Anyone on a plant-based diet who spends time in the mountains knows the struggle – you spend half or all day trudging and hiking up a mountain and look forward to a hot meal only to find there’s nothing for you to eat. This is okay, as you’ve unquestionably prepared for this, but the feeling of eating your own vegetables or sandwich while your friends chow down on freshly made and hot meals dampens the mood slightly.
Some huts are extremely vegan friendly and have numerous, clearly labeled vegan options on their regular menu. Others are happy to accommodate your request when you ask if they can make anything vegan. And, unfortunately, some huts will angrily brush you aside and say there are no vegan options – period. And thus, I wanted to create a list of huts to help other plant-based / vegan hikers an easier way to find accommodating huts or at the very least be prepared for disappointment and prepare their own food.
In general, it is always a good idea to email the mountain hut before hand, either when you make your reservation (if staying overnight) or a day or two before you visit. Even in the cases where they have clearly labeled vegan options, I would still email ahead so they know you are coming. In the “Requires Advance Notice” column you can see where emailing or calling ahead is requested by the hut, or simply recommended – in some cases, such as for Schönfeldhütte and Stöhrhaus, the hut indicated to me that if you email ahead they will make ‘special’ dishes for you that are not on the normal menu!
I have a lot more information than the below columns and will be expanding the list over time.
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