I am planning my next annual hiking/cycling trip in Europe. My 2 favorite trips were a week in Zermatt (hiking) and a week in Corvara/Dolomites (hiking and road cycling). Both places were magical! I am now planning our next trip and deciding between Wengen, Switzerland or going back to the Dolomites - possibly Ortisei in Val Gardena. I would welcome input!
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2863 posts
You cannot possibly make a bad choice here. Both are fantastic and offer endless hiking opportunities.
Maybe go to Wengen since you’ve already seen the Dolomites. I’m not familiar with Covara so I don’t know how different it is from Ortisei. I would say that Wengen is quite different from Zermatt, so it would definitely offer a different (and IMHO better) experience. I should also mention that I don’t cycle, so I can’t offer an opinion on that.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
834 posts
Is your intention a mix of hiking and cycling? There is lots of amazing hiking in the area (share your hiking ability and I can suggest based on your skill level preference) and quite a bit of beautiful biking:
The Alpine Bike stages 11 & 12 (Meiringen > Grosse Scheidegg > First > Grindelwald > Interlaken) are very beautiful.
https://schweizmobil.ch/en/mountainbiking-in-switzerland/route-1/stage-11
https://schweizmobil.ch/en/mountainbiking-in-switzerland/route-1/stage-12
The Eiger Loop or the Jungfrau Loop (Grindelwald/Wengen/Murren/Meiringen) with multiple variant options:
https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/discover/marketplace/special-offers/detail/gravel-eiger-loop-2.html
https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/discover/marketplace/special-offers/detail/mtb-jungfrau-loop-2.html
https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/discover/marketplace/special-offers/detail/mtb-eiger-loop-2.html
Posted by
OP
New York
2 posts
Thank you so much Carroll and Wanderweg! Carroll, I am glad to hear that you think Wengen would give a different experience than Zermatt. That's helpful!
Wanderweg, thanks for the links! We hope to do 3 or 4 hikes. We look for hikes that are 5 - 9 miles, max elevation around 2,800 feet. We also plan to do 1 - 2 bike rides - only on the road, not mountain biking. It looks like there are good options in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and around Lake Brienz, but welcome any suggestions. We would look for something up to around 40 miles, up to 4,000 feet elevation.
TYIA
Posted by
Nashville, TN
834 posts
The prettiest road biking is going to be to get to Grindelwald, put your bike on the bus (B128) to Schwarzwaldalp (bike reservation required) and bike the road from Schwarzwaldalp to Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald. It's a road that almost no one drives (except the infrequent bus) and it's pretty breathtaking. You can combine it with a trip to the Rosenlaui Glacier Gorge, if you're interested in that.
https://web.bikemap.net/r/13276102
https://www.grindelwaldbus.ch/en/offers_services/offers_summer/data/schwarzwaldalp_excursion-destination.php
https://www.grindelwaldbus.ch/en/offers_services/bike-transport/
You can also bike in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, which is very nice, but anything once you get past Lauterbrunnen going to Interlaken/Lake Brienz is going to be pretty heavy with traffic.
The road from Murren to Gimmelwald is all paved and a nice downhill ride (breaks the whole way) and if you don't mind a very well groomed fine gravel road, the ride from Grutschalp to Murren via Winteregg is lovely and very easy. It's not mountain biking.
Some favorite moderate hikes:
—Schynige Platte Daube/Oberberghorn Panoramaweg
—Männlichen > Kleine Scheidegg > Fallbodensee > optional Eigergletscher > Kleine Scheidegg > Wengernalp > Wengen
—Northface hike counterclockwise from Allmendhubel above Murren
—Mountain View Trail from Allmendhubel to Grutschalp (downhill) or in reverse (uphill)
—Murren to Rotstockhutte via Bryndlii
—Grindelwald First to Grosse Scheidegg with the Marmot Trail detour