredible community of Trail Ambassadors, who will continue sharing daily trail photos, trip reports and insights from the trail. Their updates help hikers embarking after them feel safer, more informed and a clearer picture of what’s happening across the mountains.
We hope that the 2026 Trail Updates Map becomes a community-powered view of the hiking season as it unfolds.
Want to help fellow hikers this season? We’re always looking for passionate hikers to join our ambassador community and contribute trail updates from across the network. Learn more here.
Our Trail Ambassadors kick off their trail updates on June 1st and continue through to the end of September.
Built for hikers — and improving throughout the season
The 2026 Trail Updates Map is launching as an evolving feature for the 2026 hiking season, and we’ll continue improving it as more hikers begin using it on the trail.
Feedback from our community will play a huge role in shaping what comes next.
If you spot something that could be improved, have ideas for new features, or want to tell us what’s working well, we’d love to hear from you. The goal of the Trail Updates Map is simple: make trail information more useful, more accessible and more reliable for everyone heading into the mountains. Contact us at: info@thehiking.club to share your feedback.
Access the 2026 Trail Updates Map
The 2026 Trail Updates Map is available free inside The Hiking Club platform.
Dedicated 2026 Trail Updates Maps will be available for:
Tour du Mont Blanc
Walker’s Haute Route
Tour of Monte Rosa
Alta Via 1 Dolomites
Alta Via 2 Dolomites
Bernese Oberland
Tour des Combins
West Highland Way
Don’t yet have an account? Create your free account to explore the latest trail conditions, community updates, transport closures and “live from the trail” photos throughout the 2026 hiking season.
Create a free account at www.app.thehiking.club to view the 2026 Trail Updates map.
Real-time accommodation availability in our app
Updated 13th May 2026.
As part of our acquisition of TMB Planner, we’ve integrated technology into our app to check bed availability for mountain huts. At time of launch, we foucsed on properties along the Tour du Mont Blanc trail. However, we’ve now extended the same technology all of our trails, including Alta Via 1, Walker’s Haute Route, West Highland Way, Tour of Monte Rosa, Bernese Oberland, Tour des Combins, Alta Via 2, Tour of Jungfrau and Via Alpina Switzerland.
What type of accommodation can we provide availability data for?
The scope of mountain huts is limited to those which list their availability online. We can not provide availability data for mountain huts that do not list their availability online, for example, those properties requiring bookings to be made via phone, email, or submitting an online form.
In our accommodation database, we also have many more accommodation types along the trail, such as hotels, campgrounds and bivouac locations. Where an accommodation location lists their availability online, such as hotels, we have an ongoing initiative to integrate their availability data into our app. For the 2026 season, we are able to display available beds for ~130 properties.
what type of accommodation can’t we provide availability data for?
If the accommodation location is one of the following, there is no availability data that we can provide you;
Bivouac or wild camping locations
Campgrounds that don’t accept/need bookings
Accommodation that don’t list their availability online
A general accommodation location rather than being for a specific property
PROPERTIES WITH LIVE AVAILABILITY
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Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Albert Premier Hut
Au Coeur Des Neiges
Auberge de Maya-Joie
Auberge des Glaciers
Auberge du Mont-Blanc
Auberge du Truc
Auberge la Boerne
Auberge la Grande Ourse
Chalet CAF des Contamines
Chalet CAF du Tour
Chalet La Grange
Chalet Le Dolent
Chalet Les Meandres (ex Tupilak)
Chalet-hotel Gai Soleil
Chamonix Lodge
Gite Alpage de La Peule
Gite Bon Abri
Gite d'Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon
Gite de la Fouly
Gite de La Lechere
Gite Le Moulin
Gite le Pontet
Gite le Randonneur du Mont Blanc
Gite Les Melezes
Gite Mermoud
Gite Michel Fagot
Hotel Chalet Val Ferret
Hotel Col de la Forclaz
Hotel de La Couronne
Hotel du Col de Fenetre
Hotel Edelweiss La Fouly
Hotel Funivia
La Ferme a Piron
Les Chambres du Soleil
Pension en Plein Air
Refuge de la Balme
Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme
Refuge de la Nova
Refuge des Mottets
Refuge des Pres
Refuge du Col de Balme
Refuge du Fioux
Refuge la Roselette
Refuge Le Peuty
Refuge Nant Borrant
Relais d'Arpette
Rifugio Bertone
Rifugio Elena
Rifugio Maison Vieille
Rifugio Monte Bianco
Robert Blanc
Vert Lodge Chamonix
Refuge Lac Blanc
Plus more!
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Confirmed Integration (2026)
Albert Premier Hut
Auberge du Mont-Blanc
Auberge la Boerne
Auberge la Grande Ourse
Cabane Brunet
Cabane de la Barmaz
Cabane de Louvie
Cabane de Mille
Cabane de Moiry
Cabane de Prafleuri
Cabane des Dix
Cabane des Ecoulaies
Cabane FXB Panossiere
Chalet CAF du Tour
Chalet La Grange
Chamonix Lodge
Gite Bon Abri
Gite d'Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon
Gite Le Moulin
Gite Mermoud
Gite Michel Fagot
Hotel Col de la Forclaz
Hotel de La Couronne
Pension en Plein Air
Refuge du Col de Balme
Refuge Le Peuty
Relais d'Arpette
Taschhutte
Topalihutte
Turtmannhutte
Vert Lodge Chamonix
Chamonix Lodge
Plus some additional properties in villages
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Rifugio Averau
Rifugio Biella
Rifugio Bruto Carestiato
Rifugio Coldai
Rifugio Col Gallina
Rifugio Croda da Lago
Rifugio Fanes
Rifugio Fodara Vedla
Rifugio Lagazuoi
Rifugio Lavarella
Rifugio Mario Vazzoler
Rifugio Passo Duran
Rifugio Passo Staulanza
Rifugio Pederu
Rifugio Scoiattoli
Rifugio Scotoni
Rifugio Sora'l Sass
Rifugio Tissi
Rifugio Angelo Dibona
-
Planned Integration (2026 Season)
Rifugio Dal Piaz (CAI)
Rifugio Pisciadu (CAI)
Rifugio Puez (CAI)
Rifugio Castilglioni Marmolada
Rifugio Boz (CAI)
Rifugio Boe (CAI)
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Rifugio Tre Scarperi / Dreischusterhuette
Rifugio Locatelli / Dreizinnenhuette
Rifugio Lavaredo
Hotel Sorapiss
Rifugio Pietro Galassi
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Auberge de Maya-Joie
Auberge des Glaciers
Cabane Brunet
Cabane de Chanrion
Cabane de Louvie
Cabane de Mille
Cabane FXB Panossiere
Chalet La Grange
Chalet Le Dolent
Gite Bon Abri
Gite de la Fouly
Gite de La Lechere
Great St. Bernard hospice
Hotel du Col de Fenetre
Hotel Edelweiss La Fouly
La Tsissette Hut
Mont-Joux Auberge
Pension en Plein Air
Rifugio Champillon
Rifugio Frassati
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Albergo Ristoro Sitten
Britannia Hut
Taschhutte
Topalihutte
Turtmannhutte
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Balmhornhuette
Berghaus Alpiglen
Berghaus Baeregg
Berghaus Maenndlenen
Bluemlisalphuette SAC
Brochhuette SAC
Doldenhornhuette SAC
Glecksteinhuette
Gspaltenhornhuette SAC
Lobhornhuette
Rotstockhuette
Schreckhorn Hut
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Berghaus Alpiglen
Berghaus Baeregg
Berghaus Maenndlenen
Bluemlisalphuette SAC
Brochhuette SAC
Doldenhornhuette SAC
Glecksteinhuette
Gspaltenhornhuette SAC
Rotstockhuette
Schreckhorn Hut
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Berghaus Alpiglen
Berghaus Baeregg
Berghaus Maenndlenen
Brochhuette SAC
Glecksteinhuette
Lobhornhuette
Rotstockhuette
Schreckhorn Hut
-
Confirmed Integration (2026 Season)
Ardess Lodge & Ben Lomond Bunkhouse
Ashbank B&B
Balmaha Bunkhouse
Bank House Guesthouse
Braeside Guest House
Craigbank Guest House
Forest View Guest House
Glenardran House guest house
Greenstone Lodge B&B
Inversnaid Bunkhouse
Inversnaid Hotel
MacDonald Hotel & Cabins
Ossians Hotel
Shandon Farmhouse
The Drovers Inn
West Highland Way Lodge
Europaweg section expected to be closed for 2026 hiking season
The Complete Guide to Camping on the Walker's Haute Route
So you’re interested in hiking the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt but want to camp, instead of staying huts, hotels or B&Bs each night? Great choice! Although the idea of spending each night under the stars is an idyllic option, you need to be aware of where you can actually camp along the Haute Route, as there are very strict rules put in place by the National Parks and local governments.
Over the past few years, we’ve gathered the latest information on where you can wild camp, campgrounds with facilities and mountain huts that allow you to camp nearby. About 20% of our customers use our platform to plan and navigate their camping adventure along the Haute Route. Read on to learn about the various camping options, the cost estimates for camping and other useful tips to help you prepare for camping the Walker’s Haute Route.
How much does the Walker's Haute Route cost to hike?
How much it costs to hike the Walker’s Haute Route is one of the most common questions I’m asked. Armed with my accounting background and mission to make every hikers self-guided dreams come true, I’ve dug deep into the numbers across all the different accommodation types, food and services available to provide firm guidance on what it costs to hike the Walker’s Haute Route.
When is the best time to hike the Walker's Haute Route?
Creating your own training plan for hiking in the Alps
Should I get an Alpine Club membership for the Walker's Haute Route
The official Walker’s Haute Route travels through France and Switzerland.
If you are a member of one of the respective alpine clubs, you get discount on accommodation at their mountain huts. Here are the details on each alpine club membership:
FRENCH ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP
The French Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is about 100 - 120€ and is open to non-French citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Walker’s Haute Route that are owned by the French Alpine Club include: Albert 1er (Premier).
Refuge Albert Premier
SWISS ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP
The Swiss Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 80 CHF and is open to non-Swiss citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Walker’s Haute Route that are owned by the Swiss Alpine Club include: Cabane du Mont Fort, Cabane des Dix, Cabane de Moiry, Turtmannhutte.
View from Cabane de Moiry
plan and navigate your ultimate WALKER’S HAUTE ROUTE adventure
Transport to/from the Walker's Haute Route trail
Europaweg Trail: Complete guide
The Europaweg Trail between Grächen and Zermatt is one of the most famous two-day hikes in the Alps, as well as forming part of the Walker’s Haute Route and Tour of Monte Rosa. In the past few years, there has been some confusion about where exactly the Europaweg trail goes, due to the original route still appearing on some outdated maps, apps and guidebooks. In this updated post, I share details about the Europaweg trail, clarify where the route goes and share a brief history of trail changes in recent years.
Hiking Poles: Essential Gear for Long-Distance Hiking in the Alps
Hiking poles are essential gear for long-distance hiking in the Alps. They provide a number of physical benefits that can help you hike more comfortably and efficiently. Read our blog post to learn more about why to use hiking poles, how to use them, where to buy them and how to travel with them on the aeroplane.
What are the different trail types in the Alps?
Walker's Haute Route Accommodation: Booking Tips and Tricks
Booking your accommodation for the Walker’s Haute Route is no easy feat. Finding 15 different properties along the trail in a sequence of dates that has availability becomes harder and harder as we approach the hiking season. In this blog post, I share accommodation booking tips for the Walker’s Haute Route and my top 3 booking tricks for finding accommodation that will keep your trip alive.
2023 Walker's Haute Route Trail Updates
2023 WALKER’s haute route TRAIL UPDATES
Updated: June 22nd 2023
Knowing what the early season trail conditions are like is a really important part of a self guided hikers preparation. It helps with;
Awareness of the challenges
Appropriate gear choices
Review of alternative routes/options
Revision of plan (if necessary)
Our updates are kept up-to-date during the 2023 hiking season by The Hiking Club team and our 6 Trail Ambassadors.
Key trail updates include:
Our Break The Trail hike
Latest trail updates
Gear recommendations
⛏ BRENDAN’S BREAK THE TRAIL HIKE
From May 30th to June 21st 2023, Brendan Jones, Founder of The Hiking Club, completed the Tour du Mont Blanc and key sections of the Walker’s Haute Route. He documented his trip extensively on social media, providing live accounts of snow conditions across the mountain passes, route detours, and challenging sections of trails.
Click on below image to see a summary of each daily trail update:
“LIVE FROM THE ALPS” WEBCAST
On June 23rd, 2023, Brendan presented a one-hour “Live from the Alps” webcast to share an update of the current trail conditions, including snow conditions, route detours and gear recommendations. It also included a live Q&A session that covers everything from using microspikes, best local weather sources and alternate route choices.
Follow our dedicated WHR Instagram page to get latest updates
🥾 GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS
As of June 22nd, 2023: Microspikes and poles are recommended for anyone hiking in June and early July to support snow crossings. This gear can help with confidence when crossing steeper snowy slopes, even when the snow is not icy. Also, although the freezing level has been up over 3,000m for a few weeks now and is forecast to stay there for the next week if it does drop to the level where snow is still lying on the trail, then microspikes and poles will be essential - especially if staying at a place high on the mountain like Cabane de Prafleuri, Cabane Des Dix, or, Cabane de Moiry.
Cabane du Mont Fort is closed for summer 2023
2023 Trail Updates
We complete a “Break The Trail” journey to provide the first trail report for the key legendary trails in the Alps - Tour du Mont Blanc, Walker’s Haute Route and Tour of Monte Rosa. We share these updates with thousands of hikers that travel to the Alps each year for their epic bucket list hikes. This information is particularly valuable for early-season hikers to understand the latest snow conditions, route detours, and gear recommendations. This year, our program is bigger and better, giving you updates across multiple channels throughout June. Check it out!
Our 2023 TRAIL UPDATE PROGRAM
This year our program will consist of 3 key elements:
2023 Break the trail
Early season conditions can vary dramatically from year to year. June 2019 was a particularly çhallenging season with significant snow on high mountain passes throughout June
~ Col de la Seigne, Italy (Tour du Mont Blanc)
We will kick off our 2023 trail updates from Chamonix, starting at the end of May. Each day we will share updates including snow conditions, route detours, transport updates and gear recommendations. Our focus is on the conditions on the mountain passes, peaks and difficult trail sections, as this is where the most uncertainty exists.
Usually, we would do a continuous journey covering big daily distances and elevations. But this year, we’ve come up with a different format that still takes us to all the necessary places whilst keeping life fun and manageable with our 1 and 3 year old daughters! Therefore, we’ll be taking 3 weeks to complete all 3 trails. Tag teaming, taking transport, and trail running where needed to check out all the passes and key routes. No doubt it will be a comedy :)
Follow us on social to get real-time trail updates
live webcast: chamonix & zermatt
From the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc, to the end of the Walker’s Haute Route and the mid-point of the Tour of Monte Rosa. Join us for live trail updates!
This year, in addition to our daily trail updates on social media, we will be hosting free webcasts live from the Alps throughout June. Join us to learn about the latest trail updates, snow conditions, route detours (if any) and gear recommendations. We will share latest photos and descriptions of key mountain passes and difficult trail sections, for our 3 legendary trails - Tour du Mont Blanc, Walker’s Haute Route and Tour of Monte Rosa.
WATCH Session 1: Sunday June 4th from Chamonix, France
WATCH Session 2: Friday June 23rd from Zermatt, Switzerland
trail ambassadors
Hiking in June or July? Keen to share updates from your epic journey with your fellow hikers? Come on board!
📷: Shout out to Sanna, one of our 2021 trail ambassadors.
UPDATE: APPLICATIONS CLOSED FOR 2023
35 ambassadors took part in our 2023 program.
What will you do?
As a trail ambassador, you will provide “live from the trail” content about trail conditions, route updates, and memorable experiences. This content will be shared with The Hiking Club community to keep fellow hikers up-to-date, including:
In return, you’ll receive exclusive swag to rock on all your hiking (and non-hiking!) adventures!
Who are we looking for?
Hikers who are completing one of the below trails during June and July 2023;
Tour du Mont Blanc
Walker’s Haute Route
Tour of Monte Rosa
Alta Via 1 (Dolomites)
What is the time commitment?
Kick off session: To ensure we set you up for success, there will be a 30 min briefing session in May/June (depending on your start date)
During your hike: Share your trail updates and photos via Whatsapp or email (max 15 mins per day)
Does this sound like you? Get it touch to find out more. We’re excited to bring you on board!
Did you know that we’ve been doing Break The Trail since 2019? Read about how our project has evolved over this time.
2019 Early Season Conditions
In 2019, we completed 486 km / 302 mi, with over 30,000m of elevation gain and loss, over 18 hiking days.
There was significant snow on high mountain passes that resulted in detours, additional gear and the help of transport to complete the journey!
Read the full 2019 trip report
2020 EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS
June was a quiet month due to COVID-19 uncertainty and travel restrictions preventing many early season hikers from reaching the trail. This led to less information being shared online about the trail making it hard to get a sense for how rapidly the snow was melting and conditions improving.
We were able to enter France on 1st July (the day the borders opened!) and quickly got on the trails to check them out.
In general, the conditions were excellent but there was still a few sections with challenging snow cover and accommodation options that were closed for the season.
Read the full 2020 TMB trip report.
2021 EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS
Unfortunately COVID travel restrictions prevented us from travelling to the Alps this year 😭 With the help of our trail ambassadors (Sanna, Alia, Bruno, Alistair and Tui) we were still able to share trail updates to the community.
A cold and snowy May made for some difficult early-season hiking conditions. While a spell of warm weather in early June is causing the snow to rapidly melt, it will still take a few weeks before the trail is completely snow-free. The late snow and warm weather are also causing wet slide avalanches to come down throughout the Alps.
2022 EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS
In general, the conditions for this time of year were exceptional. The amount and depth of snow were much less than in typical years. Most people were saying 4-6 weeks ahead of a typical season. Microspikes and poles are recommended for anyone hiking in June to support snow crossings. There were a number of disruptions to transport this season that may affect hikers, including: Le Tour gondola closed, Le Chable closed in June, and Grimentz cable car closed.
Read the full 2022 trip report.
How long does the Walker's Haute Route hike take?
Most people take between 8 and 15 days to hike the Walker’s Haute Route. Anything quicker requires Olympic speed walking or part trail running; anything longer would allow for frequent breaks and a relaxed trekking pace.
Since 2018, we’ve produced 100’s of personalised hiking itineraries that have helped 1000’s of hikers confidently plan their Walker’s Haute Route. It all starts with guiding hikers through the following 4 steps to determine how long it will take them to hike the Walker’s Haute Route.
Best Mountain Huts in the Alps
We’ve created a collection of the top mountain huts across Switzerland, France and Italy for hikers. None of these huts require technical gear to reach them - no glacier crossings, no via ferrata, no climbing equipment etc. Most are located in alpine areas and therefore all you need to reach them is good fitness.
