Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken hike along Lütschine
A traveler named Stodgytj is planning a hike from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken in early October and is looking for advice about the trail along the river. They're particularly interested in whether the path gets difficult or fades out before Interlaken.
- The trail from Lauterbrunnen to Wilderswil is easy and enjoyable, but gets less interesting approaching Interlaken.
- You can use online maps like Swisstopo to check the official hiking trails and stay informed of the terrain.
- If concerned about hiking fatigue, consider taking the train or bus back from Wilderswil to Interlaken.
- The Swiss Travel Pass can be a great option for tourists to save on train and bus fares while exploring the area.
AI-generated summary-
I was wondering if anyone had done the hike from Lauterbrunnen down to Interlaken along the river? Is it a good trail. Looks like it from the train but always better to check with someone who has actually made the trek. We’ll be there in early October and Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken Ost looked like a good, all day hike. Anyone who has done the hike along the river is encouraged to respond. I’m interested in knowing the trail peters out anywhere or is it an improved trail all the way down the valley to Interlaken? Thanks.
-
Hi Stodgytj,
I’ve done parts of it. It’s an easy enjoyable trail between Lauterbrunnen and Wilderswil. After that it gets kind of boring I think, as you’ll enter the plains around Interlaken and the town itself. If you keep following the river from Interlaken you’ll end up in Bönigen.
Here’s a description of one of the sections: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/wilderswil-zweiluetschinen.
Thanks for the response. Once we get to Wilderswil we can always jump on the train or take a bus back to Interlaken.
Hi Stodgytj-
This map will give you detailed information about the topography along that route. It will also make clear whether the trail peters out. It does not)
The aerial view may be helpful as well.
This link explains the color coding:
My ow view is that the trail from LB to IO does not give as striking views as many of the trails at higher altitudes. I think, from train rides and webcams, etc, that the floor of the valley between Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg has the very much better scenery. It is open enough, and aligned well enough, to give some great views.
Just my partly informed opinion…..;-0
Slowpoke
Hello Slowpoke, and thanks for the response. My only concern is the trail from Lauterbrunnen down to Wilderswil (actually Zweilutschinen) because on Google Earth the trail disappears shortly after leaving Lauterbrunnen due to the cliffs East of the river, road and train tracks. Its reassuring to know that we can leave Lauterbrunnen and walk to Wilderswil and then take the bus or train back into Interlaken.
We’ve done the Lauterbrunnen Valley walk numerous times, starting at the hotel and walking back along the stream. We’ve had to dodge some cliff divers on occasion but that’s par t of the charm.
Thanks for the response and the links. Glad to know you’re still on the job. We’ll be in Interlaken from September 27th to late October.
Thomsa W Johnson
Hi Thomsa,
You can use Slowpoke’s map or this one to find the official hiking trails: map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en&bgLayer=pk&log o=yes&season=summer&re solution=5&E=2635463&N =1162494&layers=Wander land (green lines). Google Earth can then be used to get a feel for the terrain, but it may indeed not clearly show all trails. They easily disappear in the woods or in the shade of a mountain.
Hi Arno-
There are many ways to use many different maps for Swiss travel. Everyone has there own preferences
If you choose the Swisstopo map that I linked, you get the official map of Switzerland from the Federal office:
<<“The Federal Office of Topography Swisstopo “measures” Switzerland. It surveys and documents the landscape and the underground, and produces high-quality …”>>
There is little need to comment on the high quality. It is famous. The map has many many layers available, providing much the kind of information available also on Google Earth. Google Earth does it for the world, not just Switzerland. And, it has a lot of available views. “Earth Engine” does the kind of data analysis available in the Swisstopo map. The 3D feature is excellent. Although versions for other browsers are promised, they do not seem to be available now.
I do not wish to use Chrome routinely, even though it is by now the most frequently used browser. Among other cogent reasons, Firefox is the only browser to my knowledge that acknowledges and uses the color space profile tagged on the image for my images, instead of automatically dumbing them down to “SRGB.”
In order to check out the trail markings in Google Earth for this discussion, I downloaded Chrome, and tried to load Google Earth. I got error messages regarding security, possible due the WiFi service that I am on, and which I do not have time to resolve while I am on the road. So, I will guess, rather than state positively that:
The trail markings in the Swisstopo map follow the official Swiss convention, used for all of the “Wanderwege” – hiking trails. I do not think that Google Earth offers this useful feature. Can you tell me if it does?
On the map that I linked you may turn the hiking trails on and off, showing their useful official difficulty ranking, while displaying either the topographical map view or the aerial photography view.
So, views with trails marked ( or not) are available with one click. And, he trails layer maybe turned on or off. I don’t know if this is possible for Google earth. Can you comment?
Slowpoke
Hi Slowpoke,
I haven’t seen that option in Google Earth either. One can load their own trails in it, which can be very useful as one can then see the trail in 3D. We do this in our hiking page maps in 2D, like here: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/wilderswil-zweiluetschinen/route. That used to be a Google map but it’s a different supplier now. Possibly still with Google data as a basis.
There are many useful tools to prepare for hikes. With often so many details that there’s hardly a surprise left when you’re actually there, apart from the weather 🙂
- The thread ‘Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken hike along Lütschine’ is closed to new replies.
