The Lieselotte Trail is a kid’s themed hiking trail in Junfrau, Switzerland. The trail follows Lieselotte the cow on a journey through 13 different adventure stations. There’s a fun little activity at each stop, plus a lesson if you follow along with the free trail map. You can punch the map at each station and earn a small prize at the end.
The Lieselotte Trail starts at the Männlichen cable car station. (To get there, you can take the cable car up from either Wengen or Grindelwal Terminal.) The clearly marked trail then winds its way downhill for about 2 miles (3.5 km), where it concludes at the Holenstein cable car station. It takes about 2.5 hours to complete.
We hiked this trail with our child who was almost 5 at the time. Along the way, we jotted down a few things that we learned or wish we’d known in advance. Here is that list.
Keep reading for 10 helpful things to know about the Lieselotte Trail.
1. Pick up the Trail Map in Männlichen
First things first. Be sure to pick up a trail map before you start the hike. You can grab it in a few places, but it’s just as easy to grab it at the start in Männlichen. (Less risk of losing it, am I right?)
Note: You can also preview the map here.
The trail map is available inside the Männlichen restaurant, near the check out area by the souvenirs. It’s free, so you can grab it even before the restaurant starts serving.
You’ll want the map to follow the story, learn the lessons, and collect the letter stamps to redeem for a prize later.
Tip! You can only redeem each map once for one prize. If you have multiple children, grab a map for each child. Be sure to stamp each child’s map and then each child can get their own prize at the end.
2. This trail is not on Google Maps
The Lieselotte Trail is not listed on Google Maps, but don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to stay on trail.
For one, the trail itself is clearly marked, so just keep on the path. Just follow the cow! There are also a few trail markers along the way, and you will follow signs to Holenstein. And since the trail is downhill in a meadow, you can also almost always see the next activity station ahead of you. Worst case scenario, the cable car is always visible from above, so you can you follow that toward the cable car station at the end.
The one thing I wouldn’t suggest using for navigation is the trail map. It’s a cartoon map and is not to scale. It helps for the general order of activity stations, but that’s about it.
3. The First Stamp is NOT on the trail
The trail begins near the Männlichen cable car station to Grindelwald, just across from the playground. There’s a large wooden cow that marks the start the start of the trail. (As shown in the picture in tip #1.)
This is the first stamp on the trail, but it’s not the first stamp on the map. The trail begins with stamp #2, so be sure to stamp the right box.
4. The Fist Stamp is Available in Grindelwald AND Wengen
The trail map states that the first stamp is available at the Grindelwald Valley Station (Grindelwald Terminal.) That’s great if you are going back to Grindelwald after the hike or if you pick up the tail map there and start with that stamp.
However, if you’re based in Wengen or Lauterbrunnen, you might not want to go all the way to Grindelwald to get your last stamp. Fortunately, you don’t have to.
The map doesn’t tell you this, but the first stamp is also available in Wengen. You can get your first stamp right outside the the cable car station in Wengen. Just look for the cow beside the big marble run outside the station.
5. There are Bathrooms on the Trail
There are not a lot of amenities on this trial between the start and end. However, there are bathrooms in the middle. They are nice, clean, indoor bathrooms.
6. Don’t Skip the Picnic Area
The picnic area is easy to miss. It’s the only stop that is not along the main trail. It’s even in a tricky spot on the map, so you might not event notice it’s there.
The picnic area does has a letter stamp, though. So even if you aren’t planning to picnic, you’ll need to pop over to collect the stamp if you want to get them all.
6a. How to Find the Picnic Area on the Lieselotte Trail
I’m embarrassed to tell you how much effort it took me to find the picnic area. If you’re anything like me, I’ll save you the trouble and offer you some directions that are more useful than the the not-to-scale cartoon map.
First, you’ll come across the bathrooms. These bathrooms are clearly labeled, right off the trail here. (They are located inside a winter cable car station, Sesselbahn Läger, which will not be running during the summer time.)
Just beyond the cable car station (to your right if you’re facing the bathrooms) is a cheese shop building. There’s a river crossing right behind this building, but that is NOT the crossing referenced on your map. Keep walking straight.
Walk past that building and keep going straight through the grassy meadow. There’s not really a defined trail here, but just stay on the grass and don’t venture into the woods like I did.
Walk straight until you see a wooden bridge on your left — it is about 150 meters from the bathrooms. (Again, do not turn left until you see the specific bridge shown below.) Cross the bridge and you’ll find the picnic area, including the letter punch.
7. Don’t Tell Your Kid(s) it’s Easy
All things considered, this is an easy trail. It’s exclusively downhill, under 2.5 miles long, and there’s fun things to do along the way. Kids of varying ages and abilities can definitely do it — they just might not consider it easy.
Three hours of hiking a trail of any difficulty can feel like a lot to a kid. Plus, downhill hiking isn’t always as easy as it sounds. It is steep and bumpy in sections, which can be hard on legs and knees of kids and grownups alike.
If you tell them it’s easy, they might feel frustrated or disappointed if it doesn’t feel easy to them. Keep it to the facts — tell them the milage and distance — and remind them that it is a trail for kids. From there, let them experience it for themselves. That leaves room for them to feel proud of themselves for completing this hike, which they should!
8. Keep an Eye on the Weather
The weather can change quickly in Jungfrau, particularly during the rainy spring and summer months. The Lieselotte Trail is very exposed, so getting caught in a storm can quickly become a problem. The only shelter along the trail is near the bathrooms in the middle, and there’s no transit alternatives (no cable cars, train stations or raods) along the trail.
Be sure to monitor the weather for any incoming storms. This might mean you have to pick up the pace to get back to Holenstein before you get caught in a downpour. (Which is what happened to us.)
The good news is that the cable cars tend to keep running through most summer storms, so you probably won’t be stranded there. (Though having ridden the gondola in a storm, I would warn you that it’s not for the faint of heart. Riding in a gondola blowing violently in the wind is no joke.)
9. Budget 4 Hours
The trail map recommends 2.5 hours for this trail. That’s a generous time-frame, and factors in some playtime at each activity station. I’d suggest you budget a little more though and give yourself 4 hours for this entire activity.
For one, you’ll want to play at the Cow Playground in Männlichen before you start. This is one of the best playgrounds in the region, so be sure to allow time for that. You’ll also want to give yourself time to play at the various stops — some call for more time then others. And of course, you’ll want to dedicate some time to the treetop playground at the end.
Read more! If you love this playground-filled hike, check out our list of the 5 best hike + playground combinations in Jungfrau.
10. Collect Your Prize
The trail and activities are fun regardless, but collecting the letter punches along the way is another level of motivation. If your kids did all the work along the trail, cashing it for a prize at the end is very exciting.
The prize redemption locations are listed on the map. If you’re going back toward Grindelwald, you can pick up your prize at the Intersport Shop at Grindelwald Terminal. If you’re going back toward Wengen, you can pick up your prize at Vincenz bakery and chocolate shop. (Remember to get your first punch at either cable car station if you haven’t already.) When you turn in your sheet, they will date it so you don’t try to redeem it more than once.
The prizes may very, so I can only speak to the gift we received. However, the gift we got was super cute. It was a keepsake tin with fruit candies inside.
Bonus (Pandemic Parent) Tip: Bring Hand Sanitizer
The Alpenhorns are one of the highlights of this trail. However, nothing makes my mom-of-a-kid-born-in-2020 heart race quite like my kid putting their mouth right on the same horn that every kid on this trail has put their mouth on.
If you are anything like me, be sure to pack some hand sanitizer and give that thing a wipe down before your kid gets to it.
Have so much fun on the trail! If you hike it, let me know what you think. And feel free to share any tips you have as well!
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