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Berner Oberland hiking shoes or boots

Posted by (SF Bay Area) on

We are traveling to the Berner Oberland in mid-June, and planning to do relatively easy hikes from Laurel Barton's Walking in Switzerland's Berner Oberland. I think the most difficult hike we have planned is hike #8 from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg (assuming the trail is open then). We also might do hike #6, the Northface Trail.

I have the following Dansko Paisley waterproof shoes with vibram soles and they are lightweight and comfortable enough to wear on the plane. I'd be interested to know if those are likely to be enough for the hikes. They are described as a sneaker, but they are sturdier than my Brooks Addiction sneakers and I think more stable going downhill.
https://www.zappos.com/p/dansko-paisley-black-black-suede/product/8722031/color/5492

I also have an older version of these Oboz boots, but I don't love them, they are heavy, and I'm not sure I could stand to wear them on the flight to Zurich.
https://www.rei.com/product/235053/oboz-sawtooth-x-mid-waterproof-hiking-boots-womens

We will be able to borrow hiking poles from our hotels, so we will have them for our hikes. I'm in my early 70s and typically hike easy to easy-moderate trails here in California.

I'd appreciate hearing from those who have done these hikes.

Posted by
11773 posts

Hi Barbara! Laurel here. You’ll be fine with those shoes on those trails unless you have ankle problems. Having poles is a great thing for stability! I hope you get to do the Northface as well. It is a lovely hike. Happy hiking!

Posted by
17417 posts

Those shoes should be fine. Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is basically a gravel path, as you can see in this photo:

https://www.maennlichen.ch/en/summer/experiences/panorama-trail.html

The North Face Trail has a muddy section where it passes through the Schilthorn Cablecar construction site (at least it did last September), but most of it is easy walking, as long as you are going downhill from the top of the Allmendhubel funicular.

But speaking of downhill—-make sure your Danskos have enough room in front of your toes. Your feet can slide forward a bit in sneaker-type shoes on a downhill stretch. You can help prevent this by lacing tightly at the top, near your ankle, leaving the lacing looser toward the toe. I mention this because I had a similar pair of Dansko walking shoes that I wore a lot and really liked—-until I wore them on a downhill hike and my toes hit the front. I tossed them after that hike and replaced them with a shoe that had more toe room.

Posted by
770 posts

I agree with both Laurel and Lola! I hiked both of those trails in my athletic shoes. Great that you will have hiking poles to borrow from the hotel. You are going to love the Berner Oberland!

Posted by
878 posts

Thank you Laurel, Lola, and Christine! I'm going to post our daily plan for comments.

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