In cooperation with the Alpine Association of Slovenia and on the occasion of Slovenian Mountaineers’ Day, which this year is being celebrated in Areh on Pohorje, Zavarovalnica Triglav announced the winner of the Best Hiking Trail 2026 competition. Mountain lovers cast their votes on the Vse bo v redu website, with the title (and the funds for its restoration) going to the extremely demanding trail from Zadnja Trenta to Bavški Grintavec, which is currently closed because of rockslides. The trail, which is located in the Julian Alps, is looked after by Jesenice Alpine Club.
For the last nine years, Zavarovalnica Triglav and the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) have used the Best Hiking Trail campaign to highlight the importance of well-organised trails and the indispensable work of trail markers, whose dedication ensures that walkers and hikers can move through the Alpine world with greater ease and safety. This year, five trails in the Julian and Kamnik-Savinja Alps were included in the shortlist for urgent restoration.
Thorough restoration awaits the winner
Voting for Best Hiking Trail 2026 took place from 20 April to 7 June. The winning trail, from Zadnja Trenta to Bavški Grintavec, runs from the mountain hut at the source of the Soča along the Zadnja Trenta valley, before climbing for a long stretch through the Zapotok mountain pasture to the Kanja Pass. From here you then climb the steep northern slope using guardrails – all of which makes this trail an extremely challenging one.
“At Jesenice Alpine Club we are extremely happy and proud to see that the Zadnja Trenta to Bavški Grintavec trail has been chosen as Best Hiking Trail 2026. We take this recognition as support for the work of our trail markers and all volunteers who take care of hiking trails and ensure that visitors to the mountains can enjoy themselves in safety. We thank all hikers, mountain lovers and supporters whose votes delivered this victory. The funds will make a major contribution to ensuring that the trail is restored so that it can once again be made safe for hikers and lovers of the Julian Alps,” said Bojan Erjavšek, president of Jesenice Alpine Club, which is responsible for the winning trail.
Best Mountain Trail competition highlights the work of trail markers
The Best Hiking Trail campaign is designed to draw attention to the fact that well-ordered and safe trails through the mountains should never be taken for granted. Slovenia has more than 10,000 kilometres of hiking trails. They are serviced by around 1,000 volunteer trail markers whose work is often complex, dangerous and unnoticed. Voting is therefore also an expression of your support for their many years of hard work.
“The Best Hiking Trail campaign has been one of our main social responsibility projects for a number of years. Its aim is to make visits to the mountains safer and more pleasant, and to draw attention to the importance of having well-organised hiking trails. We support the committed work of trail markers and everyone who contributes to making Alpine environments safer, while carrying out a series of activities that encourage hikers and mountaineers to behave more responsibly. For several years, we have also been working with partners to support other prevention-focused activities in the mountains, including by improving fire safety in mountain lodges,” said Maša Čeplak, head of Zavarovalnica Triglav’s Social Responsibility department on the occasion of the symbolical handover of a piton to Jesenice Alpine Club.
Restoration of the ninth hiking trail is under way
Since 2018, when the campaign came into being, a total of eight trails have been fully restored. It is hoped that work on last year’s winning trail, the ninth of the campaign, will be completed in time for this year’s hiking season.
Past winners of the Best Hiking Trail competition:
- - The circular trail that starts on the Blato mountain pasture and passes through the Pri Jezeru and Dedno Polje mountain pastures, the Vrata Valley (below Mount Zelnarica), Mount Prehodavci, Dvojno Jezero Lake, the Štapce Pass, the Ovčarija mountain pasture and the Pri Jezeru mountain pasture again, before ending back on the Blato mountain pasture
- - The Rečica circular trail
- - The Bamberg Trail from Luknja via Plemenice to Triglav
- - The trail leading from the Kranj Lodge on the Ledine Plateau to Mount Koroška Rink
- - The Hanza Trail, which leads from the Koča na Gozdu mountain hut to Prisojnik
- - The trail from Kamniško Sedlo to Mounts Brana and Planjava
- - The Koželj Trail along the Kamniška Bistrica river
- - The trail from Topla Cave to Mala Peca
- - The Logar Valley to Okrešelj and Kamniško Sedlo (restored to Okrešelj)
Useful links:
- - Descriptions of the finalists in the Best Hiking Trail 2026 competition.
- - Useful tips on how to prepare for a hiking trip.
