I am planning a three-week trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and would like to find resources to help me plan a trip that focuses on hiking. I’m a moderate intermediate hiker so nothing too strenuous but want to get into the mountains. Can you recommend books or hiking maps, either online or book.
Thank you!
Posted by
San Francisco area
1888 posts
Here’s my small suggestions
The Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook has suggestions and the link below is from forum member “Shoe”
https://lauterbrunnenhiking.wordpress.com/
Others will probably chime in with additional info.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
Chicago
3125 posts
Definitely check out the link above to Shoe’s hiking info as that’s a great resource.
Another resource I have used in my planning is the Earth Trekkers blog. This link will take you to their Switzerland page.
https://www.earthtrekkers.com/destination-switzerland/
My traveling companions and I are not big hikers, but we are looking forward to several “easy” walks: The walk from Lauterbrunnen to Trummelbach Falls, The walk from Murren to Gimmelwald, just walking around Murren and Wengen. Also, since you’ll be in the area for 3 weeks, you may want to take a boat ride on either or both Lake Thun and Brienz.
Happy Planning!!!
Posted by
Florida
1450 posts
The myswitzerland site has a ton of resources on hiking and the country in general. It's worth a look.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8963 posts
Bree88, when we were there, they had stacks of trail maps of the valley at the rail and gondola stations, at every hotel and many shops. I dont know how you can get one in advance, but it was easy to figure out when we got there.
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles
41 posts
Many thanks to all of you for sharing these resources!
I have Rick Steves’ Switzerland book with lots of post-it’s. and will check out these links. If you had a favorite hike and special memory, please share.
Grateful for your time! Thank you, Bree
Posted by
Noblesville, Indiana, USA
1406 posts
Here's a second on the Rick Steves' Switzerland guidebook recommendation. There's also a good hike out of nearby Kandersteg up to Oeschinensee.
Posted by
Rocky Mount, VA
290 posts
For the Gimmelwald side, this site has a few maps and a number of hikes, plus other information for visitors.
This describes hikes on both sides of the valley:
https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/summer-sport/hiking/
Here are some older posts with lots of suggestions about hikes and hiking guides.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/hiking-guide-books
By using the buses, trains, cable cars and funiculars, you can create a number of easy to moderate itineraries with incredible scenery.
For example:
You can take a bus up the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Stechelberg and hike back to Lauterbrunnen.
For a short day, you can take a cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp and hike to Murren and back. If you don’t want to do the entire hike, you can catch the train at Winteregg or Murren.
Use the train and cable car to get to Männlichen Station and hike to Kleine Scheidegg or Eigergletscher and take the train back.
All the best,
Raymond
Posted by
California
497 posts
Here’s one site that has the map, it’s about 2/3 of the way through the article. This is the map you will find everywhere in the BO for hiking in the area and shows all the trains, cable cars, etc. You can probably find it on other sites online. Many of the hikes are downhill or ridge hikes so relatively easy.
Posted by
Maryland
101 posts
When my wife and I went to Lauterbrunnen 5 years ago, I bought the book "Walking in the Bernese Oberland". We found it helpful for various types of hikes.