Hiking the Northface Trail in Switzerland was one of our favorite adventures during our summer family tour through the Alps. While we loved the Eiger Trail, it was the Northface Trail we remember most. Of course, it was also the most difficult hike we did the entire trip (more on the difficulty level below).
The Northface Trail is located just outside of Lauterbrunnen, up a mountain that is accessible only by gondola or train.
If you aren’t familiar with this area or are looking for more tips on hiking the Jungfrau region, start here. So many of the hikes and towns in this area are closer together than you may realize
For example, during an excursion to do this hike, you could experience Mürren, Lauterbrunnen if you stop on the way in, and Gimmelwald.
We started from the Schilthorn station, went to Mürren, ended our hike in Allmendhubel, and took the transportation system back to our car at the cable car station. It was easy to navigate and see a lot.
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About Mürren, Switzerland
Mürren, Switzerland is one of the places in the Jungfrau region that tourists love – and a lot of posts and articles recommend a stop here.
Mürren is car-free, meaning it is only accessible via the gondola/cable car system or a train. (Read about the Gruschlap to Mürren train experience in this blog post). There are no public roads that lead to Mürren.
It sits at the base of the Schilthorn mountain peak in the Bernese Oberland, and Mürren is 5, 374 feet above sea level.
Our Adventure in the Alps
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Despite being difficult to get to, Mürren hardly feels remote. There are thousands of tourists that come here in the summer (to hike) and in the winter (to ski and enjoy snow activities). Per statistics online, Mürren has a year-round population of 450 people, but there are over 2,000 hotel beds. This count doesn’t include day visitors, like us.
Mürren has its own school, churches, and grocery stores. It also has phenomenal views, looking out over three mountain peaks: the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. The buildings look incredibly old – a remnant of a time past.
We found our stroll through Mürren to be quaint and cute. I don’t think it would have been worth the cable car fare just to see this town, but adding it as a stop to other adventures was delightful.
Mürren is a great base for adventure. This stop can be added after seeing Gimmelwald, which sits below Murren at 4,472 feet above sea level. (Read more about that car-free Swiss town on the mountain below Mürren here). It can also be added as a stop to the top of the Schilthorn and to Piz Gloria (see below for more on that).
About the Northface Trail
- The Northface Trail can be done as a loop with the use of gondolas and funiculars from Mürren or Allmendhubel, Switzerland.
- This hike is either 6.5 km / 4.1 mi but can be 7.4 km / 4.6 mi if you take a detour to see Sprutz waterfall (we did not). (To add the waterfall detour, check out this blog post.)
- The elevation change without the Sprutz waterfall detour is 1,348 feet, or over 390 meters.
- This hike is strenuous in that it is a steep incline, but it is well-maintained and some parts are paved. How easy or difficult you find this hike will depend on your stamina for sustained inclines. Honestly, the incline is no joke. (Not as hard as this one, but still challenging.)
- You can do this hike clockwise, going uphill from Mürren to Allendhubel (which is what we did).
- You can do this hike counterclockwise, from Allmendhubel to Mürren, going downhill.
- As you need to pay for a gondola to and from Mürren and perhaps a funicular from Allmendhubel, this hike will cost anywhere from 100+ CHF per adult if you do a roundtrip all the way to Piz Gloria or around 50 CHF per adult if you do a mid-mountain option to Mürren and/or Allmendhubel.
- This hike is best done June through October. Even then, there will likely be some mud.
- Allow 2.5 – 3 hours for walking with more time to enjoy Mürren and/or Allmendhubel for food and beverage.
Gear You Need to Hike the Northface Trail
We really appreciated good hiking boots. Not just for the sturdiness and support, but for the mud and occasional cow patties!
We also liked having good hiking socks to protect against blisters and for comfort.
Some hikers recommend hiking poles for this hike. This depends on how much you need them to help navigate the incline (again, we found the trail itself to be fairly smooth underfoot).
We took a backpack with water, trail mix, and snacks. We also brought water bottles we had filled back at our Swiss chalet. But there is a Coop grocery store in Mürren to stock up before walking if you elect to go that way.
Take cash and a credit card if you plan to purchase items in Mürren or at the restaurant in Allmendhubel.
We did not bring sunscreen or bug spray for our hike and were fine.
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Getting to the Northface Trail
Take the Schilthorn cable car (gondola) up from its station, which is just past Lauterbrunnen. You do have some options from this point.
You will be hiking in the area between Mürren and Allmendhubel, depending on which direction you choose to go. The Schilthorn cable car does, however, go all the way up to Piz Gloria and Birg. Piz Gloria is a rotating restaurant made famous for being featured in a James Bond movie. You could go all the way up to Piz Gloria before your hike then ride back to a mid-mountain stop to begin your hike, or vice versa.
How much you spend on tickets for the Schilthorn gondola will depend on what options you select. We did the gondola to Mürren, the funicular from Allmendhubel to Mürren, and then the gondola back down.
The funicular was fun to experience (especially as Americans who don’t get a lot of public transportation experiences), but it was short and not entirely necessary. We easily could have walked from Allmendhubel back to Mürren and saved the funicular ticket.
Getting off the gondola on the way up to Mürren, we had to walk through some construction so were a bit confused upon disembarking. Plus, we were there in the summertime and the cable car was packed! There was a big crowd going up and down, with bikes, groceries, strollers, etc.
We first made our way into Mürren to walk around and explore the village. There was a Coop grocery store where we bought a picnic lunch and some beverages.
From there, we made our way back towards the gondola station we had exited and followed the paved path until we found telltale yellow signs. The green hiker/green landscape signs were the ones for the Northface Trail we eventually followed with ease.
Hiking the Northface Trail
I can’t recall why we did this hike going uphill the whole time. It wasn’t technically challenging (no scrambling or tough terrain), but at some point, I was just tired of going UP. I wanted to walk on flat trails for just a minute as a reprieve.
But thinking back, I also know we don’t like to go downhill for too long. We think it’s easier to use stamina and physical ability to go up than endure the jarring, joint-slamming experience of constant downhill.
This hike got us sweating, but it also felt completely achievable. I’d even go so far as to say that it was the perfect hiking balance of challenge to reward. A good enough challenge that you feel like you earned something, and views that are definitely rewarding.
This hike was gorgeous. This was the hike where I lived my Sound of Music daydream for a moment – with a huge, open meadow overlooking the snow-kissed Alps.
But what was so lovely, outside of the expansive views, was that the hike changed. The terrain and the landscape on the Northface Trail hike took us through meadows, shadowy forests, valleys, and on to a ridgeline. It zigzagged and meandered and it was never boring.
There is an “honesty shop” mid-mountain right on the trail. This little spot is called the honesty shop since that’s what it operates on: honesty! You select what you want and leave cash for what you’ve purchased. There were cold beverages and snacks available.
Since we did this hike going uphill, we hit the best views towards the end of our hike, and I liked that. We crested a hill and were smacked with a breathtaking view of the Alps that made everything worth it.
Cows meandered through the countryside here, slowly and lazily. They had no cares about human beings and lethargically watched. But the iconic sound of the Swiss cowbell as it echoed across the valley was something that can not be replicated anywhere else in the world in the same way. Magic.
We ended our hike in Allmendhubel, where there is a large restaurant with a patio and a very fun playground for kids. Even our teen was entertained by the playground. We loved the crisp beer as we sat outside, and the food from the restaurant was salty and satisfying. The clouds had started to roll in but nothing could dampen the feeling of elation we had surrounding the Northface Trail hike.
This experience had all of the elements that seem to make Switzerland what it is – the things we travel across the globe to see. It was worth the time.
Helpful links for the Northface trail hike:
- For the official hike website, visit this link: jungfrauregion.swiss/en/service/cards/summer-cards/hikes.html
- Schilthorn cable car/gondola and Piz Gloria restaurant: schilthorn.ch
- If you want to add the Sprutz waterfall and Gimmelwald hike options, I recommend this post: adventuresofthe4jls.com or this one swissfamilyfun.com
- For a map of the area, with trails and transportation lines, visit this link: www.bergfex.com
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