Help pick best hikes – 2.5 days in Berner Oberland

  • HS412
    Participant
    8 posts
    26 July 2021 at 16:37:43 #825972

    Hello all – I am new here to MySwissAlps and have found it to be an amazing website to help me plan my upcoming trip. I will be headed to the Bernese Oberland for 2.5 days/2 nights in late August. I have picked out several hikes and was hoping for input so that I can select the best ones for my trip without being redundant and to be sure I can fit them all in.

    About me and this trip: mid-30s, average fitness level, interested in hikes ranging from easy to moderate, safe trails for solo travel, based in Murren.

    Planned hikes:

    – North Face Trail (Murren): Is 4 hours sufficient to allow the trail with a detour to Sprutz? Seems like you can end in Gimmelwald by a trail down from Sprutz – is this accurate? Is there a direction with better views? I was thinking of starting by taking the funicular up to Allmendhubel and ending in Gimmelwald, but not if I have to be turning around all the time to get a good mountain view.

    – Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg: Seems straightforward, allowing 2 hours. Is the Royal Walk detour worth it (wasn’t planning on this as the other planned hikes seem to have the views)?

    – Eiger Trail from Eigergletscher to Alpiglen: I have read varying times for this – is 3 hours sufficient or will it take longer? I will plan to do this trail after the Mannlichen/Kleine Scheidegg hike by taking the train up to Eigergletscher.

    – Lauterbrunnen Valley for Staubbachfall and Trummelbachfalle: Time recommendation to hike behind Staubbachfall and go into Trummelbachfalle, walk versus bus?

    Optional hike:

    – Bachalpsee/First Cliff Walk: I am really trying to squeeze this in, but don’t think it is possible with my timeline. If I do this, want to be able to enjoy the view and not just plan to hike there and turn around. I wouldn’t plan on doing any of the adventure activities offered. I am avoiding adding it to the day with Mannlichen and Eiger trail so that I don’t personally overdo it and due to the timing of the cable cars. Is Bachalpsee a must see or is it skippable?

    Looking forward to the conversation – thank you.

    H

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    Rgoppelt
    Participant
    44 posts
    26 July 2021 at 18:03:24 #935876

    W estay in Wengen and take the Manlichann cable care and then hike a leisurely 45 minutes to Kliene Shedigg. We then visit Jungfrau and stop at ehe Eiger Glacier station and walk down to Kliene Schiedegg, We then walk half to WEngen and take the train back. A great day of hiking with little elevation gain and no paind and suffering. We love to stop Applest4rudel and a wine at Kliene Schdieg restaurants. We take the train and funicular to Murren and sometimes take the Alpensomething little funicular to walk the north face trail along the side., Easy but beautiful.

    We als like walking to Gimmelwald which is also down hill. We are too old to walk up a lot more than 300 feet in elevation gain. A great side trip in rainy weather is the boat to Geisbach falls from Lauterbrennan. You can hike back through the woods to Lauterbrennan after having a great lunch at a romanctic hotel by the Falls.

    W ehav ealso down the First hike and the Blue lake. We often take the Gondola from WEngen to Grindelwald, catch a bus or train to the First station and hike from there, Grindelwald is beautiful and has many great connections for hiking,. We plan ahead so our hikes are cable car up and hike down,. .

    my sugestion would be to try stay longer in WEngen and hike around there. 2 and 1/2 days is wonderful if the weather is great otherwise you might just be in the hotel if it rains. If it rains, go to the Geissbach falls, consider going up to Jungfra, ro go to the St, Beautus caves. Another rainy day idea would be to go rafting from Grindelwald . We have never done that but it looks like fun. pardon my misspellings.

    I hihgly recommedn the Hotel Alpenrose in WEngen, family onwned , pine interior, 150 years in same family, great five course meals every night, wonderful views of the falls, and a hiking trail right outside your hotel. Reasonalbe compared to other hotels. They have a hotel dog,.

    HS412
    Participant
    8 posts
    26 July 2021 at 18:21:43 #935877

    Rgoppelt – Thank you for your quick reply! As I actually delve into planning the trip, I am realizing that there are possibly more hikes I want to do on the opposite side from where I am staying. Have also seen some prior posts making the case for Wengen vs. Murren. That being said, I have booked a room with a balcony and view of Eiger/Jungfrau/Monch, which will be hard to give up if I switch sides. 🙂

    Thank you also for the rainy day ideas – not something I previously considered.

    Rgoppelt
    Participant
    44 posts
    26 July 2021 at 18:26:51 #935878

    Both sides are wodnerful. Have fun. I oftne wish we could just rent an apartment and stay in Wengen for a month.YOu can rent apartments there for short term rentals. I hope you have sunny days during your time there. If not, invest in a really good poncho, rain pants, and bring an umbrella. We always bring umbrellas. We bring plastic bags to keep our phone and backpacks safe. Get a really good hiking stick but make sure ift fits in your suitcare. We have to dismantle ours, and even unscrew the handle to get it in the luggage.. Enjoy hte Fedndant wine and great swiss food.

    Anna
    Moderator
    6274 posts
    26 July 2021 at 19:44:24 #935879

    Hi H,

    Welcome to MySwissAlps.

    My kids and I just did the Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg trail and it is fairly easy. The views were amazing going around the mountain and we competed the trail in 1.5 hours. We didn’t do the Royal Walk trail because there was a big crowd at the top on that day. If you have 20 – 30 mins to spare I think the views from the top is worth the hike up. If you take the train from Kleine Scheidegg to Eigergletscher, you can probably probably complete the Eiger Trail from Eigergletscher to Alpiglen in less than 3 hours.

    The North Face trail in Mürren is a loop. The easier option is to take the funicular up from Mürren to Almendhubel where you can begin your hike. This is a loop so you’ll get multiple views of everything 🙂 If you want to hike to Gimmelwald, look out for the signage along the way.

    The walk from Lauterbrunnen to the Trummelbachfalle is also fairly easy and you’ll pass the Staubbach waterfall along the way. You can opt to take the bus on the way back. Allow 1 to 2 hours if you’d like to hike to the waterfalls.

    If you have time, I would definitely recommend the hike to Bachalpsee from Grindelwald First. On a warm day, you can swim in the lake and even have a picnic there. But definitely don’t rush and enjoy the view!

    You can find more hiking suggestions here: http://www.myswissalps.com/murren/activities

    Regards,

    Anna

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