If you’re looking for a summer destination for families, UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch is a great choice. Besides beautiful hiking, it has the best alpine playground in Switzerland (in my humble opinion) and many other fun activities, including a sensory theme trail, mountain scooters, 3D archery course in the forest, alpine slide, pirate treasure hunt, etc.
If that wasn’t enough, they have the Brienzer Rothorn (2350m), an impressive mountain peak with spectacular panorama views across central Switzerland and the Berner Oberland (shown below). We rode up there for sunrise and it was a very special experience that I highly recommend. We hiked down the mountain, fished in an alpine lake (and actually caught a fish!), and visited a waterfall that is the source of the Waldemme river.
We packed a lot into a weekend, but still we didn’t nearly do everything we would have liked to in this region. This area is definitely not on the tourist trail and even rather unknown to most Swiss. So you won’t get the kind of crowds and noise you get in other popular parts of Switzerland, a bit plus in my book.
Note: This weekend was sponsored by Lucerne Tourism, UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch and Sörenberg Rothornbahn.
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| Location: | Sörenberg Entlebuch / Lake Lucerne Region |
| Address: | Sörenberg |
| Car: | 1hr from Luzern, 1hr30 from Zürich or Bern |
| Train: | 1hr from Luzern, 1hr45 from Bern, 2hr25 from Zürich |
| Trail: | various: 1.4 km theme trail, 6km mountain trail |
| Highest point: | 2350m |
| Open: | June to mid-October |
| Cost 2020: | Rossweid gondola return Adult CHF 20 Brienzer Rothorn cable car one way Adult CHF 25 Both free with Tell Pass Swiss travel card discounts accepted |
| More info: | www.biosphaere.ch – webcam |
First a short video from our day by 110 in partnership with Lucerne Tourism.
1. Overview
The UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch is a large protected natural reserve (395 km²) in Central Switzerland between Bern and Lucerne. This area is full of mountains, rivers, waterfalls and rolling countryside with lots of hiking trails and fun outdoor activities, particularly for families.
Here is the summer hiking map of the area, with the activities mentioned here labeled on the map. You can download this map on the Brochures page – the Sörenberg Panoramakarte PDF.
2. Getting There
We stayed at the Go-In Hotel in Sörenberg, which is within walking distance or a very short drive or bus ride to all the activities I mention in this post.
By public transport: From Luzern, take a train to Schüpheim, then a bus to Sörenberg, Post for the Mooraculum playground, archery course and scooter ride. For the Brienzer Rothorn cable car, continue on the bus to Sörenberg, Rothornbahn.
By car: If you are coming from Lucerne or Zürich, your GPS will probably recommend that you drive over the pass through Giswil. Don’t go this way! It’s a winding narrow one lane road that requires to frequently use turnouts to pass oncoming traffic. We had to backup multiple times to make room for passing cars. I was so stressed on that road!
Instead, drive around the mountains through Wolhusen and Entlebuch. That road is also narrow and winding in parts. But it’s much easier to drive. For the Mooraculum playground, archery and mountain scooters, park next to the Rossweid gondola station at Hinter-Schöniseistrasse 4, 6174 Flühli. For the Brienzer Rothorn cable car, drive a bit further down the main road (as shown below) to the cable car parking lot (free) GPS: 46°48’30.5″N 8°03’31.0″E
3. Mooraculum Playground
This playground is at the top of the Sörenberg – Rossweid gondola and I think it just might be the best alpine playground in Switzerland. The mountain views are fantastic and has so many different activities that our crew was entertained the entire day and didn’t want to leave.
It’s particular great for a hot day because there are so many water activities, including a swing set that turns into a waterfall. Last time we went, it was foggy and it was actually great for that too because you don’t need the views to have fun. We had planned to hike but we couldn’t see anything in the fog, so the playground was a great alternative.
My son particularly likes timing himself (and me!) on the obstacle courses.
There are several picnic areas around the playground with fire pits and wood. There is also a self-service restaurant next to the playground, with typical Swiss dishes and ice cream sundaes.
The gondola runs daily from 8:15 to 17:15 from early June to mid-October. A round trip ticket costs Adult CHF 20. Children, SBB Half-fare and GA are CHF 10. SBB Junior card and under 6 ride free. This is included in the Tell Pass travel pass.
See my full post about Mooraculum playground
4. Sensory theme trail
Next to the playground, there is a 1.4 km theme trail for children with 18 activities along the way. Most of the stations are related to the five senses, like these giant ears that help you listen closely to the forest noises.
It’s short enough for the smallest legs and suitable for all-terrain strollers. So it’s a great place to train children to hike because they are continually motivated to find the next fun activity along the way.
For more details, see my post about Mooraculum sensory theme trail
5. Mountain scooters
At the end of your day, instead of riding the gondola down the mountain, you can ride a mountain scooter, aka “Bikeboard”. There are several different styles and sizes, smaller ones for little legs, lightweight ones with thin tires and heavy ones with big fat tires.
There’s no minimum age, but instead a minimum height of 110cm, tall enough to reach the handles and the ground. You also need enough hand strength to control your speed with the brakes. So probably about 7-8 years old. A child cannot ride double with an adult.
The views are lovely the whole way down. We also met some friendly cows and goats on our way.
The route is about 4.5 km and took us about 20 mins. It was mostly a paved road, quite easy to navigate. When we reached the valley, there was a dirt path next to the river but we chose to go back on the sidewalk along the main road to reach the bottom of the Rossweid gondola where you return the scooters.
There is also a 900m long alpine slide just a couple minutes down the road from Sörenberg. But we ran out of time so we’ll have to try it next time. More info about the Rischli Rodelbahn.
6. Archery Trail – 3D Bogenparcours
This archery trail was a fun surprise and a new favorite activity of my son. We had never done archery before so I was worried we might be too terrible to enjoy it. But on the first arrow during our training, my 12 year old got a bullseye and I managed to hit the target consistently after a few tries. It’s not extremely difficult, but it takes skill and a bit of luck to do it well.
The archery trail is organized by the Go-In Hotel. They offer a family package for CHF 100, which includes the training session, rental of the equipment and use of the archery parcours course for 2 adults and up to 3 children. They ask you to reserve at least a day in advance. More info and current prices here.
Children are welcome from 7 years old but must be carefully supervised by an adult. The arrows have metal tips and could certainly hurt someone if you don’t follow the rules.
You start with a short training session with targets at the hotel, about 30 mins. Our instructor spoke English and was very friendly and helpful.
Then, you head off on the special “Bogenparcours” trail, a lovely walk even without the archery. The trail is about 2 km and takes about 2-3 hours to do the whole course. We had to hurry a bit because they close at 17:00 and we had started at 15:00. So give yourself plenty of time.
Along the way, you’ll encounter 16 animal figures placed in the forest off the trail, clearly marked so no one will accidentally wander through the shooting zone.
You stand at a marker (there are beginner, normal and pro markers at different distances) and try to hit a circle target on the animal figure. You get points based on where you hit on the target (center circle, wider circle or anywhere on the animal) and how many arrows it took (you get three arrows per target).
My son usually hit the animal figure with the first arrow, often in the target zone. I usually got it on my 2nd or 3rd try but twice, missed it completely with all my arrows and got zero points in those rounds.
Go-In also has a pirate treasure hunt trail but we didn’t have time to try it. Next time!
More info about the Sörenberg 3D Bogenpacours
7. Sunrise on Brienzer Rothorn
Riding to the top of the Brienzer Rothorn is nice any day. But on Sundays in July and August, you can ride up starting at 5:15 so you can see the sunrise from the mountain peak at 2350m. I couldn’t recommend this special experience more!!!
You don’t need to pre-book the cable car tickets, but it is popular so I recommend arriving by at least 5:00 to stand in line to catch the first cable car up so you don’t miss a minute of the magic. This is a view from the top at 5:20 in mid-July, about 20 mins before the sun appears.
It’s chilly up there even in summer (about 4C the day we were there), so bring warm layers and gloves. It was so nice to experience this together!
There’s a fenced in viewpoint where many people stand. But you can wander around the top to spread out a bit, but stay safe! There are some steep drop-offs all around.
This cable car is surprisingly inexpensive compared to most other high mountain peaks. This same mountain has a cogwheel train on the other side that costs twice the price. A round trip ticket on the Sörenberg cable car costs round trip CHF 40/adult. Children, SBB Half-fare and GA cost CHF 20. Children with a SBB Junior card or under 6 ride free. The Sörenberg-Rothorn cable car is included in the Tell Pass.
You should reserve for breakfast at the top, because this often is booked out a week in advance. You can email gipfelrestaurant@soerenberg.ch or call +41 (0)33 951 26 27 to reserve. The breakfast buffet costs CHF 25.50/adult, CHF 15.50/child aged 6-12, under 6 free.
There are windows circling the restaurant with fantastic panorama views in every direction. A great place to enjoy your bircher müesli, fresh croissants, and Swiss cheese.
This pic is at 7:30 in mid-July, already quite light and ready for hiking.
More info about sunrise ride to Brienzer Rothorn
7a. Hiking from Brienzer Rothorn
I recommend hiking down the mountain so you can enjoy the views longer. It’s a lot of elevation descent at 990m. But if you take your time, with a nice break at the Eisee lake, it’s not too strenuous. This is the trail we did, along with many other sunrise visitors.
Here’s a view near the start of the trail. It’s quite lumpy with rocks and lots of switchbacks. Best with sturdy hiking shoes and optionally, hiking sticks. More about this trail below.
I can also highly recommend the amazing ridge trail to Turren (about 11k), but this only works if you are traveling by public transportation since you end on the other side of the mountain.
8. Fishing at Eisee
From the Brienzer Rothorn, we hiked down to the Eisee alpine lake to go fishing (about 2.5km and 300 elevation descent).
You can also ride down a chair lift down instead (and back up), which drops you off at this restaurant near the lake. This is a great option for smaller children that can’t manage the hike.
The chair lift officially runs hourly, but the day we were there it only ran 4 times. So check the schedule carefully when you arrive. You can buy a combo ticket with the Sörenberg cable car, only a couple francs more. If you didn’t buy a combo ticktet and later realize you don’t want to hike back up the mountain, you can buy a single ride ticket for CHF 7.
Even if you aren’t fishing, the lake is a beautiful place for a picnic or to walk around.
We had arranged to go fishing, which was a nice excuse to spend more time with the lake.
Even though it’s best to fish very early (like 6:00), my son caught a fish – very exciting!
You can buy a fishing permit at the restaurant, which costs CHF 37/adult or CHF 55/family, meaning everyone in the family can fish with their own pole. The lake currently has 1000 fish (well, 999 after we caught ours!). You are allow to catch 6 fish with your permit.
More info about fishing at Eisee. And more info about fishing rules in Switzerland here.
After fishing, we had lunch with a view at the Berghaus Eisee, a self-service cafe with traditional Swiss dishes including fish. You can also stay overnight here in both summer and winter. Our friends told us this ski piste is kind of a local’s secret because it’s separate from the main skiing area and a little hidden. We’ll have to try it next winter.
9. Hiking down to waterfall and source of Emme river
To continue hiking down the mountain, from the restaurant or lake, follow the wide dirt road that winds back and forth down the rocky slopes.
From the lake, it’s about 4.5k and 600m elevation descent to the valley and your starting point at the cable car station. There are a couple steep bits, but mostly it’s just slightly downhill on switchbacks.
Gorgeous views down the Entlebuch valley the whole time.
After about 3 km (about 60-90 mins), you reach the Emmensprung, the source of the Waldemme river, which bubbles out of the ground and feeds two big waterfalls that you can admire from this bridge.
Here’s the last bit in the valley before reaching the cable car station where we left our car. The Sörenberg, Rothornbahn bus stop is also there.
10. Where we stayed – Go In Hotel
We stayed Saturday night at the Go-In Hotel in Sörenberg, which is just a couple minutes walk from the Rossweid cable car. This also it much easier to catch the sunrise, since the hotel is only a 5 mins drive from the Rothornbahn cable car. We got up at 4:30 and were at the cable car by 5:00.
We had a family room, which had bunk beds for our boys. We had plenty of room to spread and liked being near the center of the village.
Go-In hosts both the 3D Archery course and a pirate treasure hunt, which is very convenient for families.
The hotel is in an idyllic setting. You can walk up the hills behind the hotel to catch the sunset and room to run around for the kids.
The village is tiny and only has a couple restaurants open for dinner. My husband and I ate at Hotel Sörenberg, which had nice sunset views from their terrace. Then we brought home pizzas for the kids, who were exhausted from the day and wanted to stay in the room. Win win.
Well, that was a lot to pack into a weekend! I think UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch is a great destination for families, with so many fun activities and options for small and big kids. We still have more to explore in this area and plan to go back. I hope you like it!
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A challenging hike in the Entlebuch area at Schrattenfluh
4 responses
Hi Tanya. On further research I also discovered that the river here is actually called the Waldemme. In fact, the valley wherein lies Sörenberg is called the Waldemme Valley (Waldemmental). The “real” Emme river, which gives its name to the Emmental region of Canton Bern, has its source elsewhere further to the West. You might want to make that change as well, as it’s a rather major distinction.
Thanks for the correction. I need to get know this area better.
Hi! Just want to say what a lovely website you have created, lots of great information and pictures. An awful lot of work went into this.
As an avid hiker in Switzerland, we have covered thousands of kilometers all over the country and have become familiar with many remote spots. Even so, it’s always nice to get new ideas for places we haven’t been yet.
Just wanted to take this opportunity, though, to tell you that the river you refer to is called the “Emme”, not the “Emmen”. You might want to change that.
Greetings from Zug.
Thank you for the correction. I had wondered about the name as I had seen it written both ways on different maps and websites. Perhaps it was a declinated ending? Anyway, I’ll go change it. In any case, glad you found the blog helpful even with all your hiking experience in this beautiful country. I’d love a tip if you wouldn’t mind sharing.