This hike is an adventure! First you hike up to a cliff wall and scramble up into a huge cave, “Welschenrohr Bärenloch,” overlooking the idyllic Swiss countryside. Then ramble across to the Wolfsschlucht and wander down a beautiful forested gorge with huge mossy boulders. Lots of drama in this landscape.
The hike has a few rough spots, but mostly easy walking and only 4 km long, so a good choice for families with kids that like to explore. I have a longer, tougher version below for those that want a challenge. We loved this hike and hope you do too.
Contents
| Location: | northwest Switzerland • Jura & Three Lakes region • Naturpark Thal |
| Trail Address: | Start: Welschenrohr, Zentrum bus stop End: Herbetswil, Wolfsschlucht |
| By car: | Free parking next to the Volg – Balmbergstrasse 206, 4716 Welschenrohr 1hr from Basel or Bern, 1hr15 from Zürich |
| By public transport: | Bus stop: Herbetswil, Wolfsschlucht 1hr20 from Basel or Zürich, 1hr45 from Bern |
| Trail: | 4 km (longer option below) |
| Elevation: | highest point 893m, 220m up, 260m down |
| Condition: | narrow dirt path, rocks, stairs, some cables, no strollers |
| Skill: | moderate |
| Open: | best May to October, not good in rainy weather |
| More info: | schweizmobil.ch |
Location
This trail is located in northwest Switzerland in the Naturpark Thal, near Solothurn (see in Google Maps).
Hiking map
This is a one way trail from the Welschenrohr village, up to the bear cave, across to the Wolf gorge, then down the gorge to the valley. The trail ends at the main road where you can catch the bus back to your starting point. You can hike this in the opposite direction, which may be preferred as the bear cave is a great place for a picnic.
The trail has a lot of uneven terrain, especially the part going up to the bear cave, which is more of a scramble.
See map on Komoot • SchweizMobil • AllTrails • Outdoor Active
Skip the bus: If you prefer to skip the bus ride, you can hike between the Wolfsschlucht and Welschenrohr. We talked to a family on the trail who did this. Don’t walk on the main busy road. Instead walk up the access road on the opposite side of the Wolfsschlucht and take your first right, following these country roads back to Welschenrohr, about 50mins. There is a trail sign near the bus stop that shows where to go.
Longer option: The official Wolfsschlucht trail on SchweizMobil is 10km long, with 800m elevation up/down.
Sunday option: On Sundays, a bus goes from Welschenrohr to Herbetswil, Miescheggat the top of the longer 10 km hike. Then you can simply hike down the whole mountain, no uphill. But this bus only runs on Sunday, leaving Welschenrohr at 9:47 and 11:47. The schedule indicates there are limited spots on the bus, so I suppose it’s possible the bus might not have spots for you.
Getting There
For these directions, I’ll assume you are doing the trail as described here. But of course, you can hike in the opposite direction.
By public transport: Take a bus Welschenrohr, Zentrum, where the hike starts. The hike ends at the Herbetswil, Wolfsschlucht bus stop, where bus 129 runs on the xx:07 direction Oensingen, Bahnhof.
By car: Drive to Welschenrohr and park in the free lot across from the Volg grocery. Balmbergstrasse 206, 4716 Welschenrohr You start the hike from here.
The hike ends at the Herbetswil, Wolfsschlucht bus stop. You need to take Bus 129 (direction Gänsbrunnen, Bahnhof) to Welschenrohr, Zentrum where your car is parked. The runs hourly on the xx:46, sometimes more frequently depending on the day (below is the schedule for 2021).
Services
There are no services along the trail: no water, no restaurants and no WC. There are picnic areas with fire pits in the Bear cave and before you reach the gorge. The gorge itself is a protected area and signs indicate that no fires are allowed at the picnic areas in the gorge.
In Welschenroher, there are shops if you need supplies: Volg grocery near the parking and bakery near the bus stop. There is also a water fountain in town where you can fill your bottles.
Photo story of the trail
Starting in Welschenrohr
The bus drops you in the center of the village here. From the parking, just walk up to the main street. Turn right (east) and walk along the main street taking your first left as shown below.
There are trail signs but none pointing directly to your destination. At the beginning, you can follow signs to Hinterer Brandberg.
Take your first left, heading up Scheidweg. You’ll follow this until it turns into a dirt path.
Walking up the road toward the bear cave, which is that black circle on the side of the mountain.
Looking back at the Welschenrohr village.
The road turns into a dirt path, still heading up toward the cave.
Looking back again, so pretty!!!
The path turns into a dirt road and heads east. A bit after this fence, you’ll turn left on an unmarked path that heads up the mountain.
You’ll reach a trail sign that points straight ahead east. Instead, you turn left up these dirt tracks that lead to a private cabin. You’ll bypass the cabin and take a faint path through the woods to reach the bear cave access. At this point, I was glad to have the map on my phone so I was sure to be going the right way. There are no signs pointing you to the cave.
Detour to Bear Cave
After a short scramble through the forest, you join a proper trail that goes parallel to the mountain. If you walk a bit to your right, you’ll see the path that leads up to the bear cave. Again, it’s not marked, so it helps to have your map. We only knew where to go because we heard some hikers above us and we followed their voices.
The path up to the cave is very narrow, steep and could be dangerous for small children or anyone that doesn’t have steady footing. It was even more difficult coming down. This part is not a very well maintained trail, so you have to scramble a bit. There are a couple railings but not the whole way. I would not go here in wet weather.
Inside the bear cave
Here’s the giant entrance to the cave. The cave is fantastic!
We had our picnic on this bench inside the cave, one of the best picnic spots ever I must say.
Lots of holes letting in filtered light. A good photographer would have fun in here.
As you climb down, you’ll pass a blue rope blocking access to another path to your left. Another hiker told us there is a second cave on that path and suggested we just hop over the rope and go check it out. I felt obligated to gather this info for you, so I left the kids on the main path and scrambled up to the second cave. That path is much worse that the first cave path, less defined, slippery and I immediately regretted my decision. The cave was very cool and looked more like a real bear cave with dark corners. It had benches and fire pits, clearly well visited. But I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.
In any case, make your way back to the path that parallels the mountain just below the cave, technically called the Bärenlochweg, but not labeled until much later (Don’t go all the way back down past the cabin).
Across to the gorge
Now head east on the rocky path.
After a few minutes, you’ll climb up a hill and spill out onto a dirt road. You’ll pass a picnic area with wood.
Then you exit the forest and gets super pretty along this big green field.
Now you are following signs to Wolfschlucht.
Looking back toward Welschenrohr.
The dirt road ends at a paved road, where you cross the street to join a narrow footpath going down to the Wolfschlucht. This sign informs you that the Wolfschlucht is a protected nature reserve, no fires (even though I saw lots of fire pits), no camping, no picking flowers, no bikes.
Hiking down the Wolfsschlucht
Now just follow the stream down through this beautiful gorge.
Lots of drama with the tall rock walls, boulders and mossy surfaces.
The trail is mostly a narrow lumpy paths, some switchbacks. I didn’t need my poles but sometimes it was a bit slippery with the mud and leaves.
The gorge descends until it abruptly exits the canyon and spills you out into the sunshine.
The trail exits the canyon, crosses a river and ends at this main road. Turn right and walk up to the bus stop. I’m looking across to the bus stop going the wrong direction, but it had a nice bench in the shade where we could wait. The bus usually comes only once an hour. So try to time your hike accordingly.
If you prefer, you can walk from the bus stop to Welschenrohr. Just follow that dirt road you see in the picture and turn right on the next road you come to. The trail is marked with trail signs to Welschenrohr, about 50 mins walking.
Hope you like this hike!
Video of the trail
Here’s a video of our day at the Voralpsee.
