Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 15 Schangnau to Sörenberg
Stage 15 of the Trans Swiss trail is 19 km long with 860 m ascent and 640 m descent and goes from Schangnau to Sörenberg. After a winter away from it, I was excited to continue my quest to do a hike-through of the Trans Swiss trail. It was a great start back as this stage turned out to be one of my favorites so far. This trail has stunning views of the Hohgant and Schrattenfluh ridges, two really amazing rock formations. And, with the May flowers blooming, it could not have been prettier.
Where: | Schangnau to Sörenberg Canton Bern and Canton Lucerne, Switzerland |
Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Schangnau, Post – 1 hr 48 min Sörenberg, Post -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 55 min |
What: | Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg Yellow trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2 |
Skill: | Medium – About 5 hrs 40 min Length 19 km, Ascent 860 m, Descent 640 m |
Stage 1 – Porrentruy to St-Ursanne Stage 2 – St-Ursanne to Soubey Stage 3 – Soubey to Saignelégier Stage 4 – Saignelégier to St-Imier Stage 5 – St-Imier to Chézard-St-Martin Stage 6 – Chézard-St-Martin to Neuchâtel Stage 7 – Neuchâtel to Murten Stage 8 – Murten to Laupen Stage 9 – Laupen to Bern Stage 10 – Bern to Worb Stage 11 – Worb to Lützelflüh Stage 12 – Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. Stage 13 – Langnau i.E. to Eggiwil Stage 14 – Eggiwil to Schangnau Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft Stage18 – Flüeli-Ranft to Stans Stage 19 – Stans to Seelisberg Stage 20 – Seelisberg to Erstfeld Stage 21 – Erstfeld to Wassen Stage 22 – Wassen to Andermatt Stage 23 – Andermatt to Passo del San Gottardo Stage 24 – Passo del San Gottardo to Airolo Stage 25 – Airolo to Osco Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico Stage 27 – Anzonico to Biasca Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona Stage 29 – Bellinzona to Tesserete Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano) Stage 31 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote Stage 32 – Morcote to Mendriso |
Getting There
The Trans Swiss Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 15 picks right up where stage 14 left off, at the Schangnau Post bus stop.
With views of the Hohgant ridge like the above, not even 5 minutes in, you know it is going to be a great hike.
The Trail
The beginning of the trail goes into the valley and crosses the Emme river.
After we hiked out of the valley and reached the top of the pass, the views opened up and it was just fabulous.
While I enjoyed the open views, I was also happy when the trail dipped briefly into the forest for some shade. Even with SPF 50, I was starting to get a little sunburned.
The buttercups were blooming and the see of yellow flowers with the mountains as backdrop was just stunning.
At about the half-way point, we reached Kemerboden where there is a hotel and restaurant. We did not eat there, so can’t give a review. We had packed sandwiches, so we scrambled down to the riverside and sat by the water to have our picnic. Note that there is a bus stop at Kemerboden, so if you wanted to break this stage into two sections, it would be a reasonable break point.
After lunch, we entered the forest, and the trail was pretty much a steady uphill climb. Not too steep, but we definitely made some altitude gain.
At the narrowest point of the pass, all the high-tension wires converged to get though the mountains. It was a shame to have the view disrupted by the wires.
The next section went though a bit of forest and, again, I was very grateful for the shade. The trail follows along the river but quite a bit above it. We could only sneak some peeks through the trees at the waterfalls we heard. When we reached the small settlement at Schneeberg, there was a self-service farm store and some tables where we took a break, had some ice-cream, and enjoyed the view.
As we continued towards Sörenberg, we got an excellent view of the Schrattenfluh ridge. There are hiking trails that go on this unusual rock formation and maybe someday I’ll give it a try. For now, we simply admired it from afar.
The views continued to be excellent. This was a long hike, but very rewarding.
The last bit of the hike was a steep downhill walk alongside a ski-lift. In the second picture, you can see the Sörenberg below.
Even as we were getting to the end of the hike, the view was amazing.
Getting Back
When we reached Sörenberg, we walked to the Post bus stop, and got our bus home. I spotted yet another Tipi, here. I still have no idea why they are so popular in Switzerland.
It was really wonderful to get back to hiking on trail 2. And what a hike! Absolutely beautiful from beginning to end. I am so ready for stage 16!
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