Switzerland - Murren

It depends on the year, of course, but most likely the snow will be gone at the elevation of Mürren, but it could still be muddy. (It can be muddy in the middle of summer too, if it rains.) There may still be lingering snow here and there above Mürren, increasing as you gain in elevation. Early wildflowers could be out, which is a real treat.

Maria, I also agree with the previous replies. As there are never any guarantees with the weather, prepare by packing along appropriate clothing and footwear suitable for "light" hiking and especially rain gear. The weather will likely be quite pleasant, but of course there could be rain which will make trails "muddy". One of the easiest hikes that I've found is to take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular uphill from Mürren, and then hike down. There's a small Hotel / Pub in the alpine meadows on the way down, where you can stop for a "cool beverage" (hopefully it's still there?). Although this may not be pertinent to your situation, I wanted to mention that the Stechelberg-Gimmelwald-Schilthorn Cable Cars will be closed for maintenance from 26-29 April 2011. The Allmend-Hubel Funicular will be closed from 26 April - 3 June 2011 (if I read that correctly). That may be relevant to your trip. Happy travels!

I echo the advice to bring effective rain gear and decent hiking shoes whatever time of year you visit Murren. Weather in the mountains is unpredictable and you may experience pouring rain (and muddy trails) even in mid-summer.

When I travel to Mürren it's always in the timeframe of late May and early June. The wildflowers have always been blooming while we were there...even though there may be some lingering snow.

We were there two years ago at that time and had great weather and no mud. The snow was melting in the higher areas and we saw lots of waterfalls as a result. Hiking was excellent. On the negative side, some lifts had not opened and there were some closures of the restaurants. Lots of wildflowers blooming and cows being moved to different pastures. I would not hesitate to go at that time. We did not take any heavy clothes-just layers and scarf and gloves came in handy for the Jungfrau visit.

1) No 2) No
3) Probably not The other posters have given excellent advice with which I agree.

Thanks so much to everyone for the great advice and encouragement. We were in this area 2 years ago in Sept. and enjoyed hiking around so much that we would like to try it again but were skeptical about the conditions that time of year.

Plan for everything. We were there in July 2009 and had hard rain one day and clear skies another. Go with the flow, it is drop dead gorgeous in Murren and surrounding.