So, anyone who’s been walking in Switzerland knows about the yellow rhombus symbols that guide you along paths/walks, either metal plates nailed on to trees/posts or painted on.

However, I have also seen green ones. I have tried looking them up on that thing called the internet, but my Google-fu is not strong enough.

My assumption is that they signal a nature trail of sorts. As a mountain biker I am curious to hear what they actually are.

Feel free to rant about inconsiderate mountain bikers if you need to.

Could be a thematic inspired walk. Like the Fricktaler Chriesiwäg (Information in English: https://www.parks.swiss/en/map.php?offer=135)


Picture and where? Did you by chance cross the border and ended up in Germany?

I don't think I've met an inconsiderate mountain biker. A few stupid people on ordinary bikes who don't understand that on a wanderweg, pedestrians have right of way, or that on roads (even those closed to normal motorised traffic), pedestrians walk on the left...

There are various colours of signs around and about. I've always just assumed the green ones are national or regional hiking paths.

Can you post a photo?

Is the whole sign green or is it just a green sticker.

If it's the former then it's probably a local thing.

If the latter then it indicates a particularly notable trail - sometimes local, sometimes national but all are deemed attractive.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but on shared paths do the walker still walk on the left? That puts them going the opposite way from the bikers/roller bladers/push scooters. I've always cycled and walked on the right in these shared paths.
If a walker (on the left) and a cyclist (on the right) are both coming towards you you need to stop in front of the pedestrians to let the cyclist pass before passing them.

https://www.wandern.ch/de/signalisation
The website isn't available in English, but Google Translate will give you the gist, if necessary.

"Green stickers with numbers and route names They are installed along particularly attractive hiking trails.
There is a distinction between local, regional and national routes. "

I've seen those green signs as well around here. I think they have a leaf on it as well. I'm ashamed to say I don't know what they're for either.

Yes, walkers are taught to walk on the left from early childhood on. The mantra they get taught with it is "links gehen, Gefahr sehen". (Walk left, see danger approaching. Obviously not working in GB )

I thought it was a general rule till I caught a lot of angry looks from other walkers coming from the opposite direction.

Maybe the weren't Swiss, but many people here seem to believe the correct way is to walk on the right.

I understand when walking against car traffic. From my cycling here on cycling/walkways I see most people walking on the right, or three abreast blocking the whole path...

In the UK/Aus/Ireland you're taught to walk on the right so you see the cars coming, useful in the country when there's usually not a footpath.

I agree with you, it's a constant dilemma.
That's why I wrote "are taught".

When on horse you should pass each other on the left. But nobody keeps that rule outside the riding-hall either.

The Swiss highway code does say pedestrians should walk on the left. Whether that applies on all paved roads, I don't know. On a paved road, cyclists go quite fast. I definitely want to see them approaching on the side of the road I'm on. I don't want them coming up behind. On an unpaved road, there is no rule about where walkers ought to walk. Certainly on yellow diamond trails, the cyclist is always the one who has the obligation to make way.

I'm quite courteous, so I'll often stand aside, especially if the path is narrow. But I've had idiots aim at us, even though they could quite safely pass on the other side. One of my son's friends was quite badly injured when a cyclist going to fast hit him, even though they were on the correct side of the path. The cyclist's bike was damaged, he was fined, had to pay the medical costs of the boy and give 2000Fr in compensation. Fortunately, the idiots are few and far between.

Sometimes there's text on them, or a signboard nearby explaining a local nature walk.

__________________
Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

"Walk on the left" typically applies outside of towns and on asphalt roads, and only if there's no sidewalk, hiking path, etc.

In these situations pedestrians need to make space (and, usually, leave the road) for the motorised traffic whenever a vehicle approaches. To not get surprised by them approaching from behind, people are advised to walk on the left. This is a typical situation.

I do not want to question your geometric skills, but that looks like a square to me and not like what is usually called a rhombus.

O.k. technically, a square is a rhombus. So you win.

I'm a frequent hiker, and I have to say I have never seen green rhombus on hiking trails. It's always either yellow, or yellow with a black outline (spaced around a 10-minute walk apart from each other). If the forest is managed, you'll often see trees marked with different symbols (usually blue dots meaning "don't cut yet", red diagonal lines meaning "cut this tree down around here", or short, parallel horizontal lines which designate the so-called Rückeweg through which fell trees are transported back down.

The squares with numbers on them are, as someone already mentioned, either national hiking routes (they have a single-digit number), or regional routes (with two-digit numbers). They have the same background color. At the moment there are some 60+ regional routes, and 7 national routes.

__________________
The internet makes it easy to be a jerk and forget the person we're talking to is a human. It also makes us see messages from awful people and assume they come from normal peers.

In due course... on hols at the moment.

It is near the Solothunischer Regio trail, but these are clearly marked with metal posts/arrows.

It’s like the yellow rhombus, just green - same size/shape etc. Painted on.

This. I'm quiet sure that's the answer.



Mark for hiking paths in Germany.

ASitUS: 100 points

This, I’m quite sure is NOT the answer. Unless parts of Switzerland have been recently annexed and no one told me. But thanks for your confidence anyway...

Yeah, well, that's a constant threat.

The sign looked different?

never seen those. Some trails marked in other colors are usually small metal shields saying something about special trails of whatever kind.

I found THE HANDBOOK. Tells you everything you need to know about hiking paths in Switzerland and their signage, down to which green is to be used. Its Pantone 368C, since you ask. There is, however no sign (pun intended) of green rhombuses (should that be rhombi ?


I reckon the person who painted it was either colourblind or picked up the wrong tin. Or perhaps they're trying to get the enemy to get lost. I'm a bit vague on that one, that could have been the Brits during the Second World War. I swear some of those signs weren't put right after 1945. But I digress.
If you like, I'll give them a call and try and get to the bottom of this.
You can download the handbook. Just search for “2013_handbuch_signalisation wanderwege_d”


My apologies for interrupting the conversation you're having with yourself. You'd be absolutely right to question my geometric skills. Definitely not one of my strongest points. Thanks for letting me win. I just don't know why. Is it because a rhombus is a bit like a squashed square? But if it's squashable, shouldn't it be three dimensional? In which case, you win after all.