March in Spiez - walks, things to do ?

Hi. My wife and I are staying near Spiez for a week before Easter. We will be weather ready and looking forward to some changing scenery as we explore the area. We will have a car and sense of adventure ! any advice and tips appreciated on place to visit, walk, train trips. We like to get off the beaten track and experience life in the country we are visiting. Thanks for your help :-)

Hi Kforh-

Welcome to the forum

The Switzerland Mobility Website can give you some ideas, for a start :

www.schweizmobil.ch/en /schweizmobil.html

www.wanderland.ch/en/h iking-in.html?phrase=Spiez+%28BE%29& sname=&sid=439

March is still Winter at the higher elevations of the Bernese Oberland , such as the Jungfrau region.

www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland

www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion

Weather conditions are highly dependent on altitude. www.myswissalps.com/ weather

In the warmer and sunnier lower areas, there will be distinct evidence of Spring, but it will be a few more weeks before the trees begin to flower. I'm thinking of the Emmental countryside between Bern and Luzern, or Luzern. The earliest warm days tend to be on the west and south facing mountain slopes....Montreux,Lausanne, Weggis on Lake Luzern.

The south facing wall of the Rhone Valley is warm and sunny, hot and dry in the Summer, easily accessible from Spiez, has a super hiking trail paralleling the rail line. The so-called BLS Südrampe trail usually opens officially at about Easter. Before that time it is officially closed, but some people hike it with care. Opening date depends on the trail conditions, and the conditions on the mountain walls above the trail.

I have walked it about a week before the opening while the winter debris and rockfalls were being cleared. It may be blocked, or may be passable with care. Depends a lot on how the Winter weather was, and how much snow fell on the mountain slopes above the trail. One picture shows the handrail and cables that will be installed along the outer edge of the walkway in a few days after the picture was taken. The beer garden above Raron was open then, and there were a very few hikes on the trail. You can reach it by auto, too.I usually walk from Hohtenn to Ausserberg ...Both have train stations. You can continue all the way to Brig.

www.myswissalps.com/hi king

www.myswissalps.com/hi king/hohtenn-lalden

www.wanderland.ch/en/h iking-in.html?phrase=Station+Hohtenn +%28VS%29+-+Hohtenn&sname=&sid=10 3860

The last link shows all of the trail. the section from Hohtenn eastward is the most commonly hiked portion, because of easy access to the trail at that station.

The rail line is very scenic between Spiez and Brig on the upper route via Kandersteg;

www.bls.ch/e/bahn/lini e-express-loetsch.php

Google search for Lötschberger and look at the various listings.

Attached are some photos from along the hiking trail from the week before the official opening.

Note the signpost at the beginning of the walk at Hohtenn Station has a red sign saying that the trail is not open. Travel at your own risk, wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots until the trail is fully cleaned up. Ask about it at the tourist office in Spiez.

Slowpoke

Thanks for the information - appreciated ! Lots of online exploring to do to set up an itinerary. Photos are a great help to get a sense of what the walks entail. Cheers.

<<"We like to get off the beaten track and experience life in the country we are visiting. ">>

You are about an hour drive from the southern part of the Emmental. That is definitely not part of the regular tourist circuit.

Very traditional Swiss culture....farm country....great hiking, maybe when you are there, or, probably, a few weeks later in May. Depends on when Spring arrives. Used to be a zillion inns - hike inn-to-inn. There are still a lot of nice ones, as noted in the thread below. however, a lot have closed .

I posted a whole bunch of pictures of the Emmental and some walks in another rather long thread:

www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/langnau-in-may

www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/langnau-in-may/page/2

The attached image - "near Fankhaus" shows a typical Emmental Farmstead, near Trubschachen. Schloss Trachselwald is shown in another view. Trub is up the valley a short way from Trubschen.

The inn "Hirschen" in Langnau im Emmental is first rate.

I took the attached in April 2014.....unusually dry and sunny weather for 10 days to 2 weeks. Photoshop helped the image look like what my eyes saw...trees are flowering on April 17th, no leaves yet. Snow on the Alps. April is usually rainy, not too cold, with some sunny days in the Emmental or elsewhere.

Weather forecasts tend to be too general. Switzerland is full of micro climates. If it is going to rain for one hour, the day will be condemned in some forecasts. Not sure how to tell you to manage that, but at least keep it in mind.

There is an outdoor museum at Ballenberg, near Brienz, not far from Spiez.. Farmhouses from all over Switzerland have been moved there. See image attached.

Slowpoke