Niedermuhlern to the Ulmizberg Tower near Bern

Sunday April 5, 2026 (Easter Sunday) -- As we had such clarity of view of the Alps on our trip near Bern the day before (Photos HERE), we headed in that direction again, but closer to the mountains, i.e. 13 km south of Bern (into the region of the Gantrisch Nature Park). We also had to consider walking somewhere which might be less popular for families on this lovely Easter Sunday.

We returned to the upper plateau called Längenberg, to start in the village of Niedermuhlern to head north, first along the St.James Trail once again, and then diverting toward a look-out tower on a small hill called Ulmizberg. We knew we'd have good views of the Bernese Alps from there, as we had started a hike heading south from there in March of 2019. Plus, views from platforms on look-out towers (our main goal this day) are usually a highlight when visibility is good, as was supposed to be the case this day. (As it turns out, the view from this particular platform was only to the wide flat landscape to the north, although we otherwise had good views of the mountains from the regular trail).

As is often the case on the St.James Trail, there was a lot of walking on paved roads, and we ended up with more clouds than expected. And since we did that long walk the day before, we shortened this one somewhat (only 10 km). But as usual for this region, there were lots of farms and pretty houses to admire along the way, and even with the clouds over the mountains, some pretty nice views. (Better than when we were here in 2019).

Leaving home at 8:15, our train follows Lake Zug on the way to Luzern. The view of the Bernese Alps from here are actually also quite amazing. We are heading closer to those mountains.

The day looks promising with clear air and far-reaching views.

We are traveling the same route as we did the day before, past the fabulous Aarburg Castle near Olten. Yesterday when I wanted to photograph it, it—and only it—was in the shadow of some clouds!

After a bus ride from the Bern-Köniz station, we reached the starting point of our hike, Niedermuhlern, at 10:40 (a 2½-hour trip). The village of Niedermuhlern was first mentioned in documents of 1241.

A typical massive wood house of the Bern back-country. Only the geraniums are missing!

In Niedermuhlern is also a cheese dairy, where I am standing to take this photo of another lovely house across the street. As it was Sunday, the dairy was unfortunately closed, or we would have bought some cheese.

And then we discovered this very pretty "Spycher" (Granary / small houses that used to be a combination of storage below and living quarters above). This one is being nicely renovated.

Some attractive inscriptions in the wood, including a date of 1751 (on the door below was a date of 1746). These are usually very old buildings.

And this is the fabulous house to which the "Spycherli" belongs. Can you imagine house-cleaning in such a huge family home?

I wondered what this little flock of sheep was doing all crammed together like that. Urs said they are standing in the shade!

Close-up view of a small kestrel. We see these often, hovering over the plowed fields.

This wasn't even a 3-hour hike! Fairly easy, only 10 km, but because there was a lot of the trail on paved roads, we were quite tired by the time we got to Schliern. We started in Niedermuhlern at 10:40, and caught the bus in Schliern at just after 3 p.m, after spending a bit of time at the communication tower on Mt. Ulmizberg.

Heading out of Niedermuhlern toward the next village called Obermuhlern (i.e. Lower- and Upper-Muhlern), we were happy to now see cows in the pastures.

We are walking "away" from the mountains, so have to turn around a lot to get the views! Even with more clouds than the day before, the mountains look fantastic. The three large peaks are the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau Trio. The pointed peak on the left is Mt.Schreckhorn.

To the east we also get a good view of the Schrattenfluh Massif which is actually in Canton Luzern.

Another close-up view of Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau (Eiger Northwall on the left). The small peak on the far left is Mt.Finsteraarhorn, at 4274m the highest peak in the Bernese Alps. Because it is earlier in the morning, the view is not as clear as it was the evening before.

The lovely pastureland of the Bernese back-country. This region is a plateau called Längenberg, above the Gürbental Valley.

Looking back now at the village of Niedermuhlern where we started our walk. In the back are the Gantrisch mountains.

There are two observatories up here. This one is called the Zimmerwald Observatory, the largest professional observatory in Switzerland.

Up ahead now is the next village of Obermuhlern. We are now looking for a place to have an early picnic lunch.

Not as many houses in Obermuhlern.

This first stretch we are walking is along the National Trail no.4: "Via Jakobi" or "St.James Trail", the Swiss section of the European pilgrim trail "Camino de Santiago".

That little one seems very surprised to see us.

We didn't find a bench, so sat in this pasture to eat an early picnic lunch and enjoy the views of the Alps.

It's now 11:30 and we can already see more contrast and details on the mountains.

A very close-up view of Mt. Schreckhorn. The little cloud halo is cute!

The mountains to the southwest are clearer. This is a lovely pastoral landscape.

Typical farm in this region.

Directly to the south is the Gantrisch Range (part of the Bernese Alps). The peak on the right is called Mt.Gantrisch, and the one next to it is Grossi Nüneneflue. Back in September of 2023 we hiked up to the saddle between those two peaks, and walked all the way eastward to the summit of Mt.Stockhorn. That was a fantastic hike.

After a 30-minute stretch through the forest, we've left the St.James Trail and are getting some views toward the city of Bern and the Jura mountain range to the north. That village is called Kühlewil.

Lovely garden with spring flowers.

More lovely wooden houses. This is the back side of the one with the lovely garden.

Our first view of the communication and observation tower at the top of Mt.Ulmizberg. This is our final climb before heading down to the bus stop on the other side. The village ahead is called Oberulmiz.

A closer look at the observation tower. At first we thought this was scaffolding and that the observation platform might be closed, but this is just the way the tower is built.

Approaching Oberulmiz village.

Another typical house of this region.

From here we still have a 25-minute walk up the small hill to the observation tower, and then another 45 minutes from there to the bus stop in Schliern. Till now, we have walked an hour and 20 minutes (not counting breaks). It is now 1 p.m.

Starting on the uphill section to the observation tower.

The forest trail was nice, but it was getting a bit warm!

We got to the summit of Ulmizberg at 13:26, so just exactly 25 minutes as per the sign at the bottom of the hill!

And this is the view we had from the summit. As it is later in the afternoon, we are now seeing more details of the mountains of the Bernese Oberland.

Looking up at the observation tower. From here we can't imagine where the viewing platform might be, but we are looking forward to a better view of the Alps.... (which was not to be). The tower, built in 1974, is 95 meters tall. It is a directional beam antenna tower built to relieve the telephone network.

After entering the stairway on the tower, there was a long gangway to the north side, and after a spiral staircase (total 65 steps) we reached the platform at a height of 13½ meters on the NORTH side of the tower. So no views of the Alps from the tower platform.

From the platform we look down to the town of Schliern, where we are descending to afterwards, to catch the bus. The view is all the way to the Jura range (the northern section).

A close-up look at the city of Bern at the back. And below is the city of Köniz, where we had first thought of ending our hike, as there is a castle and church which we would have liked to visit (Just visible in the center next to the clearing, i.e. the red roofs). This would have been an extra 30 minutes of walking, and we ended up not doing it.

Descending the spiral staircase and the walkway

On the south side of the tower at the end of the walkway and only about three meters from the ground, a view of the Gantrisch Range again, with the distinctive peak of Mt.Stockhorn on the left.

The best view of the Bernese Alps was from ground level at the summit of Mt.Ulmizberg, not from the observation tower. There were fire pits and several benches and picnic tables here, usually very popular with families. We had been expecting very many people as we got here, but there were really only a dozen people. I guess they are still busy with Easter Family Lunch.

More views as we prepare for our final descent.

A close-up look at Mt. Schreckhorn (on the right) and what I believe is the Wetterhorn on the far left.

A look at the tower from three different angles.

After a break up at the summit of Ulmizberg, we started on our descent just after 2 p.m. It was going to be a 45-minute walk to the bus stop, to catch the 15:09 bus. This was a nice part of the hike, through the forest and all downhill! On this stretch, several people passed us heading UPHILL, and they were are sweating!

Heading down the Ulmizberg mountain.

Here at this point we could have headed north toward Köniz and the castle there, but it would have been 30 minutes more of walking, so we stayed by the original plan and headed straight onwards to Schliern.

More farm houses

A look behind us now to where we descended from. I don't know where all those people came from!

The 15:09 bus showed up early, just after 3 p.m., but we had made it with plenty of time for a change, not having to hurry! From here it is just a two-hour trip home, first by bus to the Bern train station, then train home via Zurich.