bernese oberland hikes to do

A favorite walk of mine, and many here on the forum, is the walk from männlichen to kleine Scheidegg.

Here’s a nice video of that walk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsp2XG8lPyw

Forum member shoe put together some information on hikes in the area:

https://lauterbrunnenhiking.wordpress.com/

I don’t think there’s really any wrong choices as the area is just spectacular.

The transportation does seem a little confusing until you get there. But once you are there, I think you will see that is very easy to get around. Don’t be afraid to ask questions once there. I found everyone to be very helpful.

Have a great trip!!

If you are pretty fit then I recommend hiking from either Murren/Gimmelwald or from Stechelberg to Obersteinberg or beyond. Obersteinberg has a mountain hotel if you wished to do a 2 day hike.
I remember many years ago running from Gimmelwald over Tanzbodeli to Obersteinberg to Oberhorn up to the Glacier then dow to Scmadrihutte to Stechelberg then the short steep dash back up to Gimmelwald.
My most recent excursion to Obersteinberg was with my wife starting in Stechelberg and staying overnight.

We were able to get info in the various hiking opportunities at the Sportzentrum (sports recenter) in Murren. The staff was very helpful and had lots of brochures and maps. The RS Switzerland book also has a section on hikes/walks in Murren. Truly an amazing and beautiful location, hope you enjoy your trip!

A nice easy one is from the Grutschalp station to Sulwald. You can do a side trip to the Lobhornhutte along the way. We took an alternative path back to the Grutschalp Station.

There is a self operated cable car at Sulwald that will take you to Isenfluh or you can hike down then onward to Lauterbrunnen if you wanted to make a circuit.

Another nice easy one is from Gimmelwald into the Sefinental and onto Kilchbalm which leads into a large bowl below the Gspaltenhorn.

If you are hiking down from Schilthorn you can pick up the path to Bryndi a spectacular viewing point) then down to Spielbodenalp and then further on under the Sprutz waterfall and into Gimmelwald. This is a little more exciting than the direct descent to Murren (which is quite magnificent too).

@carrie: the video is appreciated. Online someone wrote that the beginning of that hike has a narrow ridge and ice. As an older walker, that dissuaded me, but I don't see anything risky in this video. Do you have any knowledge?

Michael: I hope you report back, especially if you do this walk. We'll be going in August to escape some of some of this heat.

Bets, I can’t think of what that person was referring to as far as a narrow ridge. I’m stumped. The trail is exactly as seen in the video. I did it twice last June. There was one small potion that still had some snow, but it was easy to walk around. I never felt unsafe or nervous about any parts of the trail. I just had my running shoes on and they were more than sufficient for this walk. And it was supposed to rain one day and so I stopped in at the TI to ask if it was safe to walk in the rain. They gave me an odd look and said yes of course. 😊

I was hesitant to do the trail the first time because I was worried about signage (would I know which way to go) and of course like all of Switzerland, the signage was great. And I could even get Kleine Scheidegg on my iphone map app. So, no worries about getting lost. And it’s not a long walk. I don’t like to be too far from a bathroom. 😊 There are toilets at the train station in Kleine Scheidegg (free I think) and then also toilets at the cable car stations up at männlichen (also free I think).

I’m headed back next year and plan to walk this one multiple times again. The views are incredible and it’s an easy downhill walk. I think you mentioned you will be there in August so the cows should be out. I missed them in June as it was too early for them.

let me ask, do the trails have official "opening" and "closing" times or can you go whenever you want if you deem it safe?

The trains and cable cars don’t run 24 hours a day and you’ll most likely need those to get to and from where you’re going. You can check the times on the SBB app or website.

I’m often up and out as soon as the sun comes up.

Trails are always open in Switzerland.
Obviously if you are going to Jungfraujoch you will need to check transport times.
Schilthorn can easily be climbed by foot (as a young bloke ran it 1h 40m) but obviously if you are going up in the cable car then you will have to check the limited transport times.
There is a train from Murren to Grutschalp to start the hike to Sulwald and again you need to check the limited transport times.
The hike to Obersteinberg and Kilchbalm have no transport options.

Hi Michael,

On July 1st/2nd it is Swiss hiking night - Schweizer Wandernacht

These are planned group night hikes that you can register for:

https://www.wandernacht.ch/de/schweizer-wandernacht

Look under “Alle Wanderungen im Überblick” ➡ Region: Berner Oberland

Looks like there is still room for the Grindelwald hike 5-6 hours rated difficult. Cost is 88CHF


Contact info:
Oberland Reisen, 033 225 17 17, info@oberlandreisen.ch, www.oberlandreisen.ch

Or the Wengen hike of 3-4 hours rated easy - this one says that there is no cost

Contact info:
Wengen Tourismus info@wengen.swiss 033 856 85 85 www.wengen.swiss

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Tintaldra, Is the hike to Obersteinberg, the same as another hike I was told about that was referred to as the Stechelberg to Oberhornsee loop?

I land in Zurich monday morning (and spending the night there) and planned to spend the day there but I sadly planned poorly and overlooked that the main site I wanted to see, the art museum, is closed on Mondays... I was thinking of adjusting my itinerary and spending that monday in Bern (einstein house, open on mondays) and then the next day (tuesday) going to art museum and going to murren after so I'd arrive at like 5 PM maybe? Maybe i can fit in a short hike that evening? And the next 3 days (Wed, Thu, Fri) do some hiking and then saturday i'm staying at lucerne so i wanted to spend the day there and then sunday i'm flying out. So it's:
1. monday - bern (sleep in zurich, hotels are all booked and paid for so stuck with them)
2. tuesday - zurich and then to murren and try to fit in short hike (sleep in murren)
3. wednesday - hiking as listed below (sleep in murren)
4 thursday - hiking as listed below (sleep in murren)
5. friday - hiking as listed below (sleep in murren)
6. saturday - lucerne (sleep in lucerne)
7. sunday - flight out from zurich

what are your thoughts? or should i just skip the art museum to get the extra day in bernese oberland. The main problem with my plan, i think, is that it doesnt give leeway for bad weather.

As for the hiking, I'm leaning towards these three days. Is each doable in a day or too ambitious (I'm typically a "good" hiker)? Is it a good way to spend the three days?

day 1
1. murren via ferrata (opens at 9 AM)
2. go to schillthorn
3. look into schilthorn big thrill walk
3. schillthorn to murren hike (13 km or 8 miles) 5 or 6 hours. dont do main route but either through Rotstockhutte or Bryndlii (is one preferred here?)

day 2
1. go to jungfraujoch
2. hike to monchsjochhutte
3. do eiger trail

day 3
1. the tanzbodeli to obersteinberg to stechelberg mentioned earlier since I like longer hikes).

Thanks everyone. I land tomorrow and am simultaneously super excited and also overwhelmed since there are so many options (and, if i'm being honest, things are pretty expensive so a wrong decision will cost me!)

The Einstein House is really just a very small apartment and there is not much to see there, in my opinion. Einstein museum in Bern is much more interesting, but like most Swiss museums it is also closed on Mondays.

Unless you want to visit Bern itself, I would go for the extra day in the mountains.

You sound like you have a lot of experience, so this might not be relevant to you, but just want to point out that the Via Ferrata is K3 with dangerous sections. There was a very sad accident there several weeks ago when someone did not keep themselves clipped on. Anyone with less experience can safely go with a guide, which you will need to book in advance.

thanks so much for the reply myswisslife. I have hiked a lot but never done via ferrata... I was really looking forward to it but not so much anymore. I'll talk to the people who you rent the equipment from and if I don't feel confident with it, I won't do it.

im bummed i screwed up my itinerary. Alright, what are your thoughts though on this though:

1. monday - land in zurich at 9:40 AM - go to lucerne (either with my bag or drop it off in zurich hotel depending on how much time it'll take) and spend the day there and return to zurich that night. (this is instead of spending the last day in lucerne)
2. tuesday - go to murren as early as possible
3. wednesday-friday - bernese oberland
4. saturday - go to bern for einstein museum and maybe spend a couple of hours there and then to zurich for the art museum and a couple of hours there and then go to lucerne at night where i sleep (sigh, only to go back to zurich the next day to fly home). I'll have to carry my bag around for the day which will be annoying but not too bad.

So basically i'm swapping the lucerne and zurich days even though i can't swap the hotels. Obviously, i screwed up by not staying in lucerne the first night and zurich the last but nothing i can do about it now.

If you want to hike down from Schilthorn, do the Rotstockhutte route. It's combining these 2 hikes, but in reverse. Schilthorn to Rotstockhutte & Rotstockhutte to Murren...

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/switzerland/bern/schilthorn-via-rotstockhutte?u=i

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/switzerland/bern/murren-to-rotstockhutte?u=i

If you want to take off some of the really steep downhill/ladder/scree hiking, do Birg to Murren via Bryndlii. It covers some of the same ground but hikes the ridge above Rotstockhutte, which is beautiful. Overall it will be a moderate hike, not quite as technical as Schilthorn but still not an average day trippers hike. When you say you are a "good" hiker it's hard to know exactly what that means but the first section of hiking down from the Schilthorn is VERY steep, full of scree and requires climbing down a couple ladders on the side of cliffs without clips. I personally think you need to be a "great" hiker to do Schilthorn in any direction and might suggest doing the Birg to Murren instead. It's still epic but a little less technical and if you want to add on distance, you can do Birg to Gimmelwald via Bryndlii and/or take a detour to Sprutz waterfall.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/switzerland/bern/birg-bryndli-murren?u=i

If you're going to do Obersteinberg, I recommend hiking it from Gimmelwald instead of from Stechelberg.

https://www.journeyera.com/tanzbodeli-obersteinberg-hike/

The Via Ferrata is definitely more about the thrill than it being the absolute best views to offer in the area. I would prioritize one of the really great hikes over in that area and then do the Via Ferrata if you have extra time for the adventure of it.

Have a great time!

Maybe others will give their thoughts on your new itinerary. Here are some of mine:

Keep the things that are most important to you. Sounds like you really want to see the art museum in Zurich - then do that, even if it means staying longer in Zurich on Tuesday or doing Bern - Zurich - Lucerne on Saturday.

Lots of people commute Bern - Zurich or Lucerne - Zurich traveling back and forth daily. Yes, not a perfect scenario, but very possible. A year from now it will be the highlights of the trip you remember, not the extra back and forth.

There are luggage lockers at train stations. Museums have (usually) free, but mandatory lockers for your bag when you visit them.

It isn’t getting dark these days until close to 10pm, so your daylight hours will be long. You can do a lot in a day…if you have the energy! :)

Yes, check with the equipment rental place when in Mürren, I am sure that they can give experienced advice.

thanks so much maureen! (sorry for getting the wrong user before!) You are very wise to correctly point out that in the future I'll remember the highlights, not the inconvenience and extra cost of a couple extra train rides. It made my decision clear: I will switch the two days and spend the day in Lucerne tomorrow and Zurich next Saturday. Thanks for clearing that up for me!

wanderweg, I don't know the difference between a "good" hiker and a great one either! If you're familiar with Peru and/or Norway, in the last two years I hiked inca trail and rainbow mountain hikes in Peru and Trolltunga and Kjeragbolten hikes in Norway and none of those gave me problems though I wouldn't call them easy and didn't fly through them. They also didn't require ladders though so I don't know how those hikes compare in difficulty to the schillthorn hike and whether i should skip it or not.

by the way, does anyone have any advice on transportation and what the most cost effective strategy is?
Here's the transportation it seems like I need:
sunday - zurich airport to lucerne and then back to zurich
monday - zurich to murren
tuesday-friday - various local trains/cable cars/whatever they have in bernese oberland though I also want to go to schillthorn and jungfraujoch and I know both are super expensive to go to.
saturday - murren to bern and/or zurich to lucerne
sunday - lucerne to zurich airport.

I'm an american student if that helps me get any discounts.

Based on your hiking in Peru & Norway I think you should be ok with what you have listed. I still personally think Birg to Murren via Bryndlii might be more enjoyable than down from Schilthorn just because the part between Schilthorn and Birg is so steep with scree, but you can make it either way.

Definitely you’ll want the Half Fare Card for the trains. That will cut the cost of your trains pretty significantly. Jungfraujoch is very expensive and very crowded. Schilthorn is less than half the cost of Jungfraujoch, especially since you’re going to be hiking down…you only need a one way ticket for that one. You could also look into the Berner Oberland Pass or Jungfrau Pass to see if either of those would help based on how many trains/cables you plan to ride.

Use the SBB app to help you figure out your train times and routes. The prices on there default to half fare card pricing.

Also a reminder that if you do Schilthorn you’re going to want hiking poles. I think you’d still want them for Birg/Bryndlii/Murren but from Schilthorn I think it’s a safety necessity. You can buy/rent them at the sports store in Murren. My husband had a hiking pole save him from a major fall at Schilthorn and he’s what I would consider in that “great” hiker category :)