Lauterbrunnen Valley area in April - Will anything be open ?

Highly unlikely you will be able to get up to Mannlichen given that it closed on April 6 this year.

I have been in early May 3 times a couple after visiting Keukenhof.

You can take daytrips all over based on the weather

Do you mean get to Mannlichen via gondola? The train doesn’t go up there. There’s a frequent poster on here from Wengen, hopefully she can give you some feedback.

Jazz,
I am just now doing some research on the travel from Amsterdam to Basel on a direct train. And from there, maybe explore for a while since never been to Basel and then another train to LV area. Is that what you did or would you suggest something else ?

Margie,
I must have read something incorrectly or gotten it mixed up. I thought there was some way up to Mannlichen other than the lifts.

Late April is not an ideal time for that area because of the closures and the weather. The only way up to Mannlichen is via cable car and it will be closed. You definitely cannot hike to Kleine Scheidegg. That isn't possible until mid-late June. In April you'll be able to do Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn and walking in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, but no real mountain activities. If I were going in April I'd probably stay on a lake in Switzerland and make day trips up into the mountains on good weather days when it wasn't raining/snowing/foggy.

This is a time of year that I just love! The crowds have not begun yet, the air is often clear (not hazy like hot summer days), the snow line is lower and the mountains look so amazing, honestly, it is completely different from what it is like at other times of the year.

As far as closures are concerned, you can see the 2025 maintenance schedule here to give you an idea, look again closer to 2026 for next year’s schedule. Many things run 365 days a year. For those that don’t, click on ‘seasonal overview’ to see when any closures are:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/operating-info/

If you get something like the BO pass you can go up other mountains in the area as well. This year the Niederhorn opened at the beginning of May. I went up May 2. The crocuses were blooming up there and the snow had melted enough that the trail to see them was open. Since it was the very beginning of the season there were still Steinboks grazing right by the hiking trail - the influx of tourists had not scared them off yet. See the Niederhorn crocuses (with Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the background) here:

https://www.niederhorn.ch/krokusbluete

May 16th (so a little later than your dates) I walked Grütschalp - Mürren, the only other person I met was a Swiss woman taking her dog for a morning walk. Loads of spring flowers blooming, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau looking lovely with blue skies and fluffy white clouds (I am looking at my pictures right now - stunning!).

A day or so later I went to Wengen and did the Leiterhorn trail. This one will get your heart rate up if you are looking for more than just a flat walk. Again, I was the only person on the trail.

https://wengen.swiss/en/maps/summer-maps/walking-trails.html#area=60825264&cat=Promenade%20Route&filter=r-fullyTranslatedLangus-,r-openState-,sb-sortedBy-0&ipd=60280867&wt=Wengen%20(Switzerland)%0A60825264&zc=12.,7.95719,46.57845

Obviously not every day is sunny and beautiful, but that is actually the case any time of year. One of my highest values is seeing beauty without the crowds and I have consistently found that in the Jungfrau Region in the spring.

SwissNomad,
I'm so glad to read such a glowing review of the LV in April! We have little choice which month or week to choose since our Holland RS tour is pretty much set in stone. I believe it will be lovely to see, feel, experience the Jungfrau region in April! We're both sure that we want to stay in Wengen as it is our happy place! I think we'll have plenty to do, even if a lot of the time we're simply sitting on the balcony of our hotel, sipping a hot beverage and relishing the beauty of the snow-covered mountains!

Thanks for the suggestions and information!

You are welcome! Wengen would also be my first choice ;-)

Hopefully you will have some beautiful days. The weather can also be very localised (this is true for any time of the year) - if visibility is poor in Wengen, take a look at other mountains near you to see if they are clear. I usually bookmark webcams for any mountains in the region so I can quickly flip through them all.

My husband and I were in Brienz and surroundings this year during the week you plan to be there in 2026. We enjoyed trips on Lakes Brienz and Thun (boat schedule is reduced from high season but we took them frequently).

The temperature was perfect. I'm not sure if I wore my jacket at all. Very little rain.

Despite having been in the area several times in the past we had not taken a trip out of Interlaken to Harder Kulm. It was sunny and warm. In fact my husband, whose hair is thinning, got sunburned on the top of his head (he found a hat in a brocki the next day). The views were spectacular. We always purchase a 15 day Swiss Travel Pass which gave us a discount. IIRC we paid Chf 38 each for the round trip. We ate lunch at the restaurant at the top. We observed hiking trails along the route to the top.

This trip we also decided to take busses in various places to the end of the line. We did this out of the train/bus station at Brunig Pass, Brienz, and Grindelwald. At the end of the line on the buses out of Brunig Pass and Grindelwald we had lunch at restaurants. Out of Brienz the bus line ended at Axalp where nothing much was open as it was between seasons. But the bus ride was a bit exhilarating as the road up the mountain was narrow with steep drop offs in places with beautiful scenery and wildflowers.

It is too early for the Rothornbahn out of Brienz to run. I think it's season starts around May 15. But we did watch them prepare for the opening from our hotel room. That was fun.

In Brienz I can recommend the Restaurant Steinbock. And also walks along the lake shore in Brienz. The town has done a beautiful job of developing the park along the shore line. We have been returning to Brienz frequently since the mid-80s.

During our entire trip the flowers were spectacular. This was our second trip to Switzerland at this time of year. We would do it again.

Wherever you decide go during your week in Switzerland, I'm sure you will find wonderful things to do.

In closing, I want to say I appreciate all your posts on this forum.

Traveler Girl

I was in a hurry so I took a early flight to Geneva from Amsterdam. Then took the Golden Pass Route from Montreux to Interlaken and then to Murren.