Bernese Oberland when it rains

With Switzerland's excellent rail system the possibilities are endless. You could take a day trip to Luzern via the Golden Pass scenic train. Or take the Golden Pass in the opposite direction to Montreux and explore the Chateau Chillon, and still have enough time to get to Luscanne, and checkout the Olympics museum. Other possibilities include Gruyere, and the nearby chocolate factory. More obvious choices are exploring Bern, Basel, or Zurich.

Marshall, I've been there! Our family recently spent four nights in Murren (the second week of August) and had terrible weather the entire time. Rain, fog, clouds, you name it. The sun came out for about an hour and a half one day, and that was the only time we saw the mountains. We hiked every day though, on the lower elevation trails recommended to us by the local TI and in Rick's book. One day we did the North Face trail out of Murren. Although it was pouring we did stop at one of the little farmhouses, have some coffee and learn about cheesemaking. Another day we did the Mountain View trail. You could definitely do the Lauterbrennan Valley trail. We walked from Murren to Gimmelwald, took the cable car down to the valley floor and walked the valley to Lauterbrennan. You could also do that on bikes if you get a break in the rain. Last bit of advice is that we went to Wengen one day and the weather was better there than elsewhere. Good luck to you.

As a rule, when the weather on the north side of the alps is rainy, the south is sunny. The BO is on the north, so head to the south. You can hop a train to Brig and then on to northern Italy (Stressa is gorgeous and very close). You could also ride the Centovalli train from Domodosola to Locarno. The ride is gorgeous and Locarno is a beautiful city in Italian Switzerland. If you really want to stay nearby, go to either Bern and walk through the old town (most of the sidewalks are covered) or go to the Ballenberg museum in Brienz. I used to live outside of Zurich and when the weather was bad I would always go to Tessin/Ticino or Valais for the weekend if I had time.

I assume you brought rain gear? We use rainy days there to walk the Lauterbrunnen Valley path and visit Trummelbach Falls (where you need a rain jacket even on a nice day due to the spray). Or head up to Gimmelwald and hike down into the Kilchbalm, at least partway. The path is paved at first and would be safe even in a downpour, and even if you don't get sweeping vistas the scenery will be nice. Then walk up to Muerren and explore the town, maybe stop in at the Sport Center for a swim in the indoor pool.

Marshall, as one of your main goals is to hike in the area, my first suggestion would be to carry on with that (assuming you brought rain gear). The hike down from the Allmend Hubel Funicular is only an hour or two, so would be reasonable if you had rain gear. For an allternative* you could visit Trummelbach Falls (as Lola suggested), take the Cable Car to the Schilthorn and have a fine hot meal in one of the world's first revolving restaurants (while viewing the incredible scenery) or take the train to Interlaken and explore the city. There may also be short boat trips available from Interlaken, but I haven't checked. I can appreciate your situation, as I also had to deal with lots of rain when I visited the Appenzell region of Switzerland earlier this year. Good luck! (*I had to use that spelling, as the website produced the [Invalid] tag for the first part of the word when I used the correct spelling).

Thanks everyone. It's definitely raining today so your tips are appreciated. It's supposed to be better tomorrow so we'll save the eastern side of the valley (jungfrau) for tomorrow. I've hiked the western side (Schilthorn) before so we'll just stick with doing it today in the rain.

I would imagine that Jungfrau valley "the top of Europe" is above the clouds. Why don't you take a day trip there?

You cannot count on the Jungfraujoch, at 11,388 feet, being above the clouds. We went up there on a cloudy/drizzly day and found ourselves in a blizzard. It was fun, but there were no views at all. You should check the webcams for the specific area before you head up the JUngfrau or the Schilthorn.

We did a short hike from Grutschalp to Murren and then later went to see Trummelbacl falls, which was not weather dependent. The peaks were definitely submerged in clouds today. Our solution - stay an extra day and cut something later in the trip. Weather is sunny tomorrow and even sunnier the next. Already pushed our rooms in Bavaria and Salzburg with no problems. Just have to get the train schedule. We'll lose a night in Hallstatt but such is life. Tomorrow Piz Gloria then Jungfrau/top of Europe the next day.