How wonderful to feel the snow crunching under your feet, the fresh mountain air reviving your senses, and the winter sun slowly warming you up!  Feelings guaranteed on a walk in the mountains around Crans-Montana.  Families will particularly like the path that links Plan-Mayen with Aminona, passing by Arnouvaz, Vermala and Plumachit.  A walk of around five kilometres, completsed easily in less than two hours.

Two hour walk 
At an altitude of between 1700 and 1800 metres, the almost flat path provides unique panoramas as it cuts across fields and forests.  Walkers will find cafes and restaurants along the trail where they can take refreshment and enjoy a rest.  It is alsopossible to do the walk in several sections, starting for instance with Plan-Mayen-Arnouvaz-Vermala, followed by a bus ride down to Crans-Montana, then Plumachit-Aminona the following day.  Crans-Montana has 40 kilometres of specially maintained, safe winter walking trails, right in the heart of the ski area.

Follow the pink signs
As part of a pilot project, the resort was the first in the French-speaking part of Switzerland to give its winter paths a set of special signs, recongnisable by their pink colouring.  First of all, the signposts set up at the starting points and path junctions provide information about the destinations and walking times for each trail.  Then, between the various boards, numerous wooden posts painted pink have been set up alongside the entire trail.  Walkers will also find directional arrows complete with the familiar black walker silhouette the whole length of the path.

Ask for the programme
To find out exactly what Crans-Montana has to offer in terms of winter trails, walkers can pick up a brochure complete with maps from the tourist offices.