Yes, the kids are getting older and we can start adding another great outdoor adventure onto our family blog and this is
Biking with kids in Switzerland and Beyond.
At the moment it is important to us that the Biking with Kids in Switzerland is a safe, family friendly, away from the road and if possible, a not too steep adventure.
Any play area, animal encounters and other cool features on the way will be a greatly appreciated bonus whilst biking with kids in Switzerland
Whilst searching on the internet, I quickly became frustrated as there is not much clear information out there on family friendly bike routes. Although there are plenty of bike routes around and Switzerland has a lot of great biking route websites and maps, but just not what a concerned mum is looking for.
After investigating these sites I figured out that they are mostly for long routes and not as family friendly as I would love them to be.
“Hmm so let’s change that”
Our Focus on Biking with Kids in Switzerland
I am trying to set up this general article here on Biking with Kids in Switzerland. It will include heaps of useful information to plan perfect family friendly bike routes anywhere in Switzerland.
I will link to this post, the collected family friendly bike routes in Switzerland below. And hopefully within no time we will have a great selection on the best family friendly bike routes in Switzerland for you all to choose from.
Our main area as always will be the Valais. Therefore, I am counting a bit on you! If you are biking with kids in Switzerland often and have some great family friendly bike routes to suggest, then please do get in touch and I will see if we can add it to our list. Plus we would also love to discover them.
You can leave a comment below to get in touch.
Our Ultimate Cycling – Bike Route Collection for Families
And here it is, our finest collection of the best family friendly bike routes in Switzerland. Depending at which stage of this selection your are visiting the article, the list may only contain a few or has already grown into an amazing collection. No matter what, save this article & Pin it and always come back as this collection of family friendly bike routes in Switzerland grows.
For Who is this Switzerland Bike Guide in Mind?
To get the most out of this article and the cycling – bike routes we will feature, your kids should be on their 1st big bike (with gears) and starting to feel comfortable on riding on pretty much any terrain apart from extreme mountain bike routes.
A little uphill should not scare them and also not a bit of downhill.
You can obviously make your own decision once you see a bike route you like, whether it is for your family or not.
I just feel if the kids are still on a bike without gears ,some routes might just be too difficult or too long.
You will not find downhill biking routes nor 3 hour uphill mountain bike tours on here. If ever we get to this stage, I will make a new blog article including E-Bikes 🙂
The Official Cycling – Bike Routes in Switzerland
Switzerland has three different types of official marked paths that are suitable for biking.
When you see the signs (below in the photo) during your bike ride in Switzerland, you will notice that they all have different numbers. These belong to the official Velo-Net and correspond to the SchweizerMobil- Veloland.
A very informative and complex site, perfect for planning a multi-day bike route through Switzerland when your kids are already great cycling champions. The site also features hiking and canoeing.
But if you only follow their bike routes you are missing out on the local insider bike routes which we LOVE and want to find.
Another great App & Website which I use a lot to plan and later re-create our routes is Outdoor Active. On all our hiking and now biking blogs you will find a detailed map from Outdoor Active.
What I love is that the created maps are mainly from people like you and me. Special side trips are marked and so are playgrounds and all kinds of interesting features. Which is in my opinion, what a perfect family friendly bike route in Switzerland needs to be.
Cycling – Biking Route Signs Around Switzerland
Here is a quick explanation of the different signs.
Blue is for Road Cycling
The blue cycle – bike routes are more for the serious cyclists. The roads are paved and you can find yourself on a quiet country road but also within the traffic. So not ideal for a family friendly bike route in Switzerland.
Yellow for Mountain Biking
We do like mountain biking routes when biking with kids in Switzerland. As long as they are not too steep, not too many roots and not too narrow.
Purple for Inline Skating, but cycling is allowed as well.
These bike routes are most of the time away from the main road and therefore a great alternative to the blue routes.
Other Cycling – Biking Road Signs in Switzerland
When biking with kids in Switzerland you will also find signs with just a “Velo- Bike” logo on it. These are not part of the official network but in most cases better for a family bike ride and the ones we prefer.
Some paths are for pedestrians and bikes – velos, these are in many cases also family friendly and bring you often to a play area or a nice water feature or if you are lucky even a beach. On such routes remember, you are sharing this path with pedestrians, families with young children and others. And I do believe that these are for families in mind and not for the fast-serious cyclists. Just always make sure that the pedestrians have priority and when in doubt get off the bike and walk for a bit. Click on the picture to get the full info and meaning of all these different cycling road signs.
And then there are the non-marked nor signed country side roads which are perfect for the family. Mostly not paved and more or less quiet. You may encounter an occasional car or farm vehicle.
Bike Rental in Valais Wallis
If you are on holiday in Valais without your bikes, or maybe you are living in Valais and have friends visiting who do not bring their bikes, don’t worry!
Valais Wallis has an amazing service called Wallisrollt.ch
Throughout the Valais Valley you can rent bikes and when finished drop them at several different dedicated stations. This is an amazing service. They also rent bike trailers, helmets and E-Bikes.
I hope that the information provided here will prove itself useful when Biking with Kids in Switzerland. And don’t forget to get in touch if you know of a fantastic family friendly bike route which should be on our list.
If I have left anything out, please ask your questions in the comments below so that other readers can join in the conversation and benefit from your queries also.
Thank you & Never Forget to Explore
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