Do you like to share your hiking adventures with like-minded people? Do you climb peaks arm-in-arm with your hiking friends? Do you revel in the stories of years gone by whilst sitting on a bench in front of a mountain inn? Do you accept the sound of snoring when you’re camped out? In that case, corona probably meant 2020 was not your year. It was a time when you had to hike alone and when the huts were mostly empty. You couldn’t share your adventures.

But wait, together with komoot, we came up with a plan to change this. Although we couldn’t go on a Tour together in Ticino in Switzerland, we could join each other virtually. So that more people could take part in the adventure, we set up a six-stage relay and set a different komoot user on each stage over the course of several weeks.

The campaign was a big success and far more outdoor enthusiasts wanted to take part than we could assign daily stages. You can check out what went down in our Collection here: komoot.de/collection/1039762/ticino-mtb-staffelfahrt-2020-powered-by-komoot. Initiated by komoot pioneer Beat (komoot.de/user/193412189424), a total of six users grabbed their mountain bikes and went on Tour, one after the other. Where one rider finished, the next began. From Lugano to Locarno, they explored the best single trails, the coziest huts and the most magnificent views - and the result was an adventure that the six will still be able to tell stories about years from now.

We'd like to build on last year's success so this year we're inviting hikers as well as mountain bikers to an outdoor relay in Ticino. We’ve mapped out seven hiking stages that take you from Airolo, a municipality on the border with Valais to Mendrisio in the far south. Across almost 100 kilometres (62 mi), participants experience the diversity of Ticino – from alpine flair in the border region to the Valais to sunlit villages in the Ticino valley and the Mediterranean charm of the great Italian lakes.

Are you itching to get hiking? Scroll to the bottom of this page and apply in the Collection comments for your preferred leg. You can enter your preferred date (from June 26th of July). By the way, you don’t have to go alone – one hiking companion can accompany you. All stages are designed as a long-distance hike and you can easily arrive by public transport.

As a little treat, Ticino Tourism covers all costs for bus and train in Switzerland. If you come from Switzerland, you travel completely free of charge – if you come from neighbouring countries, you pay for your journey to the national border yourself.

Take a look at the stages now and choose your favorite route. We know from last year, it pays to be quick, the stages are quickly taken.