Grindelwald has some of the best hiking in Switzerland, popular with both tourists and locals.
Below are our favorite Grindelwald hikes, with varying difficulty from an easy stroll for all ages and abilities to a challenging all day trek. I hope you find something you like!
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Note: Grindelwald is a good base for hiking in Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken, but it adds about 45-1h of travel time each way.
Overview of Grindelwald
Grindelwald is an alpine village in the Jungfrau Region, right in the heart of Switzerland. See on Google Maps. It is easily accessed by train or car.
The Jungfrau region is split into two main valleys: Grindelwald on the east and Lauterbrunnen on the west, with a big mountain separating them. You can easily travel between the valleys by car, train or cable car. But it can be time consuming if your time is short.
On the map below, I’ve highlighted the four mountain areas serviced by mountain transport from the Grindelwald valley: Grindelwald First (gondola), Pfingstegg (cable car), Kleine Scheidegg (cogwheel train) & Männlichen (gondola). Below I suggest hikes in each of these areas.
How to get to Grindelwald
The Grindelwald village is easy to access by train or car. Where you park or exit the train, depends on where you plan to hike. So see the individual hiking posts for more specific directions.
By train: From Interlaken Ost, take a train to Grindelwald. Often this train goes to both Lauterbrunnen & Grindelwald, splitting in half once it reaches the Zweilütschinen stop. so make sure you are on the correct half of the trail. If you plan to ride the Männlichen gondola, you can get off at Grindelwald Terminal. Otherwise, ride one more stop to Grindelwald, which is close to the center of the village.
By car: Where you park in Grindelwald depends on what you are doing.
- For the Männlichen gondola, park in the adjacent Grindelwald Terminal parking garage (46°37’28.0″N 8°01’13.5″E), which is CHF 6 for 1-5 hours, CHF 12 for 5-24 hrs. But if you stay multiple days, it gets more expensive each day, e.g. CHF 60/3 days.
- For the Grindelwald First gondola, the closest parking is Parkhaus Eiger + near the center of the village (Endweg 1b, 3818 Grindelwald), the most expensive parking at CHF 2.50/hr, CHF 25/day. This one gets a little a little cheaper each day you stay. You can also get a long term (at least 7 days) “in & out” parking ticket with a reserved spot, so you can use your vehicle during your stay.
- For the Pfingstegg cable car, there are three small parking lots adjacent to the cable car station (Graben 3818, 3818 Grindelwald), CHF 7/day.
Where to stay in Grindelwald
If you want explore the Grindelwald area and have limited time (3 days or less), I suggest staying in the Grindelwald village to minimize your travel time to reach your desired hikes and destinations.
We like Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald, which is conveniently located a very short walk from the Grindelwald train station and has quick access to all the cable cars and mountain transport by foot or bus. This hotel has spectacular views of the Eiger from it’s terrace and room balconies.
* Our most recent stay was hosted by the hotel & Responsible Hotels Switzerland.
The rooms are spacious with a large balcony. All rooms have air-conditioning, not a given at other Swiss hotels. The beds are very comfortable with a nice selection of pillows. For families, they have a variety of family rooms and suites fitting up to 9 people.
We particularly enjoyed our fondue dinner in the adorable gondola. Such a memorable experience.
Their main restaurant serves delicious versions of Swiss classics and as well as dishes with Italian and Mediterranean flavors. If you feel like splurging, they have also a Michelin starred restaurant with an inventive tasting menu.
We enjoyed their nice wellness center with an indoor pool, outdoor hot tub with massage jets, sauna and steam rooms. Children are welcome during certain hours.
Thanks to Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald for hosting our recent stay.
Easy Grindelwald hikes
1. Männlichen Royal Walk
For a short outing, you might like the Royal Walk up to the viewpoint over the entire Jungfrau Region. From the top of the Grindelwald-Männlichen gondola, its about a 20 min walk uphill to a big “crown” platform where you get the view shown below.
At Männlichen there is a restaurant, playground and more views into the Lauterbrunnen valley. If you want to hike more, a few trails continue from here including the panorama trail to Kleine Scheidegg described below.
Hike: Easy • 40 mins • 1.75 km round trip • 120m up & down
See details for Männlichen Royal Walk
2. Panorama trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg
Ride the gondola from Grindelwald to Männlichen at 2200m. Here you’ll find a restaurant, playground and gorgeous views into both the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen valley. The panorama trail starts here walking towards the Eiger and Jungfrau peaks.
This relatively easy trail winds around the mountain on a dirt path that is a bit lumpy, but possible with an all-terrain stroller with sturdy wheels. You end at Kleine Scheidegg, where you’ll find restaurants, gift shops and a cogwheel mountain train that will take you back to Grindewald.
Hike: Easy • 1.5 h • 4.7 km • 68 m up, 237 m down
See details for Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg trail.
3. Bachalpsee alpine lake
This alpine lake is probably the most popular destination in the Grindelwald area. A gondola takes up to Grindelwald First at 2160m, where you can start your day with a slightly scary cliff walk.
Then a one hour hike to an alpine lake with spectacular mountain views, a perfect place for a picnic.
If you want to see something different on the way back, you can hike down to the middle station Bort, where you’ll find a big playground with mountain views and rent scooters to ride the rest of the way down to Grindelwald.
Hike: Easy • 2 hrs • 6 km round trip • 150 m up & down
See details for Bachalpsee hike.
4. Lieselotte Theme Trail
If you have children aged about 5-10 that need a little motivation to keep walking, you might try the Lieselotte theme trail. The trail has 13 stations along the 3.5 km trail, including playing an alphorn and “milking” a cow.
Hike: Easy • 1h30 • 3.5 km • 600 m down
See details for the Lieselotte theme trail.
Moderate Grindelwald hikes
5. Grindelwald Marmot Trail
Although this trail starts at the bustling Grindelwald First viewpoint, it quickly leaves the crowds behind as you head into high alpine meadows. This area is full of marmots, which you are likely to see if you are patient.
With children, you pick up a free activity booklet at the gondola station with marmot facts and stories to accompany the info boards along the way.
The trail ends at the Grosse Scheidegg pass, where you get an exciting and beautiful ride on a special mountain bus back down to Grindelwald.
Hike: 2 hours 7km one way 234m up, 434m down
See details for Grindelwald Marmot trail
6. Eiger Northface Trail
From Grindelwald Terminal station, ride the Eiger Express cable car to the start of this mountain trail that traverses underneath the famous north face of the Eiger.
From a safe viewpoint, you can see the rock wall where many climbers have died trying to reach the peak.
Unlike the rock face, this trail is safe for little hikers with mostly easy walking, with a few switchbacks and rocky sections to navigate.
Hike: Moderate • 2hr30 • 6 km • 787 m
7. Eiger Glacier Trail
This trail also starts at the Eigergletscher station like the Eiger Northface Trail above. But it hikes down the opposite side of the mountain, heading towards Wengen.
This trail gets all the sunshine as you wander first through a rocky landscape below the Eiger glacier high above. Then you wander through grassy alpine meadows and pretty forests with Mürren in view across the valley.
If you are staying in Grindelwald, do the variation that loops back to the Kleine Scheidegg pass instead of hiking all the way to Wengen (details in my post). From Kleine Scheidegg, you can ride the mountain train back to Grindelwald.
Hike: 3 hours • 8.6 km • 428m up, 629m down
Get trail details for Eiger Glacier Trail
8. Schynige Platte ridge trail
This trail requires more travel time to reach the trail, but we think it’s well worth it.
From Grindelwald, it’s about a 40 min train ride to Wilderswil, where you’ll switch to a cogwheel train that slowly winds up the mountain to 1950m.
Just from the restaurant, you can enjoy amazing views over the Interlaken region and two lakes. But it’s even more spectacular from the trail along the ridge. It’s a well built trail and not particularly dangerous. But best for those with at least a little hiking experience and proper hiking shoes.
Hike: Moderate • 2 hrs • 5.5 km • 150 m up, 160 m down
See details for Schynige Platte ridge trail
Challenging Grindelwald hikes
9. First – Faulhorn – Schynige Platte
This is a long challenging hike starting at the top of Grindelwald First and ending at Schynige Platte, the entrance of the Jungfrau Region near Interlaken.
On the way you pass by the Bachalpsee, visit the Faulhorn peak, and traverse many kilometers of beautiful mountain landscape. One of the best hikes in the region if you have the stamina to complete it.
Hike: Challenging • 6 h • 16.5 km • ↗ 630 m ↘ 840 m
10. Pfingstegg to Bäregg mountain hut
Ride up the Pfingstegg cable car, then hike way up a narrow canyon to reach a fantastic view of the Ischmeer glacier from the Bäregg mountain hut. Have lunch then return the way you came. Nice half-day outing.
Although this hike is quite short, but I’ve put it in the challenging section because it has a few sections with steep drop-offs that are only suitable for older children with hiking experience.
Hike: Moderate • 2h45 • 5.4 km • ↗ 370 m ↘ 370 m
Budget Tip: Regional Travel Passes
If you stay overnight in Grindelwald, you will get get a Visitor Card that covers the local bus and gives a few discounts. Get more info here.
In addition, you can purchase a regional travel pass that covers mountain transport (free or discounted) in this region. These passes are only worth it if you plan high priced mountain excursions each day.
Jungfrau Travel Pass – available for 3 to 8 days. It covers most mountain transport in the Jungfrau region and near Interlaken, including the boat rides. It includes a discount on the Jungfraujoch journey.
Bernese Oberland Pass – This pass provides free travel on bus, train, boat and 25 mountain railways in the whole Bernese Oberland region, including all mountain railways in the Jungfrau region, with discounts for Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn. Available for 3 to 10 days.
Swiss Travel Pass – This pass includes free travel on bus, train, and boat in all over Switzerland and discounts on most mountain railways, including all those in the Jungfrau Region. Available for 3 to 15 days. Buy the Swiss Travel Pass.
If you are traveling with children aged 6-15, make sure to purchase the SBB Junior Card (also called Family Card). It enables children to ride free (when accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket) on all buses, trains, gondolas, cable cars, ferries in all of Switzerland. It costs CHF 30 and is valid for 1 year.
See also: Traveling Switzerland on a Budget
6 responses
This has been super helpful in planning an upcoming trip to Europe. We had hoped to do the Jungfrau train from Interlaken all they way up but I think it’s out of our budget.
Is the Mannlichen Panorama Trail and Royal Walk something that is open and can be done in mid-May. We’re going to be there between May 13th and 15th.
Thanks for such a wealth of info on this page!
Hi. Mid May is a bit early for Männlichen. On their website, it says the gondola doesn’t start running until 25 May. So perhaps visit Grindelwald First or Mürren where the mountain transport will be running when you are there.
Hi Tanya,
What a fantastic page! We are planning to go to the Jungfrau area this July but we have little time, only 3 complete days and two half days (one afternoon, and one morning). Our kids are 14, 12 and 10 and we love to hike. We will be camping. Would you recommend staying at Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen?
Thanks a lot for all the information, it is really very helpful.
Hi Maria, what a fun trip coming up! I think either location would be nice. I’ve only camped in Lauterbrunnen, so I’m not familiar with the Grindelwald campsite. I liked Lauterbrunnen because it was so nice to walk down the valley in the late evenings after dinner.
If you were planning winter activities (like snow skiing) would you stay in Interlaking or Grindelwald
For winter activities, I’d stay in Grindelwald, which is much closer to the lifts.