Freiburger Voralpenweg

You’ll start the first day roaming the streets of the university town Fribourg, southwest of Bern. Make sure to try local delicatessens in the bakery and wander past old buildings that are somehow still in very good condition. When you’re ready to go, you’ll cross the 13th-century bridge and follow gravel paths through the rolling hills. Enjoy the views over meadows with cows and small patches of forest and notice how the language of the street names changes often in a small distance. This happens because you will be walking on the German-French language border. On the horizon, you can see the higher mountain peaks in the distance.

The next day, you’ll leave the quiet village of Rechthalten to start into the fields. On a sunny day, they turn golden in the warm morning light. A long forest path will take you to a clearing at the top of a hill. Here, you can enjoy the clattering of the drinking fountain from one of the benches near the little white chapel. A gravel path will lead you out of the shade and into the open fields. Here, you can spot the white church with a black roof, surrounded by the stately white houses of Plaffeien. With hazy mountain tops at the horizon, this place proves that an easy hike does not mean the views are not spectacular. On the other side of the village, the route follows one of the last wild rivers of the Alps, the Sense. Follow the river upstream until you’ve reached the lake of Schwarzsee.

From Schwarzsee, you can follow the Freiburger Voralpenweg on gravel paths ascending the mountain. If your legs are not ready for such an ascent, you take the Kaiseregg cable car up. Now, you are finally at a higher altitude, among the mountains that you saw on the horizon in the past two days. Walk along the debris flank of the Kaiseregg, the pointed summit that dominates the view. Follow the farm track over the pasture with cows, all the way to the 1,560-meter Euschels Pass. If the wind is not too strong, this is a perfect place for a picnic with a view. From here, you will descend into the typical Swiss village of Jaun. Something nice to visit here is the graveyard of the old church, where the jobs of the deceased are shown on their headstones.

Before taking the uphill path from Jaun, make sure to shop some local delicatessens in the town bakery. Don’t miss the Gruyere cheese and a sweet roll with saffron. Now, it’s time to follow the route uphill, passing a waterfall and looking down on the orange roofs of the village. After you’ve left the forest, an open landscape with a farm and a mountain restaurant awaits you. The real eye-catcher is the Gastlosen mountain range. You’d expect this kind of mountain, with light rocks and many steep peaks, in the Dolomites, but not in this kind of landscape. You’ll walk along the steep slopes to the Chalet du Soldat, and because this stage is so short, you have time to explore the mountains a bit more from the hut.

The next day, on your way to Cabane des Marindes, you get plenty of opportunities to be more amazed by the Gastlosen. You leave the hut into a valley at the foot of the mountains. The path is more narrow and uneven here, but nothing technical or exposed. At the end of the valley, it’s time to say goodbye to this special mountain. You are now entering the Vanil Noir nature reserve. This area is known for the many wildflowers in spring, and the many herds of chamois that graze the slopes. The ascent to Cabane des Marindes might make your leg muscles burn, but the views up there are worth it. Not only the views of the mountains surrounding the hut but also views of the characteristic hut itself.

For the last stage of this tour, you backtrack for a few kilometers. At a lower altitude, and – if you’re lucky – after spotting some more chamois, you round the mountain. You’ll enter another valley, with green mountain slopes and peaks, and in the far distance, the white cap of the Mont Blanc. You’ll gently descend over the green mountain slope. The closer to the town of Château-d’Oex you get, the more cattle, farms, and people you’ll see. Château-d’Oex is known as the hot-air balloon town, and if you time your visit well, you might see colorful balloons rise between the mountains.

The Freiburger Voralpenweg stays mostly at a relatively low altitude. That means it’s accessible earlier in spring and until later in autumn than many other hut-to-hut routes.

Walk in April or May to enjoy a sea of wildflowers. Walk in late September or October to enjoy autumn colors. Between June and early September, you have the largest chance of clear paths and nice weather. That’s also the best time to travel if you enjoy company in the huts. On weekdays early and late in the season, there’s a large chance you’ll be the only guest in the huts. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to make a reservation and can show up last minute.

The first 3 stages of the Freiburger Voralpenweg are not far from a walk in the park. You could even do these when there is a layer of snow. The last three stages are at a higher altitude level, surrounded by more prominent peaks. Here, you should be more wary of fog, thunderstorms, and snow fields. The path is nowhere near exposed, and near the highest points, there are often huts or a cablecar station to seek shelter.

In the first three stages, it’s easy to leave the route during the day or at the end of the stage. For the more remote stages between Jaun and the endpoint, this is not the case. Check the weather forecast before you set off from Jaun.

You don’t need specific safety gear for this hike. Do bring a map and keep in mind that phone signal is patchy on the more remote stretches.