Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 12 Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E.
Stage 12 of the Trans Swiss trail goes from Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. and is a relatively easy stage at 13 km and only 150 m ascent and 60 m. Following alongside the river Emme, a surprising thing about this trail was the strange mix of nature and industry it had. The river had many little man-made waterfalls, like the one above, including one that was part of a small power generation facility. We also passed a huge lumber mill, many greenhouses with large gardens for potted plants – mums mostly as it is autumn, and a big recycling center. So while it wasn’t a particularly scenic stage, it certainly showed us another side of Switzerland.
| Where: | Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. Canton Bern, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Lützelflüh-Goldbach – 1 hr 59 min Langnau i.E. -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 44 min |
| What: | Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 12 Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. Yellow trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2 |
| Skill: | Easy – About 3 hrs 15 min Length 13 km, Ascent 160 m, Descent 60 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 12 picks right up where stage 11 left off – the Lützelflüh-Goldbach train station.
When we arrived in Lützelflüh, we first stopped at the grocery store in town to pick up some picnic supplies and then we were on our way.
The Trail
After a short walk through town, we crossed a bridge over the Emme river and the trail looped down along the riverside where it stays for pretty much the entire way. While we couldn’t always see the river, we could almost always hear it. When it was particularly loud, we decided to scramble down the river bank to get a good look at the man-made waterfall in the last picture below.
The sound of falling water was nice, and there were a lot of large rocks to sit on, so we decided to make that our picnic spot for the day. After lunch, we scrambled back up to the trail and continued on our way, passing the dam and power generation facility in the first picture below, and the pretty river views in the other two pictures.
After passing the town of Zollbrück, the trail goes by an enormous lumber mill. When we passed the lumber stacks in the second picture, it had a slightly unreal feel to it. I remarked that it looked a bit like Minecraft come to life.
After the lumber mill, the trail continued along the river through forests and fields. After commenting that the lumber mill looked like Minecraft earlier, it was a funny coincidence that we came across a pickaxe in the trail (fourth picture below) later.
Shortly before we got to Langnau i.E. we passed several large greenhouses. I included a picture of the fields of potted plants we saw there, because I think they really exemplify the mix of nature and industry this trail had.
Getting Back
Just before the bridge in the first picture below, the trail turns away from the river and heads into town. A short walk later, we were at the train station and ready to head home.
This was a pleasant enough stage, but just before this hike, I got a new phone (iPhone 13) and I was really hoping for a more scenic trail than this one to try out the camera. Maybe stage 13? I guess we’ll see when I get there!
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