Snowshoeing in Andorra, guided or on your own

Snowshoes are the easiest way into snowy mountains if you don’t ski. No technique, no lessons, and in a morning you reach places that would take far longer on foot in summer. In Andorra nearly everything happens in or next to the ski resorts, which has one clear upside, waymarked trails, and one condition you need to know about, that using them requires a pass.

Solo or guided, the first choice

Inside the resorts you can walk the snowshoe circuits with a Mountain Pass, from €20 a day in 2026-27, or with a pedestrian pass on some guided walks. What you can’t do is walk on the ski pistes or the ski touring routes. If you’ve done it before, going solo is the cheapest option, and the resorts’ circuits are waymarked, so route-finding is easy even in flat light. Keep an eye on the clock, though, because the rescue cover that comes with the Mountain Pass only runs from 9am to 5pm.

If it’s your first time, I’d go with a guide. They provide snowshoes and poles, pick the route to suit the snow and weather, and keep you out of places you shouldn’t be. Guided walks at Grandvalira and Pal Arinsal need a minimum of two people, and booking for one adds a 50% supplement. On all of them, walking boots are compulsory or strongly advised, and activity insurance is bought separately. As a British visitor without GHIC cover in Andorra, make sure your travel policy includes snowshoeing too.

Grandvalira, five circuits and an activity centre

Across the Canillo, El Tarter and Soldeu sectors, Grandvalira has 23 kilometres of trails with 850 metres of climbing on five circuits, Comellar Llarg, Planells, the Incles viewpoint, Gall de Bosc and Espiolets, laid out so you can make a full loop of all three sectors. This season also brings a new Snowtrek format at Forn de Canillo, with a two-hour guided walk every day from 2pm to 4pm for €30.50, or €34.20 including the pedestrian pass.

At Grau Roig and Pas de la Casa, walks leave from the activity centre on signposted routes for every level. There you can choose two hours for €39, half a day for €85 or a five-hour day for €180, and there’s a two-hour night walk for €65. You can also hire snowshoes there without booking a walk. From El Tarter the walk goes outside the ski area, from 10am to 1pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, for €61.50.

Pal Arinsal and Ordino Arcalís

Pal Arinsal has 17.4 kilometres on six trails, from the 843-metre Cabirol to the Trencalòs, which climbs 950 metres in 5 kilometres between 1,550 and 2,500 metres. The shorter trails wind through the Pal forests and make a gentle introduction. The guided walk outside the ski area costs €61.50, takes children from 8 and meets at 9am at the La Massana gondola. More on the resort in my Pal Arinsal guide.

Ordino Arcalís is my favourite for a first outing. Its two-hour walk leaves at 10.30am, costs €35 with kit and the pedestrian pass included, and depending on the day and the snow climbs to the Tristaina solar viewpoint or the Port del Rat. With teenagers, the snowshoe and igloo-building pack at €68 strikes me as a winner.

Away from the resorts

The tourist board lists snowshoe routes all over the country, several of them in the Sorteny valley with its staffed hut, around Pessons or between Bordes d’Envalira and Soldeu. At La Rabassa, Naturland offers the Petjades trail, about three hours to the Roca de Pimes hut, and the 5-kilometre Paquetaires route, which crosses the border into Spain past bunkers of the old P Line. It also hires snowshoes for children from 5.

Once you leave a marked circuit, nobody is watching the snow. Before setting off I’d check the meteo.ad avalanche bulletin and the forecast, which I explain in Andorra ski resort weather, and tell someone your route, as the tourist board recommends.

What I’d pack

Layers, category 4 or 5 sunglasses and high-factor sun cream, which is the tourist board’s advice, plus water and a snack. If someone in your group would rather skin up, they take their own trail, as I explain in ski touring in Andorra. And if you fancy combining a morning on snowshoes with snowmobiles, husky sledding or an igloo, it’s all in snow activities in Andorra.