Hiking with kids: Niederhorn

Yesterday we went back to Lake Thun, but unlike last week we went on its other side, to the top of Niederhorn (1 950 m.a.s.l.).

Updated 8.7.2026

Niederhornbahn

To reach the summit, you’ll first take the funicular from the Beatenbucht station. At the Beatenberg station, you’ll transfer to the gondola, which will take you all the way to the summit via a stop at the Vorsass intermediate station.

The funicular runs 3 times per hour: Starting at 8:08, departures every hour at .08 / .20 / .44

Fare: Check the website for current discounts. For this specific hike, you’ll need the Wanderbillett for 3 cable car sections (Beatenbucht–Niederhorn and from Vorsass–Beatenbucht), which costs 28.7057.30 CHF for adults, or 28.70 CHF with a Halbtax pass.

If you opt for the more adventurous option and add a scooter ride to your hike, all you need is a Wanderbillet for 2 cable car sections (Beatenbucht – Niederhorn and Beatenberg – Beatenbucht), which costs 51.80 CHF for adults, or 25.90 CHF with a Halbtax pass. Scooters can be reserved and paid for right when you buy your cable car tickets. A single scooter ride costs 18 CHF, and a full-day rental costs 30 CHF.

Family Discount at the Niederhorn

The Niederhorn is a great destination for families. You pay only for the first child (age 16 and under) in the family; every additional child rides for free. This offer also applies to scooter rentals, sled rentals in winter, and evening rides.

Anyone celebrating their birthday on that day rides the Niederhorn completely free of charge.

Niederhorn

From the summit, you can enjoy a beautiful view of Lake Thun and Mount Niesen—the Swiss pyramid I wrote about in one of my previous ~~posts~~.

On the top

AAfter getting out of the cable car, the kids headed first to the playground, and after a couple of slides, we went up to the lookout, where magnificent views of both Lake Thun and the rocks on the opposite side opened up.

Niederhorn – Vorsass

The weather was fine, so we set off for a 5km hike – first along the ridge, and then down to the middle station Vorsass.

The path from Oberburgfeld led through the sparse forest and was mostly rocky, we had to watch every step (definitely not suitable for strollers). Information leaflet promised that if we’re lucky, we’ll see some mountain animals, like mountain goats. But the only chamois on the trail was our older son, who was enthusiastically looking for more and more red and white tourist signs, painted either on the rocks or the trees.

Picnic place

The hike took us about three hours, but we held up by picking blueberries, which have been all around. I guess that since childhood I haven´t eaten so many blueberries as today 🙂 Finally, just few hundred meters before Vorsass came a reward in the form of grilled sausages.
There was only this one picnic area along the trail, but fortunately had three fire pits, so every hungry tourist could find his place here (in this post you can find 12 essentials to take with you for a picnic in Switzerland).

The last few hundred meters of our hike we had a beautiful view of the famous trio of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, which finally peeked through the clouds. Before the descent back into the valley, we have refreshed at a small restaurant near the middle station Vorsass (and there is a small playground too).

Vorsass

As I mentioned in the introduction, you can rent scooters at this stop. There are two routes to choose from: one is 6 km long, and the other is 12 km long. The route follows a paved road.

Note after 11 years: I wrote this article in 2015, when I was just getting started with hiking in Switzerland. I’m leaving it almost exactly as it was because it beautifully illustrates how my experiences have changed over that time. I’ve only added some up-to-date practical information so that you have everything you need when planning your trip.

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