Day 2 – Hiking to Grindelwald and a change of plan, again!
The day before, we looked up at the mountain (Schynige Platte) we were heading to and all seemed fine, no snow, no rain, and it was pretty clear, which wasn’t the case the next morning. We woke up to pretty much a monsoon whilst we were getting ready, and then we discovered that 6 inches of snow had fallen over night at the top of the mountain. So anyway, we got ready, made our way to Wilderswil which is just up the road from Interlaken, to catch the train up to the Schynige Platte. On the way we could see the snow, and really heavy dark and fast=moving clouds, so we all felt a bit worried and disappointed that it wasn’t going to happen on Day 1.
I was a bit more disappointed as I had intended on doing this route back in April, only to find out that the train wasn’t due to start running until mid-May, so that’s why I pointed out in the previous post to check on the trains first.
At the train station we chatted to the cashier and he explained the snow issue, and we shouldn’t attempt the original route which was to walk from Schynige Platte to the Faulhorn and then down to Grindelwald, instead he was happy for the train to run but we should take the route down to ‘Burglauenen’ and then walk into Grindelwald following the river, which we did, and as things turned out it was a fantastic experience to walk in the snow, following the sign posts down, and we got to see some unbelievable scenery, especially at the top when we got off the train.
We also got discount on the train by using the free travel cards the hotels and hostels give you when you stay there. I’ll go through the route and show the pics below…
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
The Hiking app I use to plan the walks and to aslo guide me around is the ‘Outdooractive App‘, which has a free a Pro and a Pro+ version, the Pro version will allow you to download the routes to your phone, and use them without using up your data.
The reason I mention it is that if you were to download a route, they are FREE and you can find this link to this route in my hike listings. You can then follow the arrows and voice on your mobile, as most of these walks are a bit tricky to explain.
You can catch the bus from Interlaken bus stops to the train station in Wilderswil, the bus number you want is ‘105’. This link will help you.
The start point is basically the Schynige Platte train station, it will take you to the top in 30 mins, and then you can pick your route to Grindelwald.
It isn’t relevant to the walk we did, but click here to look at the route we where intending to do, it’ll give you options.
Navigation Aids:
Follow this route on the Outdooractive App, it is FREE, and it will guide you around safely.
Download my hand crafted *GPX file, and use it on your own guidance devices.
* If you’re not sure what a GPX file is, I have put this post together that will hopefully explain it in plain words. It’s worth considering as well as mobile app navigation, as they will make your hikes better & safer.
Hike Map
Hike Profile
Distance: 17m / 27km (but this route has a train journey up to the highest point, and we walked from Interlaken to Wilderswil, so you could cut quite a bit of mileage off that)
Duration: 7-8 hours
Highest point: 6580ft / 2005m (Schynige Platte)
Difficulty: Difficult (steep short climbs), sometimes loose terrain and weather conditions dictate.
Route conditions: Well-worn pathways most of the way around, good walking shoes are a must.
Hike Description & Pics
This route is available from my OutdoorActive account, it is FREE and will guide you all the way around, no getting lost. Once on the app, click ‘Navigate’ in the bottom bar, and from the walk’s start point it will guide you all the way around.
We walked from Interlaken to Wilderswil, there no best route as it depends where you’re staying, but there are 2 or 3 options (bus also), and you are basically heading to the Schynige Platte Train Station. You will see the trains, they are red and gold, very square and you’ll need to get your tickets from the cashier before you get on, not sure what happens if you buy before you travel, as we didn’t do that, but best be safe and go see them in there, they are very nice to speak to.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the amazing sights from the top because of the clouds, but this is what you should have been able to see, and then below is what we did actually see, but I have to say, seeing we had sun the day after, it was nice to have experienced the snow also, so I think we got very lucky.
The snow was quite deep but it was quite easy to walk in, so off we set following the path and signs down to Burglauenen, I’d still recommend using an hiking app, as it is a long walk down and there lots of twists and turns, but again we stopped on many occasions just to try and take in the views we had that day. The snow and the clouds topping the mountains, made it all very surreal, and picture postcard perfect, we were blown away.
Eventually the snow got lighter, and we joined a road that wound down the valley past a few farms, and isolated huts and cottages. It must have been the season for the cows to be brought down from the mountains, as there where a lot of 4×4’s with trailers taking the cows down, and then at around the middle point we had to stop and think if it was safe to walk on, as we came to a tunnel cut through the mountain, and as it was busy with traffic, we had no choice but to pick our time and leg it through and keep a listen out for anything coming.
Thankfully we got through fine, and continued our journey all the way down, until we eventually came to Burglauenen, where a train station is. You could catch that train to Grindelwald, but there no fun in that, so we crossed over and carried on walking, following the river up stream.
So, to continue the journey, you will need to be on the other side of the river, and basically you follow it all the way to Grindelwald. I don’t want to end it there, as there still 2 or 3 things I want to mention and show pics of, this is a beautiful valley, the mountains either side are spectacular, the fast flowing river is noisy and you walk through some lovely woods, and then we treated ourselves to a luxury hotel for the night, which we all loved.
But here are some pics of the walk along the river into Grindelwald, and it’s when you leave the woods behind, that on your right you will get to see the North Face of the Eiger. We then walked into Grindelwald, and put our feet up in the square, rested, went for a coffee and then went to the hotel. We will be seeing a lot more of the Eiger and others tomorrow, and we also had Eiger facing rooms in the hotel we stayed in in Grindelwald.
Like I was saying above we treated ourselves to a luxury hotel stay, and I really recommend the Sunstar Hotel & Spa, it’s more expensive than I usually stay at, but the pool, all the spa facilities, the bar with the huge open fire and the superb breakfast in the morning, coupled with the room views, I just couldn’t resist it again, having stayed there earlier in the year.
I have put a post together for ‘The Sunstar Hotel’, have a read, you want be dissapointed if you stay there.
That’s it, you have completed Day 2, you’re at the hotel relaxing, hopefully the weather has been good, and you have had a great experience.
It is worth downloading this route onto your outdooractive app, it’ll re-assure you time wise and that you’re not heading in the wrong directions. There is so much space up there and lots of alternative paths you could accidently join.
Hope you enjoy this walk, and I’d love it if you could share this post either with the social media buttons that follow you down the screen on your left, or below in the footer. Also, comments are very welcome, I love meeting new people and talking and you never know we could meet up on one of our walks.
