Hydrological data from six small subalpine basins in Switzerland are analysed to study water and nutrient discharge during snowmelt as affected by forest cover and weather conditions in winter. Streamflow from March through April varies between 300 and 900 mm and is usually 40% or more of the annual flow. It decreases as forest cover increases. For average winter conditions this is at a rate of about 4 mm decrease of spring streamflow for every per cent increase of forest cover. Flow-weighted nutrient concentrations tend to be similar in the three basins used in this study: 0.16 to 0.29 mg NO₃-N 1^-1, 0.02 to 0.03 mg NH₄-N 1^-1, 0.016 to 0.029 mg PO₄-P 1^-1. The loads during the snowmelt season (March-May) follow the trends set by streamflow and range from 1.4 to 2.9 kg NO₃-N ha^-1, 0.2 to 0.3 kg NH₄-N ha^-1 and 0.1 to 0.2 kg PO₄-P ha^-1. The wide range of nitrate loads is due to the basin with large areas of pasture and grassland yielding about twice the load of the forested basins.