Escholzmatt to Trub in the Entlebuch and Emmental in the Napf Region

Saturday December 13, 2025 -- We have had some relatively warm weather this first part of December, and much of November's snowfall is gone. This is good for us, as we can do some nice hiking in the snow-free valleys and rolling hills north of the Alps... 

An unfortunate problem, though, is that this is also the time of year where there is a lot of thick fog in the low-lying regions, especially near lakes, so it becomes difficult to find a place that is out of the fog but not in the mountains.

On this Saturday we were very lucky. The forecast was for fog up to 700 meters altitude, and we monitored webcams of various regions and found that the Entlebuch Region of Canton Luzern was fog-free. As this is only about a 90-minute trip for us, we also didn't have to start early and could double-check the morning webcams.. So we headed out at 9:10 a.m. for the trip westward of Luzern, and did a 3½-hour hike starting in Escholzmatt in Canton Luzern at about 11 a.m., hiking uphill for over 500 meters for fantastic views of the Bernese Alps, and then descending to the village of Trub in Canton Bern which we reached at 3:15 p.m., still fog-free. 

Whenever we are in this region or passing through, we make a quick stop at the Kambly Cookie Factory in Trubschachen to fill up on free samples and buy several bags of our favourite cookies, 2nd grade but just as tasty as the more expensive ones in the shops!

Checking webcams in the morning, we saw that there was no fog in the valley where the Kambly cookie factory is located (Trubschachen), which is near where we were planning to hike! 

And this was what the other regions looked like in other places we might have liked to do a valley walk!

Sure enough, the fog which covered the valley from Luzern to Wolhusen had disappeared by the time the train got to Escholzmatt at 10:45 a.m. 

Heading down the main road from the train station in Escholzmatt, we pass several typical structures in the town, a couple of which are restaurants. Here is Gasthaus zur Krone across from the parish church. 

Even though we have started and ended hikes here, and changed to buses to Marbach and Kemmeribodenbad, we had actually never been in the Escholzmatt Parish church. 

View of the Escholzmatt parish church (St.Jakob) from the front, on the way to our hike. But first a visit of the interior of the church, or course! This is not really an old building. It was built in 1892-1894 in the Neogothic style. 

Right away we recognized that this is the Neogothic style of architecture. 

The vaulted ceilings are reminiscent of the old Gothic style. Very noticeable were the peaks and spires on all the altars, confessionals, organ, doorways, windows and stations of the cross paintings. 

Spectacular main altar. 

The main and two side-altars. 

Across the main street, our hike starts past another town restaurant: Gasthaus Löwen. 

You can do a historical walk around Escholzmatt, where the buildings of note have a description on their facades. Here it is described that the "Red Lion" is the oldest Gasthaus in Escholzmatt, having received its tavern license in 1671. But the building must be much older, as according to the Entlebuch Land Property Rights document of 1491, there were only three inns in the Entlebuch region, one of which was located here in Escholzmatt. 

We are heading out toward Turner and Trub along the "Wiesenpfad" (Meadow Trail) but will take longer to get to Trub, as we are making a detour after Turner onto the "Grenzpfad Napfbergerland", i.e. "Napf Border Trail", a total 115-km trail which follows the border between Cantons Luzern (Entlebuch) and Bern (Emmental), of which we have done several sections to date. 

Starting on the hike at about 11 a.m. in Escholzmatt, we hiked up to the ridge at Turner for fantastic views into the Entlebuch region all the way to the Bernese Alps, and then joined Trail no.65 to join two sections we had done before, and then descended to Trub on a new trail. We got to Trub at 3:15 p.m., and caught the 15:35 bus to Trubschachen, where we skipped a train connection so we could get some more cookies at the Kambly cookie factory. 

Starting out on our hike at 11 a.m., as we head out of town past lots of attractive houses. 

Everywhere the home-owners have interesting Christmas decorations on their houses. 

We are headed up toward that house on the hill (Ober Holdern), and then further up beyond that. 

With this nice weather, the cats are out in the pastures looking for mice!

Passing a nice farmhouse on the way. This is called the Grabenhof, a typical wooden construction from the first half of the 17th Century. 

Another site here as part of the historical village tour. An information panel on the building explains: There are only a few such granaries in the Entlebuch. The style of this granary is also unusual for the Luzern region, as the style is closer to the many such granaries found in the Emmental region of Canton Bern. 

The date on the granary is 1664!

A look back at the town of Escholzmatt from the Grabenhof Farm.

Past those farm houses, the trail goes up the hill through the forest on the left. 

Another cat prowling its territory!

Christmas decorations beautify the farm buildings!

A look behind us toward Escholzmatt at the valley bottom as we heaad up the hill.  

Close-up view of the church in Escholzmatt. 

After a zigzag trail up through the forest, we reach the Lower Holdern Farm at 11:30. We continue up the hill toward the Upper Holdern Farm which we saw from below, but the trail veers toward the left before reaching that farm. 

Now we are getting the first of many superb views into the mountains to the south. This range is called the Hohgant, which is actually just south of the Luzern/Bern Canton borders. 

More views of the Hohgant Range to the south.  

Another view to Escholzmatt below. 

Continuing up the hill through another forested section toward the farm on the left, called Rothenfluh. We are hoping to find a bench up there somewhere for our lunch break!

As it turns out, there was no bench close to this farm.... 

... so we continued up the first little hill we came to, for the best 360-degree views. (Urs takes phone calls when we walk... I do not).

This is the view from the top of the hill, toward the west in the direction of Bern, where the valleys there are full of fog this day as well!

Close-up view of the very western part of Switzerland all the way to the Jura Range near the border with France. You can even see the snow-covered Mt. Chasseral. That is also a place where you can often be above the large sea of fog. 

We found no bench here, so sat on our jackets on the grass to eat our sandwiches (for 20 minutes till 12:30), with this view down into the valley between Schüpfheim and Escholzmatt. The side valley behind us heads south toward Sörenberg. 

And to the south, we can see now the famous Trio of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the most popular peaks of the Bernese Alps! On the left is the Schrattenflue Massif in Canton Luzern, and on the right the Hohgant Massif in Canton Bern. 

We continued along three small hills and on the third was the bench we would have liked to have for our lunch break! We didn't stay here long, though. 

The farm below, where we are headed now, is called Bock. And the next farm is Turner, but we are headed to the right before that farm. 

A close-up view of Mounts Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. 

We did a detour to join the regional trail no.65: "Grenzpfad Napfbergerland", and from here the trail skirts this ravine on the left, and the next stop is at the farm (at the arrow) on the other side. At this point we are exactly on the border of Canton Luzern, and now headed over into Canton Bern, i.e. the Emmental region. 

To the southwest are the mountains of the Gantrisch Regional Park, with the distinctive peak of Mt.Stockhorn, which we summited on a hike in September 2023. 

To the north we can see the summit of Mt. Napf, the highest peak in this undulating landscape, and the peak which gives its name to the trail we are walking. Side note: Our trail is actually below in the shadow of this hill. Urs is walking there, but the trail was icy and slippery, so I detoured via an upper pasture for more sunshine and better views. 

Urs is going to open the gate for me, coming from the lower trail. Our next break is at the next farm up on the hill there. 

This farm was called Oberaltgfahl. In summer there are self-serve refreshments here and benches and picnic tables. But now it's closed. 

We continued on because we saw a convenient bench under that tree!

We came down from the hill on the right. We sat here for a while (2 p.m.) enjoying the sunshine and views!

The view (close-up) from our bench across the next ravine. The peak in the center is Mt.Jungfrau!

As we continued on, we passed a farm (Risisegg) where we had once taken a picnic break when we started a similar hike in Trub (where we are headed) and walked up to here. This was in November 2024. 

Another beautiful farmhouse at Hinter Risisegg. 

And here, just before descending the western slope into the valley to Trub, we get the best view yet of the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau Trio.

From here it's a 300-meter descent to the valley bottom at Trub. 

Most of the way down was a steep, leaf-covered, zig-zag trail through the forest. There were a lot of "steps" which make the trail less steep, but the wooden boards were slippery, so we couldn't step on them. 

The forest trail down to Trub. Most of the descent was in the shadow of the mountain. 

Crossing the Trueb River which runs right along the base of the hill on the east side of this valley. 

In the actual village of Trub, we came back into the sunshine. 

Another very cute house... we are now in the Emmental region of Canton Bern!

Heading toward the bus stop in the center of the village of Trub. It is now 3:15 p.m., and since we are 15 minutes early for the bus, we are going to detour to the little village church. Side note: On November 13, 2025, the village of Trub celebrated its 900th anniversary. (It is older than the Confederacy!) 

Some very nice Emmental-Style houses in the village of Trub. 

The late afternoon sunshine illuminates this little granary in a really special way! (We saw this same granary on a previous hike in September 2021 which ended here at Trub, but it had flower boxes! Picture --> HERE). 

Here is the little church in Trub. Until the Reformation, the church was part of a Benedictine monastery founded around 1125; since 1528 it has served as a Reformed church. Between 1641 and 1645, the chancel, the tower, and parts of the nave were renovated

Details of the little church in Trub

Above the entrance to the church is a little room added in 1780. There was a sign inviting visitors to have coffee or tea here for free! If we had arrived earlier, we might have done this, as it was really quaint here! On the wall display was a stack of boxes of 50-60 year-old thumbtacks from a warehouse in Zurich, and an invitation to take one, so I did! 

The bus arrives at 15:34 for the 10-minute ride to Trubschachen.  

These are all the hikes we have done in the Napf region. Many of our hikes end with a visit to the Kambly Cookie Factory in Trubschachen.

Whenever we are in this region, we pop by the Kambly cookie factory for free cookie samples. We only spend about 20 minutes here and buy bags of our favourite cookies. There is also a café and a place where they hand-make chocolates. On this day, children were also decorating their own gingerbread houses! (More photos of this location on the first visit we did here in November 2013!)

As we left the Kambly Cookie shop at 4:10 p.m (to catch the 16:14 train back home, a 90-minute trip from here), the fog has now rolled in here in the Ilfis Valley. 

Location of Trub and Trubschachen within Switzerland.