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Grindelwald Glacier Gorge

Walk through a narrow river gorge on an elevated walkway. Plus a few amusements include walking on a net over the river and an exciting canyon swing.

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The Gletscherschlucht near Grindelwald is a narrow glacier ravine a small river running through it with 300m tall rock walls on each side. For a fee, you can walk on an elevated walkway about 870 m down the canyon.

Inside the gorge, there is a huge 170m² “spiderweb” net stretched across the gorge where you can jump around. For an extra fee, you can do the crazy “canyon swing” where you freewall from 90m above the canyon and swing up to 120km/h through the canyon.

The gorge very beautiful (if a bit expensive) and a nice break from the heat and sun if you need it. This is a relatively short activity, so best to combine this with a hike in the area, like Pfingstegg, Bachalpsee or Eiger trail.

Location:   Bernese Oberland
Address:
Car: Parking: 46°36’48.0″N 8°02’45.6″E
30 mins from Interlaken, 1hr10 from Bern, 2hr10 from Zürich
Train: Grindelwald, Gletscherschlucht bus stop
55 mins from Interlaken, 2hr from Bern, 3hr from Zürich
   
Trail: about 870m each way, about 1hr
Condition: wooden walkway, possible with strollers and wheelchairs
Skill: easy
Open: May through end of October, daily 9:30-18:00, until 22:00 on Fridays
usually open on rainy days too
Cost 2024: CHF 19/adult, CHF 10/child, under 6 free
Services: café, canyon swing
More info: outdoor.ch

Location

The Grindelwald gorge is located in the Jungfrau Region near Grindelwald, easily accessible by car or bus.

Hiking map

You pay a fee to enter the gorge and walk on the elevated walkway that goes about 870m into the gorge. You return the same way. Strollers and wheelchairs are allowed on the walkway but some parts are very narrow, so be mindful of other guests that may need to pass.

Hiking near gorge: The gorge is near the Pfingstegg cable car, which takes you up to 1386m with great views, a summer toboggan, restaurant and optional hike down to the Grindelwald Glacier Gorge. See my post for details.

How to get there

By car:

Drive to Grindelwald and follow signs to the Gletscherschlucht (). There is a parking lot at the ravine entrance, next to the Gletscherschlucht Hotel.

By public transport:

Take a train to Grindelwald, then bus 122 to Grindelwald, Gletscherschlucht, which is right at the gorge entrance. In 2021, this bus runs hourly on the xx:16 and takes 11 mins from the Grindelwald train station to the gorge. See bus schedule here.

If you miss the bus, it’s a 1.8 km walk from Grindelwald to the gorge as shown here, which we’ve done before.

Tickets and opening times

In 2024, entrance to the gorge costs CHF 19/adult, CHF 10/child aged 6-16, under 6 free. Slight discount for region guest cards from your hotel.

The gorge is open early May through end of October, daily 9:30-18:00, until 22:00 on Fridays. Usually open on rainy days. See Glacier Canyon website for current info.

The Canyon Swing experience is arranged through Grindelwald Sports and includes transport from Interlaken and entrance to the gorge. It costs CHF 149 per person. Minimum age 14. You must book in advance.

Photo story of the Grindelwald Gorge

The photo on the left below shows us standing on the road that leads down to the river and ravine. In the background, you can see the glacier that feeds into this river. On the right, you see the entrance to the ravine with the pathways on the right.

The path is easy and suitable for small children. The railway along the path is relatively safe, but I still felt a little nervous. Obviously, keep a close eye on small and/or unruly children so they don’t climb on the railway. I’m not sure if they let strollers on this one (sorry for not paying better attention!). I think there are some stairs and the path gets narrow in parts, so it’s probably better to go without a stroller.

About halfway down the ravine, there are some light waterfalls as shown above. They were so interesting, gently sprinkling down on us like a mist shower. It was quite magical with the sun sparkling off all the little drops.

The walkways go about 870m down the gorge, but you can always turn around earlier if you’ve had enough. The whole ravine is nice but there isn’t something amazing at the end of the path that you simply must see. The pic on the right shows the end of the path, where the river is smaller. We spent about an hour in the ravine, slowly making our way and taking lots of pics.

This picture is just to give you idea of what it looks like outside the ravine: the typical Swiss landscape with lots of rolling meadows.

FAQ

What to wear

It can be cold and wet inside the gorge, even on a hot day. Best to wear sturdy shoes to avoid slipping on wet services. It helps to have a rain jacket to protect from the wind and wetness.

Switzerland has many impressive gorges cut by rivers and glaciers over millennia, some that are tourist attractions you must pay to visit and other others wild in nature and require a hike to visit. Here are ten that we recommend.

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Comments

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7 Responses

  1. We stayed in Grindelwald for a week with our 5 months old baby, and one day took a walk to the gorge with a stroller. The path is stroller friendly, but it’s hard to go back to Grindelwald as you are going up the hill – a lot of good exercise though. If you stay in the area, your hotel provides you with free bus tickets, and there is a bus that you can take right up to the gorge.

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  4. We visited the Grindelwald Gorge this past summer and experienced the new net over the river. We did enjoy the experience and adrenaline rush of being able to climb out on the net over the river, but I think that you are correct in your assessment that it is a little over priced.

    We did this activity on a rainy day when we didn’t have many other options, but probably would have used a prime sunny day to do something else (actually, this was an ok activity for a drizzly day as we were under cover for large parts of the hike).

    1. In summer 2018, it costs CHF19/adult and CHF10/child. https://www.grindelwaldsports.ch/en/entrance_fee.html

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Hi! I’m Tanya and our family has been living & hiking in Switzerland since 2005, collecting dozens of fun hikes and activities for all ages and abilities. More about us…

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