Hiking in Switzerland

Yes, it is possible, provided that you visit at the correct time of the year (late spring to mid-fall) when the trails and roads are clear. The road from Murren runs down to Gimmelwald, and from there, you can hike back down the valley floor. Most of the route is a fairly easy down-hill walk.

No, you can't hike from Murren to Lauterbrunnen. It's literally a straight vertical drop from Murren to the valley floor. You can hike from the top of Schiltorn or Gimmelwald to Murren. At Schiltorn Cable Car's base station (Stechelberg) there is an excellent trail (completely flat)that leads all the way to Lauterburnnen.

I have seen farmers walking their cows up to higher pasture from Lauterbrunnen towards Muerren. They're going up there somewhere. But, I believe the road is private and not for tourists. Also, you can hike down from Muerren to Grutshalp which is where you would meet the gondola down to Lauterbrunnen.

CLICK HERE to see some great hiking trails in the Bernese Oberland including the Muerren to Grutshalp hike. You might also look at the Kleine Sheidegg to Wengen hike on the other side of the valley.

That's the trail I mentioned... it goes up to Gimmelwald, and from there, the road goes to Murren. You can't drive it, but you can walk.

There are two gondolas down from Muerren. The trails I mentioned goes in the opposite direction of the one mentioned by Tom. Both are just fine. Tom describes a service road that goes down to Gimmelwald from Muerren. We have walked this road. Very easy and scenic. The Muerren to Grutshalp trail parallels the cog train to the other gondola which is diretly above Lauterbrunnen. You can see the Muerren/Grutshalp trail on the link that I posted above. Again, either is a great walk.

That service road/trail from Murren toward Lautrubrennen may be okay for four legged creatures, but for people, IMO, it's pure torture :) I still maintain it's best to take either of the two gondolas from Grutschlap/Murren to the valley floor.

The service road I described from Muerren to Gimmelwald is a paved road about 30 feet wide. It is not a trail. Service vehicles such a garbage trucks use the road (we encounted such a vehicle). It is a most gentle walk down to Gimmelwald. I'm not sure about any trail from Gimmelwald down to Stechelberg. That did look a bit steep. We took the gondola.

Here's a link to map that shows the hiking route I was talking about, although the perspective is a bit skewed:
http://www.gimmelwald.com/hikes.html

Basically, the trail runs from the south end of Gimmelwald along the side of the mountain down to Stechelberg.

Check out the area on google earth with the topographical feature activated. You will see the steep walls of the the valley. The relief in this U-shaped valley is like other glacial valleys, think Yosemite if you have been there, only a bit shallower. My best friend is Swiss and we discussed this hike on the phone last weekend. He says the Schilthorn hike back to Murren is like a moonscape, mostly rocks, but highly recommends hikes out of Kleinescheidegg as being the most typically Swiss and easy hiking.

Thanks for all the responses!