Reasonable to do these 3 hikes in 2 days?

Do you mean the Eiger North face Trail above Grindelwald? Or the North Face trail above Mürren, from the top of the Allmendhübel funicular?

Combining the Eiger Northface trail (downhill from Eigergletscher to Alpiglen) with Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg would work well; I did those 2 in one day some years ago. Fortunately it was great weather that day.

Hi Lola!

The hike is listed as 2 1/2 hours, and reads “The hike begins and ends at the Schilthornbahn station in Mürren…”

OK, so that Northface trail. You can indeed hike up from Mürren and then follow the Northface Trail signs from there. We did that when we were last in Mürren, in 2oo8. I loved that trail!

You would need to travel from Kleine Scheidegg back down to Lauterbrunnen and then up to Mürren, but I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work.

What time of day would you recommend starting? And which of the 2 would you do first?
And, have you done #3? I have it on a separate day because it looks like it takes traveling to a different area.

Yes, it is a beautiful and very easy hike, so pretty crowded.

For First to Bachalpsee, you must go to Grindelwald, one valley over from Lauterbrunnen. It is an easy trip by train. Or you can get there by going over the Männlichen ridge which divides the Lauterbrunnen Valley from the Grindelwald Valley. Either way, you walk through town to the First gondola lift and ride up. The trail starts at the top station of that lift.

You could easily combine this with your Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg walk (instead of transferring over to Mürren for the North Face trail that same day. To do that, you would ride the train from Kleine Scheidegg down to Grindelwald, instead of going the other way down to Wengen. Then you would walk from the little Jungfraubahn station to town and over to the First Gondola. Lots of options for lunch on the way, if it is time for that.

Lines for the First gondola can be rather long, since there are lots of adventure-type activities from the top of that lift ( a zip line, Trottibikes, etc.). So it is popular for more than the walk to Bachalpsee.

If you have time and energy left, consider hiking beyond the lake toward the Faulhorn. It adds another 1.8 miles and 1400 feet of gain if you go to the peak and hut, but you could turn around before that if you want. The views from the peak are spectacular.

https://hikingwalking.com/index.php/destinations/sw/sw_bernese/grindelwald/faulhorn

If you do this, just make sure you do not miss the last gondola down to Grindelwald! If is a very long walk without the lift.

From Grindelwald, you can take the regular train back to Lauterbrunnen, instead of crossing over the Männnichen ridge again. The transfer point to LUterbrunnen is before you get to Interlaken Öst, so it is not a long ride.

Just remember in your planning that all these lifts and the Jungfrau train above Wengen/Grindelwald can be expensive. Even if you have a Swiss Pass, there is only a discount on the lifts above the last village ( Wengen, Grindelwald, or Mürren). So your hikes 1 and 3 will cost something, even with a Swiss Pass. Hike 2, the North Face trail, will be fully covered by a pass if you start from and return to Mürren.

The general rule is that the Swiss Pass covers travel to the villages, but not use of recreational lifts above the village.

Lola, can you proof this to see if I understood you correctly? (thank you!)

Day 1

First - Bachalpsee - First No 1
& Panorama Trail, Mannlichen - Kleine Scheidegg No 33

For First to Bachalpsee, you must go to Grindelwald, one valley over from Lauterbrunnen. It is an easy trip by train. You walk through town to the First gondola lift and ride up. The trail starts at the top station of that lift.

If you have time and energy left, consider hiking beyond the lake toward the Faulhorn. It adds another 1.8 miles and 1400 feet of gain if you go to the peak and hut, but you could turn around before that if you want. The views from the peak are spectacular. If you do this, just make sure you do not miss the last gondola down to Grindelwald! It is a very long walk without the lift. From Grindelwald, you can take the regular train back to Lauterbrunnen.

You could easily combine this with your Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg walk. To do that, you would ride the train from Kleine Scheidegg down to Grindelwald. Then you would walk from the little Jungfraubahn station to town and over to the First Gondola. Lots of options for lunch on the way. Lines for the First gondola can be rather long.

Day 2 - Northface Trail

“OK, so that Northface trail. You can indeed hike up from Mürren and then follow the Northface Trail signs from there. We did that when we were last in Mürren, in 2oo8. I loved that trail!”

Yes, I am suggestion doing both Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, and First to Bachalpsee, on the same day, then the North Face trail on your other day.

I was thinking out loud as I wrote, when I suggested “combining” the two. I thought it made sense, since you were already at Kleine Scheidegg, it would make sense to drop down to Grindelwald and take the Bachalpsee hike in the afternoon the same day, instead of crossing back over the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Mürren for the North Face hike that afternoon.

Here is a schematic map of the area, showing the two valleys and how they relate to one another, with train tracks and lifts to link them in various ways. It also shows some of the trails, in yellow for “Wanderwegs” and red for the more difficult “Bergwegs”.

https://www.earthtrekkers.com/bernese-oberland-travel-guide-jungfrau-region/

Now I am thinking that it makes more sense to put Bachalpsee first, in the morning. This gives you a better chance of good weather, and a calmer surface to the lake for the classic reflections. I believe it is also better for the light, as from the far side of the lake across to the peaks you are looking due south, with the sun more behind you.

Here is a nice description of the hike, with photos:

https://fullsuitcase.com/bachalpsee/

To do this from Lauterbrunnen, you would start by taking the train from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald, a half-hour journey with a single change at Zweilütschinen. This is the first stop on the train heading to Interlaken Öst. You will arrive in Grindelwald at the main train station. You will walk through town, following Dorfstrasse, to the First gondola station (signs will point the way). Lines should not be too bad in the morning. Enjoy the views from the gondola as you ascend. From the top of the gondola (this is the place actually named First) you will easily find the trail to Bachalpsee.

Upon return to First, you can have lunch on the deck at the mountain apreataurant, or descent to Grindelwald and find a spot for lunch there. Or stop in the grocery for sandwiches or picnic supplies. You will have another gondola ride to reach Männlichen and can snack or picnic on the way.

The gondola leaves from the Grindelwald Grund station, which also serves the Jungfraubahn train. It is below town and the way there is well-signed. When Inroxe that gondola 20 years ago, the ride up to Männlichen took 30 minutes, but that old gondola was recently replaced with a faster one.

From the gondola station, you can turn right and walk up the little Männlichen Gipfel for beautiful views all around, or turn left and head out on your walk to Kleine Scheidegg straight away. In July there may be wildflowers or cows, but probably not both. Either way the. Jews are great, but you’ll have lots of company.

At Kleine Scheidegg you board the train down to Lauterbrunnen, passing through Wengen on the way.

This plan will give you a full day for Mürren and the NorthFace trail, which is good. This is a longer hike than either of the other two, and you will want to take your time.and enjoy it. There is a signed “flower trail” loop at the top of the Allmendhubel funicular (past the restaurant) that may or may not have flowers in bloom. They were pretty much done when we were there in early August 2018 but that may have been due to the heat wave.

You will find signs to the North Face trail too.

I suggest that after the hike ( or after that and some time to explore Mürren), return to Lauterbrunnen by way of Gimmelwald, walking down to there to catch the cablecar down to Stechelberg. This is one of the more thrilling cablecar rides,as it swings out over 2000 feet of nothing but air below you. From Stechelberg youncan walk or ride the Postbus back to Lauterbrunnen.

You are awesome Lola! 👏
I have printed your last reply, marked it up, and tucked it in my guide. We fly to Salzburg tomorrow!

I hope you have a wonderful trip!