Five days of alpine hiking from Zurich by train

Zurich itself has no alpine hiking to speak of; the city’s job on this trip is the fast, reliable train network radiating out from Zurich HB. This itinerary uses that network to string together four of the country’s most rewarding half-day hikes without ever needing a rental car: the turquoise glacial lake at Bachalpsee above Grindelwald, the even more startling Oeschinensee near Kandersteg, the ridge trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg under the Eiger, and the Ebenalp–Seealpsee–Schäfler loop in Appenzell, one of the best day hikes in the country and one of the least visited by international tourists.

Five days is enough to do all four properly, with one full travel day built in and no hike rushed. It suits anyone comfortable walking 3 to 4 hours on uneven ground who would rather sit on a train with a book than drive Alpine passes. It does not suit anyone chasing summit peaks or glacier travel — for that, look at the Jungfraujoch guide or the broader roundup of mountain excursions from Zurich.

How the five days fit together

Day	Base	Main hike	Walking time	Ascent
1	Zurich → Interlaken	Harder Kulm viewpoint loop	1.5 hr	350 m (or funicular)
2	Interlaken	Grindelwald First → Bachalpsee	3 hr	220 m
3	Interlaken → Lauterbrunnen	Männlichen–Kleine Scheidegg ridge	3.5 hr	mostly descending
4	Lauterbrunnen → Kandersteg	Oeschinensee circuit	2.5 hr	350 m up, 350 m down
5	Kandersteg → Appenzell → Zurich	Ebenalp–Seealpsee–Schäfler ridge	4 hr	400 m

Buy tickets as you go or run the numbers on a Swiss Travel Pass against a Half Fare Card before you leave; for a hiking-heavy week the Travel Pass usually wins once you add up the valley trains alone. Details on how Swiss trains and the network actually work are worth ten minutes before day one.

Day 1: Zurich to Interlaken, and a first ridge without the crowds

The direct train from Zurich HB to Interlaken Ost takes about 2 hours, changing at Bern or running direct depending on the timetable, so a mid-morning departure still lands you in Interlaken with a full afternoon free. Drop bags at the hotel and walk 15 minutes, or take the funicular, up to Harder Kulm, the viewpoint terrace shaped like an eagle looking down over both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.

From the top station, the ridge path continues north along the Harder for another hour before looping back down through forest — a gentle warm-up that gets your legs used to Alpine gradients before the longer days ahead. It is not one of the four headline hikes, but it is free if you walk up rather than pay for the funicular, and the view over both lakes from the ridge rivals anything you will pay for later in the week.

Dinner in Interlaken is unremarkable and priced for tourists; walk 10 minutes into the residential side streets away from Höheweg for anything under CHF 30 a main. For context on what things actually cost here, see Zurich travel costs, which holds roughly true for Interlaken too.

Day 2: Grindelwald First and the Bachalpsee circuit

Grindelwald is 35 minutes from Interlaken by train. From Grindelwald station, the First cable car climbs in stages to 2,168 metres in about 25 minutes — the single biggest expense of the trip if bought at full price, so this is the day to use a Half Fare discount or Travel Pass reduction if you have one.

From the First mountain station, it’s a well-graded 90-minute walk to Bachalpsee, a pair of glacial lakes that reflect the Wetterhorn and Schreckhorn on a still morning. Go early: by mid-morning in July and August the lakeshore path is genuinely crowded, and the reflection shots that make Bachalpsee famous online need calm water and few people in frame. Return the same way, or extend to Faulhorn for a longer ridge walk if energy allows — that adds roughly 2 hours each way and a further 300 metres of ascent.

Base yourself in Interlaken again tonight, or move a day early to Grindelwald itself if you’d rather not backtrack. Either works; Grindelwald costs slightly more for accommodation but saves the return train.

Day 3: The Männlichen–Kleine Scheidegg ridge, then down to Lauterbrunnen

This is the classic ridge trail of the Bernese Oberland and, for many visitors, the best two hours of walking in Switzerland. From Grindelwald Grund or Wengen, the Männlichen cable car climbs to 2,229 metres. The ridge path from there to Kleine Scheidegg runs almost level for most of its length, with the north faces of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in view the entire way — no ascent worth mentioning, which makes it accessible to almost anyone who can manage 1.5 to 2 hours of walking on a good gravel path.

At Kleine Scheidegg, the choice is whether to add the Jungfraujoch extension by train — expensive at over CHF 200 return without a discount, and worthwhile mainly for first-time visitors to the high Alps rather than seasoned hikers who’ve already seen glaciers elsewhere. Skipping it and taking the train straight down to Lauterbrunnen instead saves both money and a crowded afternoon.

In the valley, Lauterbrunnen itself is worth an unhurried hour: the valley floor path past Staubbach Falls needs no ticket and no cable car, and the full rundown of what’s actually worth seeing is in the Lauterbrunnen waterfalls guide. Anyone who wants a second, shorter ridge walk the next morning before moving on should look at the Schilthorn and Piz Gloria guide — it’s a detour from this itinerary’s core plan but sits right above where you’re already sleeping.

Day 4: Oeschinensee, from Kandersteg

The train from Lauterbrunnen back through Interlaken and Spiez to Kandersteg takes roughly 2 hours with the connection. From Kandersteg station, either walk the steady 1-hour uphill path to Oeschinensee or take the chairlift, which cuts the climb to a few minutes and leaves more energy for the walk around the lake itself.

Oeschinensee sits at 1,578 metres, ringed by limestone cliffs and the Blüemlisalp glacier behind them, and the water shifts from turquoise to deep blue depending on the light — genuinely one of the best lake settings in the Bernese Oberland, and quieter than Bachalpsee because it takes an extra connection to reach. The circuit path around the lake is flat and takes about an hour; walking back down to Kandersteg on foot instead of the chairlift adds another hour and passes through forest rather than repeating the same view.

Adelboden and Kandersteg also has the Engstligenalp cable car a short postbus ride away in neighbouring Adelboden, a good alternative or add-on if Oeschinensee is unexpectedly closed for weather. Overnight in Kandersteg village, which has fewer beds than Interlaken and is worth booking a few days ahead in peak summer.

Day 5: Ebenalp, Seealpsee and the Schäfler ridge, then home to Zurich

This is the longest travel day of the trip and also the best single hike of the five. From Kandersteg, trains run back via Spiez, Bern and Zurich to St. Gallen and on to Appenzell, a journey of roughly 3.5 to 4 hours in total — leave on an early train. From Appenzell, the narrow-gauge Appenzellerbahn continues to Wasserauen, the trailhead village, in about 15 minutes.

The Ebenalp cable car climbs to 1,644 metres in 6 minutes. From the top station, the path drops past the Wildkirchli caves — home to a chapel and hermitage built directly into the rock, and worth the five-minute detour — down to Seealpsee, a lake set below the Alpstein massif that is arguably as striking as Oeschinensee and gets a fraction of the visitors. From the lakeshore, the trail climbs back up to the Schäfler ridge, with Säntis visible on the skyline for most of the way, before descending to either Wasserauen or back to Ebenalp. Budget 3.5 to 4 hours for the full loop.

Anyone wanting more altitude can add the Säntis cable car from Schwägalp — not on this itinerary’s route, but covered in the Säntis guide for a future trip to Appenzell. From Wasserauen or Appenzell, trains connect back to Zurich HB in around 2 hours, arriving with enough evening left for dinner in the old town before the trip ends where it started.

What this costs, roughly

Expect CHF 250 to 350 per person per day covering a mid-range hotel, three meals, and the day’s cable cars, which is in line with typical Zurich and Switzerland travel costs. The two most expensive line items are the Grindelwald First and Ebenalp cable cars if bought without a discount card; both are meaningfully cheaper with a Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card, which is worth arranging before day one rather than at the ticket counter on the day.

For a structured half-day at Jungfraujoch on day 3 instead of the ridge walk alone, a guided option such as the day trip to Jungfraujoch from Interlaken bundles transport and timing, which takes the planning out of an otherwise fiddly connection. From the Lauterbrunnen side, the roundtrip train and Jungfraujoch ticket from Lauterbrunnen works the same way if you’re basing yourself in the valley rather than Interlaken.

On day 4, if the chairlift queue at Kandersteg looks long or you’d rather cover ground by bike before the lake walk, the Engstligenalp aerial tramway ticket in Adelboden is a straightforward way to prebook the alternative cable car nearby. And for anyone extending the Appenzell day rather than rushing back to Zurich, the Appenzeller demonstration dairy ticket with tastings fills a low-key hour before or after the Ebenalp hike.

Adjusting the plan

Anyone with six or seven days rather than five should look at the 7-day Zurich itinerary for how to slot in a Zermatt or Lugano extension either side of this Alpine loop. For a shorter version that drops Appenzell entirely and keeps only the Bernese Oberland hikes, three of these five days already cover Bachalpsee, the Männlichen ridge and Oeschinensee, which is enough for a satisfying long weekend.

Anyone travelling with children should read family day trips from Zurich first — Bachalpsee and the Männlichen ridge both work well with kids from about age eight, but Oeschinensee’s chairlift queues and the Ebenalp ridge’s exposed sections are harder going with younger children.

More broadly on trail selection, the best hikes near Zurich guide and the general day trips from Zurich hub cover shorter, single-day alternatives if five consecutive days away from Zurich isn’t realistic on this trip. For high summer specifically, Zurich in summer has the wider seasonal context — daylight hours, typical afternoon thunderstorm patterns in the Alps, and when to start early to beat both crowds and weather.

Hiking this five-day Swiss Alps itinerary: your questions answered

Do I need a car for this itinerary?

No. Every hike in this itinerary starts and ends at a train station, cable car base, or postbus stop. A car would not save time on any of these five days and parking at trailheads such as Kandersteg or Wasserauen is limited.

Which pass is worth buying for five days of hiking?

A Swiss Travel Pass covers all main-line trains, most postbuses, and gives 50% off many mountain cable cars, including the Ebenalp and Engstligenalp lifts. If you already hold a Half Fare Card, buying single lift tickets at 50% often works out cheaper over five days than a full Travel Pass, since two of the biggest cable cars (Grindelwald–First, Schilthornbahn) are only partly discounted either way.

How fit do you need to be for these hikes?

All four hikes are graded easy to moderate on Swiss signage (white-red-white waymarking, not the blue alpine grade). The Bachalpsee and Oeschinensee circuits are 2 to 3 hours of walking with under 400 metres of ascent. The two ridge trails, Männlichen–Kleine Scheidegg and Ebenalp–Schäfler, run 3 to 4 hours with some exposed sections and need sturdy footwear, not technical gear.

What happens if a cable car is closed for maintenance?

Swiss lifts routinely close for two to three weeks in spring and again in autumn for annual revision, but this rarely affects a mid-summer trip. Check the operator’s site (jungfrau.ch, ebenalp.ch, adelboden.ch) a few days before travelling, since a closed lift can turn a half-day hike into an all-day detour on foot.

Can this itinerary be done in the rain?

Bachalpsee and Seealpsee are unpleasant and often socked in cloud in poor weather, since both sit above 1,900 metres. If the forecast is bad for a specific day, swap it for the Lauterbrunnen valley floor walk past the waterfalls, which stays low and sheltered, and move the ridge or lake hike to a clearer day.

Where should I sleep each night?

Base yourself in Interlaken for nights one and two, move to Lauterbrunnen or Wengen for night three, Kandersteg for night four, and either Appenzell or Wasserauen for night five before the return train to Zurich. Each move is under 90 minutes by train.