Hiking in Switzerland

Hi krissykris,

Yes, either Grindelwald or Mürren would be a great choice for a hiking trip!

Coming from Venice, though, Brig would be a little closer. Brig is a lovely town surrounded by mountains, and it has a sweet old town, a church, and dozens of trails leading off into the mountains. From Brig, you can visit (or hike) the Aletsch glacier or visit the car-free towns of Reideralp or Bettmeralp.

You can research either of these areas from the sites below:

www.myswitzerland.com
www.brig-belalp.ch
www.wengen-muerren.ch
www.grindelwald.com

You can research your train journeys from the Swiss rail site at

www.rail.ch (in English).

Have fun!

s

This little book has details of dozens of hikes of in the Berner Oberland:

"Swiss Bernese Oberland: A Travel Guide with Specific Trips to the Mountains, Lakes, and Villages"
by Philip and Loretta Alspach


http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Bernese-Oberland-Specific-Mountains/dp/0963223577/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199371723&sr=1-1

I LOVED Murren! The hiking was amazing. Scenery was out of this world, even for an avid indoorsman like me.

We took the train from Milan/Lake Como. Lots of connections, but SO worth it.

Hi krissykris---at one time you wre planning a hiking trip in Switzerland for September, 2006? did youever take that trip? Or will this be your first time to go there?

Grindelwald and Mürren both make good hiking bases---there are terrific hikes starting right from each village, or with a short gondola ride. We like to spend 3 nights each place; more would be even better, as we are never able to take all the hikes we want

Grindelwald is a 7-hour trip (or more) from Venice; Mürren is a bit more. If you are staying in both I suggest you head for GW first.

If you would like something closer to Venice, there is wonderful hiking in the Valais region as well, as Swandav suggested. Kandersteg would also be closer.

So you might consider 3 nights around either Brig (we like the car-free village of Bettmeralp) or Kandersteg, and then move on to Mürren, Grindelwald, or Wengen for 4 nights.

Hiking in the area is wonderful-based on first hand experience.
Muerren is up on a cliff. The valley below Lauterbrunnen, in my opinion, gives you quicker accessibility to both sides. (Wengen Jungfrau on one side, and Muerren on the other. It takes abt the same amount of time to get to either Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald by train. Another alternative. I agree about the Valais canton. Zermatt is breathtaking, and plenty of hiking for a week. All of these areas are expensive-but then with the week dollar so is all of switzerland. If you want a cheaper alternative you might consider The Stubaital in Austria (over the Brenner pass). You could get there faster. Perhaps not as dramatic as the other locations but great hiking region as well. Good Luck

We enjoyed staying in Wengen, which allowed us to go in one direction to Grindelwald and the other direction to Murren. With 7 nights, you can cover a lot of the Berner Oberland.

Thanks for all of your tips.
We did go there in 2006 and want to go again and spend a bit more time.
We are thinking 2 nights Grindewald, 3 nights Muerren, 1 night Grindewald and one night in Zurich before flying home.
Do you guys have day hike trip suggestions from Muerren or is this too much time up there?

We only stayed one night in Muerren during our last visit, it was not enough time and we did not even get to have a drink at the top of the Schilthorn (007 bar)!

3 nights is a minimum for Mürren. That will give you 2 full days for hikes, and there are many to choose from.

These two Gimmelwald sites describe the many possibilities:

http://www.gimmelwald.com/hikes.html

http://www.gimmelwald.ch/english/activities/hiking.htm

We have long wanted to hike up the Schilthorn, but the weather has never cooperated. You can hike partway (to Birg) if that sounds better, and catch the cablecar from there.

The hike to Rotstockhütte is very interesting and offers great views across to the Jungfrau, as well as up into the Sefeinental. Be prepared for mud and lots of cow droppings on this hike.

Other top choices for a dayhike would be to Tanzbodeli, and to the Oberhornsee (can be done by hiking down from Gimmelwald, and then riding the cablecar back up. For a shorter hike, the Kilchbalm makes a nice destination.

I assume you'll be doing the hikes around Kleiine Scheidegg, like the Eiger Northface Trail, from Grindelwald?

Yes, Enzian do you have a lodging suggestion for Grindelwald or Muerren? Anyone else have any?

We stayed at Hotel Fiescherblick last time, it was fine but were hoping to find something a little closer to the train.
Gletshcergarterich was recommended but it looks a ways distance from the station.
We don't want to spend $500 per night at the Belvedere, Romantik or Alpen Wellfit and let's face it-we are hikers-we don't need anything that fancy. Thanks!

In Grindelwald, I think Hotel Cabana might be quite close to the station, and looks very nice. Double rooms around 200 CHF.

We have stayed at Hotel Residence when we needed a lower-cost option; standard double there is 160 CHF. However, I would pay a bit more to have a balcony and view. This one is not close to the station, but it is near the First gondola, which you might be using for a hike or two.

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