Over the Schallenberg Pass from Süderen to Schangnau in the Emmental

Friday August 7, 2026 -- This day it was somewhat cooler in the Emmental region (24 degrees maximum instead of the constant 30 degrees) so we set out to do a hike we have long wanted to do, to walk over the Schallenberg Pass, which is not a high pass, but still a pass, and also beloved by motorcyclists!

The bus from Thun heading northwards ends in a small village called Süderen, and to get there we have to first travel via Bern to Thun, with a long wait in Thun. But that's such a pretty town and quite lovely in the early morning (we left home early again), so we walked along the canal-side promenade admiring the passenger ships preparing for the day's cruise on the lake. The surfers near the wooden bridge were already busy at their sport, so we watched them for a while. 

We hiked northwards over the pass so that we could end in Schangnau, which is closer for our trip back home. (Total trip 3 hrs. 20 mins. to get to the starting point, and 2½ hours back home). Even though the day did get warm, we had a nice breeze for most of the day. With a start at the local bakery and refreshments at the Schallenberg Gasthaus, the 3½-hour hike also offered a lot of variety of trails (including a natural bridge over the Emme River) and lots of very pretty houses to admire along the way.

PART I: Transfer Time at the Riverside in Thun (And the bus ride to Süderen)

First a two-hour trip to Thun via Bern, and a familiar view of the peaks of the Gantrisch Range (part of the Bernese Alps). The distinctive peak is called Stockhorn, a summit we had hiked up to in September 2023. 

Arriving at 8:26 in Thun, our bus leaves only at 9:02, so we have over a half hour to wait. Just enough time for an early stroll along the Aare Canal, admiring the ships preparing for cruises on Lake Thun. 

Particularly attractive are the steam ships!

Heading away from town for a bit (to the trees up ahead) and then back the same way. 

On the way back, we even catch a glimpse of the Thun Castle!

There's enough time still to head to the wooden covered bridge, with a glimpse of the town's church this time.... 

Water rushes through the locks beneath the bridge, creating real surf waves.... 

... which avid surfers can use to practice their sport without having to go to the ocean!!!

VIDEO:

A young lady surfs on the waters of the Aare River in Thun

You can just make out the surfer girl in the river, with the lovely backdrop of the city of Thun. 

Now the 9:02 bus heads through the town of Thun on its way to the rolling hills north of the city and the lake. A nice view of the Thun Castle... And interesting to note: The building on the left is an old hotel, where we spent a night in October 2018 on a two-day trip in the area. 

Heading up into the Emmental region north of the city of Thun, we get another view of Mt.Stockhorn and the Gantrisch mountain range.

On the left, the distinctive pyramid-shaped mountain called Niesen comes into view. 

This is the lovely landscape we enjoyed on the 37-minute bus ride to the start of our hike in a small village called Süderen, the furthest north we could get to walk over the Schallenberg Pass. 

PART II: Eleven-Kilometer Hike from Süderen to Schangnau over the Schallenberg Pass

Studying the way-markers: It is over three hours to walk to Schangnau, and about an hour and a quarter to the Schallenberg Pass. We got here at exactly on schedule at 9:39. 

Just the first of very many attractive houses here in the Emmental Region of Canton Bern. 

If a village has a bakery, that's the first stop! This one was pretty busy on this beautiful early morning!  (The village also had a cheese dairy, but we didn't stop there... in this heat, any cheese we buy sweats fat before we get home). 

Usually Urs buys a sweet snack, but this time it was an open-faced "sandwich" piled high with a tuna-fish spread! Very yummy. I did insist we sit at one of the tables in front of the bakery to enjoy it, instead of eating while walking. The shop also sold local specialty pastries and had a full grocery as well. 

Sitting in front of the bakery, I took a zoomed shot of the peak called Mt. Stockhorn. 

It was only a 10-minute break, and we were on our way at 9:50.

Looking back down the street where we started on our hike in the village of Süderen. 

Starting at 9:50 in Süderen, we got to the Schallenberg Pass at 11 a.m. After a short break for refreshments, we continued to Schangnau, reaching it at about 2 p.m., with one additional break along the way. So we were out on the trail for just over four hours, and back home by 4:30 p.m. 

More pretty Emmental houses 

The trail heads to those buildings. 

Often the official trail takes us right through a farmyard. 

Hahaha, this was an unusual first for us, to get past an electrified fence!

I have geraniums on my balcony, but not nearly as beautiful as this!

Text inscribed above the door lists a date of 1779. This is a storage shed of some kind, probably a granary, or where cheese is left to ripen. 

You can see how the meadows are starting to turn yellow from the many weeks of no rain. 

Yet there is still a lot of green here, fortunately. 

The Gantrisch Range comes into view again as we head up toward the Schallenberg Pass. 

View southwest to the Gantrisch Range. 

At just after 11 a.m. we reached the restaurant at the Schallenberg Pass. (It took us an hour and 10 minutes to hike up here, which was exactly the time on the way-marker). We detoured off the trail because we felt like something nice and cold to drink!

It was nice and cool on the terrace, and for a change no one was smoking! We shared our favourite refreshment: Ice Cold Panaché (Radler). The restaurant and the pass road are very popular with motorcyclists. 

View directly to the east from a look-out point above the restaurant and parking lot. The massif on the left is called the Schrattenfluh, and the passage there leads to Sörenberg. Our goal is the valley just before that. 

From here we have another just over two hours to reach our goal at Schangnau. (One hour to the natural bridge over the Emme River at Räbloch). We continued on our hike at 11:25 after about a 20-minute break here at the Schallenberg Pass. 

Back on the trail again! Lots of nice soft footpaths. The sun was hot, but there was always a cool breeze. 

The view into the Emmental countryside to the north of the road, all the way to the Jura mountains at the back. 

In between we always had some nice shady sections through forests. 

After a bit of a steep descent through the forest, we got to this farm with the fun name of "Chnubelhütte" !

Descending to the main road again and a wetlands called Steinmösli (which right now isn't very wet). 

At 12:20 we found the perfect bench in a shady spot to have our picnic lunch. This is a nature park called Steinmösli where there should be a couple of ponds, but we didn't see much due to the overgrowth. 

A small boardwalk leads to a look-out platform where under better circumstances you might be able to observe some water birds. 

A rather dry "wetlands"

Now the trail heads down to the natural bridge over the Emme River. This ravine is called Räbloch, which was about an hour from the pass. It took us longer because we had a long lunch break!

Crossing the natural bridge over the Emme River, deep in the ravine, and with only a small amount of water. From here we had our last "uphill", which did get quite warm once we were out of the protective shade of the forest. 

Out of the ravine, and the final hour now to walk to Schangnau. This last stretch is one we have done before, when we started a hike in Schangnau on an almost snow-free First of January 2018, walking to Eggiwil to the north. 

The trail passes this private property where people were enjoying the afternoon on a separate covered terrace. 

Along this stretch there were at least 20 kites (birds of prey) flying in circles overhead. We have never seen so many at one time. Usually they show up when a farmer has tilled his land and chased the mice out. 

We came down from that clearing at the back, above Urs' head. 

On the right is another massif called the Hohgant, which forms a kind of separation from this part of the Emmental with Lake Brienz. 

Now close to the town of Schangnau, we pass many more lovely homes. This one is a fairly new build!

Another Emmental house. 

This lovely site is a care facility! I wouldn't mind retiring here!

View south to the Hohgant Massif. The peak on the right could be the Niederhorn, which is right on the north bank of Lake Brienz. 

A zoomed view of the little church in Schangnau. Amazingly, even through we have started, ended, or passed through Schangnau at least six times now, we have never once done the detour to have a look at the inside of this lovely building!

A view over the rooftops of Schangnau before we start our descent into the town. 

At just before 2 p.m. we reached the center of the town (bus stop is next to the Volg Grocery store) with enough time to buy something cold to drink, as the bus was to come at 14:10. In retrospect, there would even have been enough time for me to make that quick detour to the little church, but the idea came to me too late!

This is the lovely "Gasthof zum Löwen" at the junction of the road to the Schallenberg Pass and into the Bumbach Valley. It was here where we took an hour break for dessert on a snowy winter day while waiting for more sunshine in the valley! (Photos HERE, January 1, 2025). 

And the bus that comes up from the end of the valley at Kemmeriboden is right on time at 14:10! Last time we took the bus from here (September 2025), it was jam packed due to a wrestling event in Kemmeriboden, but this time there was enough space to sit! 

These are all the hikes we have done in the Emmental Region around Schangnau (which, by the way, is the border with the Entlebuch Region of Canton Luzern to the north). Starting in Süderen at 9:50, we crossed the Schallenberg Pass and caught the 14:10 bus northwards to the train station in Schüpfheim. In all, ca. 2½ hours travel time to home.  

Approximatel location of the Schellenberg Pass within Switzerland. 

View from the bus on the stretch along Lake Küssnacht (Lake Luzern) between Luzern and Küssnacht at 4:15 p.m.