Hiking Recommendations in Murren

What's your hiking ability level? Elevation gain/loss, miles, terrain.

As a family we have done many hikes out west over the years. My husband and daughter are totally fine with elevation gain and loss and lots of miles. I can hike 10 miles+ or more a day max; I am not a fan of lots of elevation gain but will do it for the views. We have done lots of hiking in the mountains and so far have never had issues with hiking at elevation. We are all fine with elevation loss; no issues with knees or legs. So that's why I would like to do "easy to moderate hikes"; whereas my husband and daughter can do more challenging ones and often do on our trips.

Every item you lay out sounds well reasoned, doable and enjoyable for your group. Don’t know what season your going but as I’m sure you know, some trails are closed until the summer thaw. Enjoy!

I’ll make a few general comments on some of your notes and then give you my recommendations....

1. Murren to Allmendhubel is not a great hike for a short visit - it’s straight uphill and walking with views at your back. It’s very much worth the funicular ride and then hiking from Allmendhubel out towards the views.

2. No, the Blumental Trail is not the Northface hike, it's a shortcut back down to Murren without doing the best parts of the viewsI

3. If you decide to do Lauterbrunnen Valley, the best way to walk it is Lauterbrunnen > Stechelberg as you’ll be walking towards the views. If you walk it the way you mentioned, the best views are at your back. I agree that this is a good rain plan or if clouds are low and obstructing great views for the higher mountain hikes. I wouldn’t sacrifice a perfect weather day for hiking down in the valley.

4. The Mountain View Trail is from Grutshcalp to Murren, but there are 2 different routes - the low path along the railroad tracks that most people do and the higher Mountain View trail which is a hike, not a walk like the low path, but has much better views. You can also do the Mountain View Trail from Allmendhubel to Winteregg or Grutschalp. If you go Grutschalp > Murren it will be more uphill. If you do Allmendhubel > Winteregg or Allmendhubel > Grutschalp, it will be more downhill. Either way is good, just personal preference on if you want the cardio :)

5. It take a little over 1 hour to get from Murren to the top of Mannlichen and a little over 1 hour to get back to Murren from Kleine Scheidegg, so around 2.5 hours of train/cable cars + hiking time.

6. I’m not a huge fan of the Eiger Trail. You’re so close up to the mountain that your views actually aren’t as good as other options. It's a good trail for staying in Grindelwald or if you have atleast a week in the area.

Day 1 -
Do this combo on your best weather day (use MeteoSwiss app + webcams to plan)
Murren > cable car to Schilthorn > cable car to Birg - Thrill Walk > hike roundtrip Grauseeli > cable car Birg to Murren > funicular up to Allmendhubel > Northface hike counterclockwise ending in Murren (this hike is best done in the afternoon if the weather is good, as that's when the lighting is best for views)

Day 2 -
Via Feratta in the morning (hired guide required) from Murren to Gimmelwald (those who don’t do the VF can do the easy (and lovely!) walk down to Gimmelwald and meet up with the group) — explore the farms and have lunch at the Pension or Hostel then take the cable car back up to Murren & maybe do the Mountain View Trail high route

Day 3 -
I think your description of your family tells me that Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is too easy and crowded for you guys. It’s a stroller friendly path and absolutely packed. I love the trail and views, but over the last couple years it’s become more frustrating for me to hike it because it feels like a constant traffic jam.

If you decide to do a day away from Murren, I think you might love doing the Panorama Hike Schynige Platte > Daube > Oberberghorn > Loucherhorn > Schynige Platte — you ride the open air cog train up to Schynige Platte and then hike the ridge with views of the mountains on one side of you and the lakes on the other side. It’s the Panoramaweg Loucherhorn trial on this link — https://swissfamilyfun.com/schynige-platte-panorama-trail/

Day 4 -
If you decide you really want to see Mannlichen, but are also interested in the Schynige Platte hike, then on your exit day you could leave Murren, store your luggage in Lauterbrunnen and go up to Wengen to do Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg OR you could save Schynige Platte for this day since it’s on the way out - store your luggage in Wilderswil, do the Schynige Platte plan above and then continue on to Luzern from Wilderswil. If you do this plan, you’ll have Day 3 around Murren and could add in the hike from Murren to Rotstockhutte or time in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Wanderweg, Wow- this itin sounds amazing. I LOVE what you recommended. Thank you so much! We will be there in about 2 weeks!

There is only one Mountain View Trail, the lower, easier path is simply called Grütschalp - Winteregg - Mürren. This is helpful so people don't accidentally take the wrong path as one is far more difficult than the other and requires hikers that have proper footwear, good physical fitness and are aware of mountain hiking dangers.

You can find both routes and other hikes in the area detailed here:

https://muerren.swiss/en/destination/about-murren/hikes.html

Grütschalp - Winteregg - Mürren

• Distance: 4.4 km (2.7 miles)
• Elevation gain: 150 m (492 feet)
• Elevation loss: 0

Mountain View Trail (More Challenging)

• 5 km (3.1 miles)
• Elevation gain: 520 m (1,706 feet)
• Elevation loss: 110 m (361 feet)
• Note: Winteregg is not an easy detour from this trail—it would involve a steep descent, you can see that on the map at this link. It also shows lots of photos along the trail and the exact location they were taken from.

https://schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-351

Day 1: if you're at Birg anyway, hike down from there! Its amazing. Find a good trail map. The route you are looking for is: Birg > Grauseeli (alpine lake) > Wassenegg (thrilling ridge) > Bryndli (spire with 360 view) > Spielbodenalp (little cafe in a meadow) > Sprutz (waterfall you can walk behind) > Murren.

Allmendhubel and Gimmelwald were (for us) both underwhelming. The walk from Gimmelwald to Murren is entirely paved and doesn't seem like a hike at all (except there is some decent elevation).

Another good hike is Gimmelwald down to Stechelberg. There is a point where you get a classic view of the entire Lauterbrunnen valley. Then you can take the cable car back up to Murren.

The walk from Gimmelwald to Murren is entirely paved and doesn't seem like a hike at all

I agree with you! And if you have hiking boots on (because…you expect to be hiking) then every step is jarring as you go down the hill…on the paved road. If it was a hiking path there would at least be some give to it. But I see it recommended here again and again so I guess people like it.

I didn’t recommend the whole hike down from Birg to Mürren, just the Grauseeli portion, as there have been rock slides in the last year that have made that trail a bit sketchy between Grauseeli and Wasenegg. For first timers to the area with only a few days, my recommendations stand.

I absolutely disagree with Allmendhubel & Gimmelwald being underwhelming and I think the majority of people would too. I live in Mürren all summer, every year, and spend the majority of my time hiking, so I’m very familiar with all the trails & the options in the area.

I really appreciate all the recommendations and suggestions! We are super excited to get there and enjoy the area! Thank you so much for your help!

Hello fellow Ohioan! We are finishing up here in Lauterbrunnen today. We did the North Face Trail but extended it through Sprutz Waterfall down to Gimmelwald. There are some tougher stretches but a great hike. There are a lot of people on it but most continue back to Murren. We stopped for lunch and a lot of pictures and it took about 4 hours.

We did Mannlichen to Klein Schegg today on the Panorama and it was packed with people. It’s too easy and draws a crowd.

Hello Fellow Ohioan, Thank you so much for the latest hiking update! We will be there in a few days!!

Hi, I just stayed over in Murren for two nights - solo trip. I'm of moderate fitness and and intermediate level of hiking experience. I had two perfectly clear days to explore. Reading through this forum and All trails and chatting with people in town, this is what I ended up with:

Day 1:
Afternoon: Northface trail counter clockwise from Allmendhubel to Murren with Sprutz detour.
Evening: Murren to Gimmelwald on the easy downhill road.

Day 2
Morning: First Cable car to Schilthorn
Morning/afternoon: Hike Birg to Brindli (via Wasenegg Ridge) to Murren.
Evening: Schethelberg to Lauterbrunnen easy valley walk

Comments about the two main hikes:
- Northface - well maintained - easy-moderate difficulty. Beautiful views of mountains and walking through alpine meadows. Waterfall was a fun detour.
- Birg to Brindli to Murren - moderate difficulty - couple of areas where you may have to scramble and one area where you may need to use the installed ropes, but there was no water (all dried up) - no issues for me at the time, but might be for those with fear of heights or if it's rainy/slippery conditions. Was initially not going to do this because of some comments about landslides, but there were others that I met along the way that were also doing it, so that gave me some confidence. Beautiful views all throughout (lake, Ridge, Brindli viewpoint). A notch above Northface. I skipped Sprutz as I did that as part of Day 1.

Hope this helps. Weather would be a factor if you're on the fence about Birg-Bryndli-Murren

Thanks for the detailed tips, especially about kleine schiedegg being crowded and somewhat easy. I was planning that out, but now I think we may pivot.

We will be there next week and looking at the weather, looks like it is taking a turn for much cooler, rainy weather, so we’ll see…

Hello! We are in Murren right now. Yesterday morning we went to Schilthorn and we were in awe at the gorgeous views and spent a lot of time at the top ;the weather was gorgeous. We headed down to Birg on the way back to Murren and saw more spectacular views. Then thunderstorms rolled in so we could not do the Thrill Walk or the Guessli hike . Today we had gorgeous weather again so we did the North Face Trail. We took the Allmendhubel funicular one way up in the morning and hiked counterclockwise per wanderweg’s excellent recommendation . We saw such spectacular views with every step and cows with bells everywhere . We will likely go to Schyinge Platte to hike the Panorama trail tomorrow; if we go I’ll post what it was like. Wanderweg- thank you so much again for your spot on recommendations!

So happy to hear you're enjoying your trip! Happy to help!

Birg to Brindli to Murren

This was the most satisfying hike we did a few years ago. Glad to hear it is still doable.

We did schynige platte twice this week (free again with BO pass as of 7/1)- paid once and once free! We really like that one.
And funny how everyone has difft opinions (and good to keep in mind) - we are experienced hikers in many beautiful places and absolutely loved the Eiger trail. For us Incredible view of mountain adjacent to Eiger in front of us thru most of the walk (coming from Eigergletscher station) and loved the small little waterfalls and jumping over creeks and even an area of snow - and then going to down the green hills to alpiglen for a beer after . Would do it again and again! Also seems less crowded than schynige platte- although being first up at SP helps. Eiger trail to alpiglen took us under two hours. We had to pay a supplement from grindelwald terminal to eigergletcher (have half fare card and BO pass) you are on a side of the mountain and it’s rocky - so if that’s your taste consider it! We are in wengen so probably easier to get to for half a day . For us it’s a moderate level hike… but we don’t have young kids.

We decided to hike Mannlichen to Klein Schegg today instead of Schyinge Platte ( although we definitely want to hike it next time) in the interest of saving time on trains. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The views were beautiful and there were very few people on the trail. It was great to see the mountains from both Murren and that area . It was an easy hike. We had gorgeous weather again. There are so many more hikes we want to do but sadly it’s time to return home. We are already talking about another trip to Switzerland .

traveljoy, we will be in the Murren area in about 10 days. Between Mannlichen-Kleine Scheidegg, North Face Trail, and Schynige Platte, which one did you like the most? Based on videos I've seen of the Mannlichen-Kleine Scheidegg hike, it seems maybe the first half of that hike isn't that scenic, but videos can be misleading.

Ideally, we would do all 3 above, but if it's raining a lot on one of the days, we'll skip hiking and so need to decide on the top 2 out of 3 for the remaining days. We are not considering the Eiger Trail.

Hello! North Face Trail. Everywhere you look there are magnificent views. It’s definitely in the top 3 most stunning hikes we have ever done. Mannlichen- Klein Scheigg is beautiful and it is definitely scenic from the start; the views are amazing from the top and along the way and there were lots of wildflowers. We did not get to hike on Schyine Platte this trip. Hope you have a wonderful trip!