Hiking Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen

Overview

Hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen on the Via Alpina

Kleine Scheidegg (2061m) – Wengernalp (1880m) – Allmend (1498m) – Wengen (1301m)

This is an easy to medium hike on the Via Alpina and it takes about 2.5 hours to complete. It’s 7km long and takes you 788 meters downhill. The hike offers stunning views of the Eiger north face and the Jungfrau and takes you along the legendary Lauberhorn ski run to the village of Wengen.

-788 m

2.5 hours

7km

Beginner

View over village of Wengen, Switzerland. In the background mount Jungfrau.
View over the village of Wengen, Switzerland. In the background mount Jungfrau.

Our experience hiking from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen

We hiked on the Via Alpina from Kleine Scheidegg mountain pass to Wengen in June 2020. This is a rather easy hike and it offers great views of the Jungfrau and the village of Wengen. Hikers will walk along the legendary Lauberhorn ski run and the Wengernalpbahn. Read more about our hike on the Via Alpina from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen below.

Silent morning on Kleine Scheidegg

If you spent the night in Hotel Bellevue des Alpes like we did you are most likely the first person on the mountain. We were there just after the lockdown in 2020 and where normally thousands of tourists change trains there was – no one. We sat on a bench, had a coffee, and enjoyed the views to the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau while sitting in absolute silence.

View over Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland. View of the trainstation on Kleine Scheidegg.
Evening on Kleine Scheidegg, Siwtzerland.

From Kleine Scheidegg to Wengernalp

The hike starts on Kleine Scheidegg. From the hotel, we crossed the train tracks. The path follows more or less the track of the Wengernalpbahn, the longest rack railway in the world. After hiking for an hour on the gravel road we saw a man taking pictures of the green fields – not the mountains – and were slightly irritated. It turned out that he was a ski fan inspecting the Lauberhorn ski run in detail. We knew that we were hiking next to the legendary ski track. However, we had no idea that every curve and corner of the ski track had a name and a story (if interested read more about it here). Finally, we reached the Wengernalp.

Profile picture of Solène Stucker, co-founder of Hike&Dine
Solène’s Dine Pairing

Hike&Dine: Dine at Hotel Schönegg in Wengen

“This leg of the Via Alpina includes a culinary highlight. Luckily we got to Wengen early so we had enough time to dine on the beautiful terrace of Hotel Schönegg .”  

Dine with us at Hotel Schönegg in Wengen

We found this hike to be easy. The leg between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengernalp offers excellent views to mount Jungfrau. The big clouds on that day made the scenery even more dramatic. We let the trigger finger do its thing and took tons of pictures. Check out some shots below:

Solène and Matthias hiking on the Via Alpine from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen, Switzerland. In the background mount Jungfrau massif.
Solène and Matthias doing a photo shooting on the Via Alpina in front of mount Jungfrau.

Early arrival in Wengen

After Wengernalp the path gets a bit steeper. We enjoyed the walk through the forest and the views of mount Männlichen. After 2:30 hours we already arrived in the village of Wengen and checked into our hotel.

View from the Via Alpina hiking trail to Wengen, Switzerland. On it the track of the Wengernalpbahn railway. In the background a view of Lauterbrunnen valley.
View from the Via Alpina hiking trail to Wengen, Switzerland.
Hike&Dine Tip

Hiking Philosophy


Most guidebooks about the Via Alpina will tell you to hike directly from Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen. Hike&Dine is all about pleasure hiking so doing that would not suit our philosophy. 3 reasons:

First, hiking from Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen in a day is hard. You need to be in excellent shape to master such a long hike.

Secondly, the “where-was-I-again-effect” will hit you hard! If you do this hike in a day you won’t even realize that you just walked by the most iconic Swiss mountains Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Slow down and lookup.

Thirdly, you will miss out on all the fun on the way! We spent a night in Bellevue des Alpes where we had Whiskey Sours like the English climbers in the 50s; we took a day off the Via Alpina and went to Jungfraujoch where we hiked to Mönchjochhütte, and we sampled the local cuisine in hotel Schönegg in Wengen.

We suggest splitting the hike and do it in two or three days. It’s a holiday, not a competition.

Practical Information

Prepare your hike on Via Alpine from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen

Get to Kleine Scheidegg or Wengen by train from anywhere in Switzerland. Look up trains directly on the Swiss National Railway (SBB) site by typing in the starting point and Kleine Scheidegg or Wengen as the destination.

We stayed in Hotel Schönegg in Wengen. You can find more information and make a reservation here.

Make sure you visit Jungfraujoch. You can buy a ticket in advance here.

Wengen is a car-free village. Park your car in Lauterbrunnen and take the train to Wengen. Tickets for the parking can be bought here.

Free Map of the hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen

Check out this free interactive map from our hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen.

Have a look at this highly detailed map of the hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen.

More impressions from our hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen

This pin shows you a preview of this self-guided hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen. Check out these impressions from our hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen.

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