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Input - 7 Day Itinerary Wengen as Base

Posted by on

Hello –Seeking feedback on a 7 day stay in Wengen this August. We are looking to unwind after attending the Olympics and do some running and hiking. We are longtime distance runners and want to take advantage of runnable trails (not looking for super technical trail runs). We’ll have the Jungfrau pass.I would love to get this amazing group’s feedback on the following itinerary, especially:
-Is it realistic to run (vs hike) on the trails where indicated below? will crowds be an issue?
-Any other activities, mountain huts, or restaurants to add along the way?
-Is it ok to hit Schilthorn midday? will there be any issues with crowds?
-Any recommendations for the 3 days we don't yet have plans for? (The itinerary we adapted from recommends Jungfrau, Pfinstegg, and/or the Lauturbrunnen valley (including the waterfalls).
Thank you for any feedback!

Day 1
-Gondola to Grindelwald First,Grindelwald First Cliff Walk
-Bachalpsee Lake - run the trail (and possibly extend to Faulhorn Mountain where there is a hut)
-Back at Grindelwald First - mountain amusements

Day 2
-Go to Grutschalp by cable car (from lauterbrunnen)
-Run Winteregg trail to Murren (4.4K)
-Allmendhubel funicular from Murren up the mountain.
-Run North face trail (6.6 Km)
-Go to Schilthorn via Murren-Schilthorn cable car (not covered by pass $85 each); Lunch at Piz Gloria (book in advance?)
-After lunch walk down to Birg where there is the Thrill Walk
Maybe hit Lauterbrunnen Valley waterfalls later in the day, if time permits

Day 3
-Cogwheel train from Wilderswil to top of Schynige Platte (50 mins, free with pass)
-Hike Schynige Platte Ridge Trail (5.6 km loop)
(ways to extend this?)

Day 4
-Gondola from Grindelwald Terminal to Mannlichen; Run Mannlichen Panorama Trail to Kleine Scheidegg (4.7 km)
(Itinerary says we could do Jungfraujoch from there if we wanted to? Or skip)
-From Kleine Schleidegg can hike or run back down to Wengen on the Via Alpina trail

Posted by
8163 posts

Is it realistic to run (vs hike) on the trails where indicated below? will crowds be an issue?

You have to be there as early as possible.

Itinerary says we could do Jungfraujoch from there if we wanted to? Or skip)

You would only want to go up there if the visibility is good and the best time to go is as early as possible for the best visibility and to avoid crowds. You have to ask the person selling the ticket what it looks like; they have webcams.

Posted by
1529 posts

I think portions of the north face trail would be difficult to run. I’m also thinking running down from klein schiedegg would be very hard on the knees

I would think running the valley from lauterbrunnen to stechleberg would be a fantastic run

Posted by
2488 posts

First things first: No trip plan survives contact with the Swiss weather. Mountain weather is very variable and unpredictable.

So my advise is always:
- Raise early. We usually get up between 5 and 6. Weather is often better, more stable in the morning. And the crowds will not be there yet.
- Use a good local weather forecast, eg. Swiss Meteo or Meteo Blue. Do not rely on on line sources that use the US GFS system, as that never gets it right here...

I would suggest you run uphill, not downhill. And look at the Jungfrau Marathon route. That is a quite nice trail too. You can skip the last part, which is the hardest part.

Got hikes are also from Wengen to Biglenalp-Mettlenalp, and on the Wengeralp (or Eigergletscher if you are ambitions) and in the rear of the Lautrebrunnen valley, and the Selfinen valley. SwissTopo has a map that allows you to freely download topographic maps, with all the trails marked on them. The app allows you to plan trips, and see the distance and height profile.

Lastly: We are all here bracing ourselves for a crazy summer. It is only May, and the trains are already crowded. But most of those tourists are of the kind that probably won't go for the more remote trails. So I guess we will stick to our favorite trails in the rear of the valley.

Posted by
612 posts

I swear I responded to this post a while ago somewhere, but maybe it got deleted or something so I’ll respond again :)

You understand you have to be flexible with these days based on weather, but you can have a hypothetical plan. Here’s some ideas.

**Wengen > Mannlichen > Kleine Scheidegg > Fallbodensee > Eigergletscher > Wengernalp > Wengen

**Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Grutschalp > Murren > Schilthorn > Grauseeli > Birg > Cable to Murren > Cable to Gimmelwald > Dinner in Gimmelwald (Mountain Hostel) > Cable to Stechelberg > Bus to Lauterbrunnen > Train to Wengen

**Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Wilderswil > Schynige Platte > Hike/run all the way to Faulhorn > First > Grindelwald > Zweilutchinen > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen

**Wengen > Mannlichen > Grindelwald > Grindelwald First > Bachalpsee > First > Grindelwald > Mannlichen > Wengen

**Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Lauterbrunnen Valley > Gimmelwald > Murren > North Face trail counterclockwise from Allmendhubel (Suppenalp) > Gimmelwald > Stechelberg > Lauterbrunnen Valley > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen

**Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Interlaken Ost > Lake Brienz Boat Ride with stop at Giessbach Falls to hike or go up to Brienzer Rothorn to hike/run up there

**Lake Thun, long day trip to Oeschinensee or Mountain View trail from Murren

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