Biking the Mittelland Route – Stage 6 Ins to Yverdon
Stage 6 of the Mittelland Bike Route was 51 km and went from Ins to Yverdon. This stage took us along a canal, past crop fields, and along the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. My husband and I have been hiking the Trans Swiss trail which crosses Switzerland in the opposite direction of the Mittelland Bike trail and this stage was the point where these two paths cross. At the end of this stage, we also took some time to check out the Menhires at Clendy – pre-historic standing stones, erected more than 5000 years ago. This was an interesting stage and I very much enjoyed it.
Where: | Ins to Yverdon Canton Bern, Canton Fribourg, and Canton Vaud, Switzerland |
Train: | Zürich HB -> Ins – 1 hr 38 min Yverdon -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 50 min |
What: | Mittelland Trail – Stage 6 Ins to Yverdon Red cycle path signs with a blue number 5 |
Stats: | Length 51 km (45 km asphalted, 6 km natural surface), Ascent 340 m, Descent 360 m |
Stage 1: Romanshorn to Wil (SG) Stage 2: Wil (SG) to Kloten Stage 3: Kloten to Aarau Stage 4: Aarau to Solothurn Stage 5: Solothurn to Ins Stage 6: Ins to Yverdon Stage 7: Yverdon to Lausanne |
Getting There
This trail starts near the Ins train station. When we finished stage 5, we left our bikes locked at the train station, so we didn’t need to bring the bikes on the train when we started stage 6. The bikes were still there, so, so far so good.
After leaving the train station, I forgot to take pictures until we were out of town and on the path following alongside a small canal.
The Trail
I didn’t do a great job taking pictures of the trail this time. There was some construction and a diversion in the trail which made following the trail a little more confusing than usual. My husband and I are hiking our way though the country in the opposite direction on the Trans Swiss trail (trail 2) and this was the stage where the Mitteland Bike Trail crossed over the Trans Swiss Hiking Trail. I wanted to make sure I took a picture at that spot. With the construction, I thought that it happened during the diversion, so I had my son take my picture there. But then later, I recognized the path in picture four as one I had hiked before (Trans Swiss Trail Stage 7). It was cool crossing this point.
About an hour into the ride, we decided to stop for lunch. There is a restaurant right on the path that is part of a mini-golf place, called Restaurant et Minigolf des Pommiers (french). I got the burger and my son got the cordon bleu and we were both happy with what we got. This was a nice stop for lunch. I liked the fruit basket vending machine out front as well, but we didn’t get anything from it.
This stage took us through a lot of crop fields. Always nice to see growing things. (Except maybe the tobacco.)
When we reached Estavayer-les-Lac, it was a pretty diversion though a medieval town. And, I was happy to refill my water bottle at one of the many fountains in town.
From there, we spent some time zipping through the forests and marshes of the “Grande Cariçaie” nature preserve. We also stopped briefly to enjoy a sandy beach on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. It was a very windy day and the kite surfers seemed to enjoy it even if not many other people did.
Just before we reached Yverdon, we popped through a break in the hedges to see the Menhires at Clendy.
The Menhires at Clendy are pre-historic standing stones, erected more than 5000 years ago. The fallen stones were discovered when the water level of Lake Neuchâtel was lowered to create the canals and in 1986, the stones were re-erected. It was an interesting and peaceful site. A good place to take a rest at the end of our ride.
Getting Back
My husband had joined us a the Menhirs at Clendy site, but he didn’t have a bike. So, from there we walked our bikes taking the shortest route to the train station. At the train station, we parked our bikes and headed home.
One more stage to go!
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