My wife and I love the outdoors, and are making our first trip to Europe in our lives! We want to visit the Swiss Alps, and by the looks of what we've seen, the Lauterbrunen/Murren area looks gorgeous.
However, I'm trying to get my expectations in line with what hiking conditions might be? Will the snow have cleared enough by June 12th-16th to enjoy some beautiful day-hikes in the Murren area?
Thanks for helping us create life-long memories,
la,
The Lauterbrunnen / Mürren area is indeed gorgeous and a wonderful place for hiking. The snow should be gone by mid-June, but of course no guarantees. One concern is that the local farmers spread "liquid fertilizer" in the spring, but I'm not sure when that will happen.
One nice hike from Mürren is to take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular up to the top, and then walk back to town. It's not so much of a "hike" as a "stroll", as it's all downhill. There's at least one hotel / bar on the way, so you can stop for a cool one if necessary. There are many other hikes possible in that area, and I'm sure the others in the group will be able to offer more detailed suggestions.
Switzerland is expensive, so be sure to budget accordingly. You might want to buy a copy of the Switzerland guidebook, as there's lots of information there, including lodging suggestions. It's also available as an E-book in Kindle, iBooks and other formats.
I'm on the first 21 day tour.....and we'll be in Switzerland early May. I'm praying we'll be able to get in a hike or two!
June isn't the perfect month, because some of the trails at really high elevation might still have some snow blockages, but everything will likely be fine at lower altitudes (ie, Mürren). You can't rule out a stray snow shower, but it won't accumulate.
The pasture fertilization mentioned above usually happens at the end of April into May.
Thanks guys I really appreciate your help!
and thanks for posting the link to the hiking map...super useful.
We were there (stayed in Wengen) in early June a few years ago and the weather was perfect. We did the hike described by Ken and enjoyed it--stopped by the rustic inn for refreshments about mid way down to Murren. The parade of cows heading to lower pastures was a delight to watch.
We were in Muerren in early June 2013 and many of the hikes were not open. We couldn't do Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg - there was over two metres of snow at Maennlichen! On walks from Muerren we encountered snow wherever we went - basically anywhere over 1700 metres. Schilthorn was covered in snow. There had been a large dump of snow at the beginning of the month, but it was basically just a very late year for weather. We still had a wonderful time - it's an incredibly beautiful area.
