We will be staying in Wengen for 4 days in July. I'd love to leave from there and spend a 5th night in a local mountain hut. My husband and I will be travelling with our almost 9 year old son who is athletic and a solid hiker. But we are not looking for any crazy-hard hikes. Do you know of any good trails/huts in the area that our family could hike a few hours, stay in the hut overnight, then come back down the mountain the next morning?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16240 posts
I do not know of any you could reach by walking right from Wengen, other than the inn up at a Kleine Scheidegg, which is not isolated.
But if you ride the train down to Lauterbrunnen and bus (or walk) to Stechelberg, a trail leads into the upper valley where there are three rustic mountain inns: Berghaus Trachsellauenen, Hotel Tschingelhorn, and Hotel Obersteinberg. This last is the most rustic, with no electricity, and is a working farm. It is about a 2-hour hike from Stechelberg.
http://www.stechelberg.ch/index.php?id=51&L=1
For more of a mountaintop experience, there is Hotel Faulhorn above Grindelwald.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/mountain-lodge-faulhorn.html
Getting there from Wengen would be part of the adventure. Take the cablecar up to Männlichen and ride the gondola down the other side of the ridge to Grindelwald. Then walk through town to the First gondola and ride all the way to the top. (There is an opportunity for a zipline ride here if you wish). The hike to the Faulhorn takes you past the beautiful Bachalpsee, then begins the ascent. I do not recall it being difficult at all, but the websites will give you the actual details.
Photo of Bachalpsee:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachalpsee
The Faulhorn hut can also be reached by hiking the Panoramaweg from Schynige Platte, but that is a longer and more rigorous hike.
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
I agree that the Hotel Faulhorn is a great destination, though it is more of a hotel than a hut.
As for other traditional huts in the area, I've hiked to Gaulihutte from Innertkirchen, but that's a long hike with a few slightly dangerous stretches. Not something I'd do with a 9 year old. Then there is Rotstockhutte which is directly above Gimmelwald on this map:
https://www.bergfex.ch/sommer/schilthorn/panorama/
That too has a few iffy sections.
Finally, there is Lobhornhutte which is way above Isenfluh and you can see it on the far right on that same map.
If you take the short bus ride to Isenfluh and then the short cable car ride to Sulwald, that makes it a doable hike for a 9 yr old, though I will say that most of it is uphill and usually through the woods until the end.
Generally you should inform the Tourist Info office in the nearby town (Lauterbrunnen) if you plan to stay at a hut. If you don't arrive they will start looking for you on the trail!
If you (or others) want our dozen favorite hikes in the area (with maps and pictures) just send me a private mail by clicking on my name. (You read the private responses by clicking on your name in the upper right of the page you are on.)