It’s so easy to visit the Steingletscher glacier, with a short hike from the bus stop/parking area. You can drive even closer by paying to drive on a private road. Either way, it’s a beautiful mountain hike out to the glacier ice, which you can admire and touch with ease.
Don’t plan to walk on the ice unless you have the right equipment and know what you’re doing. We did this as part of a guided glacier trek on the ice, which I highly recommend. But even if you are just hiking to see the ice, it’s a really nice outing.
Note: the glacier ice is melting quickly, so the ice may have receded much farther than shown in my pics below. Your experience may vary.
| Location: | Bernese Oberland – Haslital region |
| Address: | Sustenpass |
| By car: | Steingletscher Kurve, 3863 Gadmen 50mins from Interlaken, 1hr15 from Luzern, 1hr45 from Zürich |
| By public transport: | Bus stop: Steingletscher, Susten 1hr45 from Interlaken, 2hr50 from Zürich |
| Trail: | 7.3 km round trip (shorter if you drive up private road) |
| Elevation: | highest point 2209m, 400m up 320 down |
| Condition: | narrow dirt, rocky path, no strollers |
| Skill: | moderate |
| Open: | late June to October |
| Cost: | free |
| More info: | sustenpass.ch • webcam |
Overview of trail
The Steingletscher is located at the top of the Sustenpass on the eastern border of the Bernese Oberland. You can easily reach this area by car or bus.
You have two options to hike to the glacier. You can start at the free parking & bus stop on the main road near the hotel and hike 2.7 km up to the glacier. Or you can pay a small fee to drive up a private road, so you only have to hike 1 km to the ice.
On the map below, I’ve shown the full trail from the bus stop to the ice. If you drive closer, you’ll start at the 2.34 km mark on the trail shown below, at the dirt parking lot on the side of the road. My map partially follows the Steinalp Gletscherpfad trail.
See this trail on Komoot • SchweizMobil • AllTrails • Outdoor Active
Getting There
By public transport: Take a bus to Steingletscher, Susten. The bus drops you off near the hotel shown below.
By car: Drive to the Susten Pass and park at the free parking in front of the Alpine Lodge Steingletscher, shown above. It was about an 1hr45 drive from Zürich, about a 1hr from Luzern.
If you want a shorter hike, you can drive up the private road leading up the mountain from the restaurant. There is a fee box at the entrance to the road, as shown below (CHF 5 in 2019). There are a couple parking areas. We parked at 46°43’16.6″N 8°25’34.0″E for this hike.
Starting the hike
Start by following the Gletscherpfad that walks along the lake shown here.
When you reach the road, walk along the road until you come to a bridge. The parking is near the bridge. This is where we parked with our glacier guide.
There is a long flat valley leading up to the mountains, so pretty here.
Cross the bridge and follow the footpath out to the ice. It’s 1 km from this point to reach the ice. The path is well-worn but not well marked.
Up the hill on a narrow rocky trail.
Here’s the view back to the Susten Pass where you parked the car.
Then we arrived at the ice. You can walk over to touch the ice. But don’t walk on the ice without a guide and proper equipment. It can be really dangerous.
This was a really cool part before we got onto the ice. But it might not be there when you go.
If you want to walk on the ice like these people, see our post about a Guided Trek on the Steingletscher.
Hike back
When you are ready to go, walk back on the same path to the bridge.
Such a lovely river here.
When you get to the road, walk a couple minutes, then take a path on the left side of the road instead of going back down to the lake.
Looking back to the glacier. Our path is on the right side of this picture, on the hillside.
See more Glaciers to Visit in Switzerland
2 responses
Hey when did you guys do this hike? We went today with our kids and sadly didnt get to reach any ice as the glacier has melted so significantly…
oh no! The ice is melting so fast. We did this hike in 2019. I’m sad to hear that you couldn’t reach the ice on your hike.