Murren:Early or Late May?

The later in the month the better chances of less snow and slightly warmer days. You will need layers especially for evenings. It won’t be “summery” at all.

One of the best easy walks is from Mürren to Grütschalp, more or less following the little cliff side train. Return on the train or descend to Lauterbrunnen on the cable car. Do you have Rick Steves’ guide? Essential to getting the most out of the area.

We went the 3rd week of May in 2014. No snow in Mürren and it was sunny & beautiful! Not many tourists at all.

We were in Murren mid-May in 2019. There was still snow on the ground, but it wasn’t on the roads and walkways. Higher elevation hikes would not have been possible without snow attire. Some hotels and restaurants had not reopened yet after ski season.

in addition to the conditions mentioned above, with which I concur, early in the month often coincided with the annual maintenance of cable car routes and train lines. These are all scheduled way in advance. It would be worth your while to check the websites of any potential routes you might even consider travelling and see when their annual closure is.

There is always a way around a closure - locals live there too - but it is often slow or inconvenient or both.

My gut instinct is to say the later the better. I was in the area once in mid-May and there was definitely snow on the ground. Plus later you might start seeing flowers. Thats the trouble with mountains anywhere- the weather is always difficult to predict, even during one day.

It snowed in Murren at night in the 2nd week of May but the snow melted the same day

Thanks all. I'm going to push back to arrive a little later and return in June, hopefully before the crowds.

hopefully before the crowds

I was in Switzerland this past June (June 5-18) and there were no crowds anywhere. I was also in Switzerland last Sept. and found Sept. to be more crowded. So, I think early June would be the perfect time to go. Do check hotel availability before you book your flights as some hotels in the mountains are closed until early June.

Great tip on checking hotels! Thanks!