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Following a 2-week easy-going stay in the French chablais alps, in late June-early July, I wish to take my three boys (ages 19, 16, 13) to a 3 day hike in Switzerland, not too far from Geneve. We are planning to leave Geneve by car at Monday and we have to be back at Geneve at Thursday, early afternoon. so we can make a 2-3 day hike. What we look for is a nice, medium-difficulty, route – in which we can leave the car in the beginning and get back to it (by public transport) at the end, and stay at nights in huts or simple inns. The Gruyère area and Gastlosen sounds to me a good option. Can that fit?
Any tips for planning will be much appreciated.
Best regards,
Yoav
(Two years ago i made a beautiful hike in stages 1 and 2 of the Obwaldner Höhenweg (Route 57) – I think this was after getting advise here)
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Hi Yoavs
I suggest you select the Jura Mountains for a change. Start in St Cergue (you could leave your car in Geneva and go there by train, or drive). Hike to Col du Marchairuz through an isolated valley called la Combe des Amburnex, which is also in a natural reservation. At Marchairuz you will enjoy a unique view on Lake Geneva and the Alps beyond. You can spend the night at a hostel there.
The next day, hike further north-east, until you reach the village of Le Pont in the scenic Joux Valley. Drop your gear at one of the hotels there and go for a swim in the lake, renting two pedalos if you want to do that away from the shore.
If you want a third day, hike to the top of Dent de Vaulion end enjoy the fantastic view on three or more Swiss lakes, the Alps to the south, and the Swiss and French Jura in all other directions.
In Le Pont you can start your return train ride to Geneva or St Cergue.
I’ll gladly supply more information and links (hiking map and accommodation) if you are interested.
Thanks, snowman. I will definitely consider this. I actually thought also to check a jura trail. I will be grateful for more info!
But i also would like to hear about the Gruyere option.< The Gruyère area and Gastlosen sounds to me a good option. >
For you, maybe almost any place in Switzerland is “near Geneva.” For us Swiss, Gruyère is not so close. In objective terms, maybe three hours travel.
I did following Gastlosen Tour a couple of years ago. Departure / end at Jaun.
Day 1 : Jaun – Chalet du Soldat, 6 km, 820 m up, 70 m down, 2hrs 40 min hike. Night at Chalet du Soldat (meals available, bunk beds, bring sleeping bag).
Day 2 : back to Jaun, trail on easter side of Gastlosen (below the cliff).
Sure, a greeat hike, but less different from the Alps than the Jura alternative I suggested in my previous post.
Attachments:Hi again yoavs
< I will be grateful for more info! >
Jura Crest Trail, Stage 15, St Cergue – Col du Marchairuz 17 km, Ascent 860 m, Descent 460 m, hiking time about 4 hrs 30 min. Note that the description in the link is in the reverse way. Night at Hôtel du Marchairuz
Jura Crest Trail, Stage 14, Col du Marchairuz – Le Pont, 21 km, Ascent 600m, Descent 10050 m, 6 hrs hiking time. Accommodation at Hôtel de la Truite or Restaurant du Lac.
Dent de Vaulion Trail, Le Pont – Le Pont, 10 km, Ascent / Descent 440m, hiking time 3 hrs.
The hiking times are estimates and do not include breaks.
I hope that’s useful to you, have a great time!
Thank you for the detailed itinerary for the Jura!
As for the Alps – we never said we want something different from the Alps. We stayed several times in the french alps, in Annecy area, but we had only rare opportunities to make real hikes there (we climbed the La tournette there, and we want more!). My boys also were never to Switzerland beyond Geneva itself (the one I hiked with in Luzern area is not joining this trip). So yes, we realy want a swiss alps hike!
I mentioned Gastlosen because I heard it is beautiful, and I saw it’s less than 2 hours drive from Geneve airport (where our car rent is). But it can be anywhere else that can fit a 2-3 day hike. You are the experts… What you offered in the former email for Gastlosen seems too short – only a few hours of hiking.
Hello Yoavs,
Nice to hear you’re bringing your boy on a hike to Switzerland.
You could also head towards the Canton on Valais from Geneva and do some hiking there. For me it’s one of my favourite areas for hiking:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/va lais/activitiesFor example the Lötschen valley offers a nice option:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/langglacierI’m sure you’ll find a place for a nice hike, the good thing about Switzerland is, it’s fairly small, so you can easily reach from Geneva to whichever area for hiking.
To find out about public transportation use the timetable, a fabulous tool for planning.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metableBest,
StephThank you Steph!
I am afraid Lötschen valley is too far from Geneve. I checked a little more about the Gastlosen area, and found that there is an interesting hike around Schwartzsee: http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en /hiking-in-switzerland/routes/rou te-0267.html. I wonder if can be a good idea to combine this treck with the Gastlosen tour, for a 2.5 hiking itinerary.
Any advice will be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Yoav
You could also hike from Montreux to Les Avants, then col de Jaman, and downwards to Montbovon, and up again to Rossinière and Rougemont. I’ve done that, it’s worthwhile in my opinion.
Hi Yoavs,
There are so many hikes around Geneva and it sounds like your boys are quite used to this and you are all relatively fit. Gruyeres-Moleson has quite a number of hikes that could be done as day hikes, is your wish to do day hikes from 1 base or a 3 day hike staying in huts or chalets along the way?
There are some very good suggestions already here from Snowman and Steph, and as you said you wanted something closer to Geneva. There is a beautiful family hike that can be done in canton Neuchatel called Creux du Van http://www.creuxduvan.com/cre ux-du-van.html. It’s very family friendly and I know that when I went there there were several other hikes that could be done in the area.
The Jura are a very good option too and lots of chalets there as well as Snowman suggests. Otherwise, les Pleiades is also a very nice area: fr.wikiloc.com/itinera ires/randonnee/suisse/ vaud/les-pleiades
Hope this helps in your planning,
Maria.
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