Cow procession in September?

The date will depend entirely on the weather and won’t be announced until much closer to the time. It’s anywhere between the 1st-3rd weekend of September. Most often it’s in the teens of September. They’ll walk through the whole village, through Winteregg and down the road below Grutschalp to Lauterbrunnen. You won’t hear cows up at Mürren after that, but you’ll be able to see them on a walk through the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Yes, you’ll still be able to purchase cheese from the farm fridges. They age the cheese, so typically you can purchase 2 year old, 1 year old and Mutschli which is new unaged cheese. Thus, in 2026 you’ll find 2024, 2025 & 2026 cheeses in the fridge. The older they are, the firmer and more flavorful they get, so if you like cheese get some of all the years to taste test. They also will taste different from farm for farm based on the flowers/grasses those particular cows were grazing so if you get some from Gimmelwald, Mürren, Winteregg, Wengernalp, Grindelwald, etc. they’ll all taste slightly different.

Check with the TI upon your arrival as they may have dates to share. If you miss the one in Mürren/Lauterbrunnen as described by wanderweg, you may be able to catch the one in Wengen. Also, you may see less formal ‘parades” as small groups are brought down outside of the festival dates.

Thanks! I guess, like the weather, it's hard to plan for so I'll just wait and see. Which leads me to another question. Since we only have three full days and it has been suggested that if the weather is good, we should take advantage of it and go on one of the hikes, if that's the only day we could witness the cow procession, in your opinion what should take precedent??

Thanks again,
Laurie

It's not an either/or. A cow procession comes through the town in a matter of 20-30 minutes. You can still do a hike that day.

I was in Lauterbrunnen one year and was fortunate to observe the cow parade that year, which took place on Sept. 27. As a previous reply indicated, the date varies from year-to-year. I would also suggest checking with local sources. Perhaps the staff at the hotel you'll be staying at could provide some information.

Years ago we spent three nights in Lenk for their Alplerfest, with the cows coming down. Very nice local festival. It was October 10-12. Music, vendors, big parade through town. Lots of local cheese for sale, even raclette to eat. Beautifully decorated cows. And a contest to vote for "Miss Lenk" (cow #47 won, by the way).

You can combine watching cow parades with hikes. When the dates are published this information always mentioned which Alp comes down when.
So you can plan your hikes so that you meet the parade somewhere on the way down.

Thanks everyone. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing the cows, wherever they may be!
Laurie