Via Sbrinz · Stage 5
Walking time as schweizmobil.ch states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 8 h 55. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Schweizmobil.ch
Over the Griespass (about 2,480 m) into Italy and down the Formazza valley by Riale to Ponte: 26.9 km, 9 h, 1,400 m up and 1,450 m down, the longest stage. The route crosses the Griespass, not the Nufenenpass. The bus from Ulrichen to Ladstafel saves about 600 m of climb, SchweizMobil says. The Sbrinz-Route association splits this day at Riale (23 km, 7 h 30), where it lists places to stay.
Best season: No published season; three passes above 2,200 m. No page we read gives a walking season. The route crosses the Jochpass (about 2,210 m), the Grimsel pass (about 2,206 m) and the Griespass (about 2,480 m), on white-red-white mountain paths from stage 2 on. The services close in October: the Bärghuis Jochpass ends its summer on 18 October 2026, the Engelberg youth hostel takes a break from 18 October to 27 November, and Hotel Hubertus in Obergesteln closes after 18 October until 25 November. The lake ships run their winter timetable from 19 October 2026. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
Stage 4 ends in Obergesteln, in the Goms valley, with trains of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn. Hotel Hubertus here closes after 18 October 2026, until 25 November; the Hotel Astoria in Ulrichen, down the valley, is closed until 27 November.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end
Town
The end, at Ponte in the Formazza valley, in Italy. A bus runs down to Domodossola, SchweizMobil says. The Sbrinz-Route association lists hotels at Ponte and at Riale, about 4 km before; we have not read their own pages.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Make it your trip
No permit is needed: hotels book on their own sites, and the alp hut at Engstlenalp and the Bärghuis Jochpass take bookings by phone or e-mail. In October, check every night: the Bärghuis Jochpass closes on 18 October 2026, the Engelberg youth hostel from 18 October to 27 November, and Hotel Hubertus in Obergesteln after 18 October. Riale and Ponte are in Italy; the Sbrinz-Route association lists their hotels.
SchweizMobil's five stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyUp the Engelberg valley and over the Jochpass: three stages, each ending by a train or bus.
Plan this journeyThe Jochpass and the Grimsel: three stages from Engelberg station to the Goms.
Plan this journeyOver the Grimsel and the Griespass into Italy: two long stages.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (1,292 m) and high point (2,500 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (1,292 m) and the highest point (2,500 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed | Poor | Poor |
| High point, day / night | -4°/-9° | -4°/-10° | -3°/-8° | -1°/-6° | 3°/-1° | 9°/2° | 11°/5° | 11°/5° | 8°/2° | 4°/-1° | 0°/-5° | -3°/-8° |
| Low point, day / night | 4°/-4° | 4°/-5° | 6°/-2° | 8°/1° | 12°/5° | 17°/9° | 19°/11° | 19°/11° | 16°/8° | 12°/5° | 7°/0° | 5°/-3° |
| Rain, mm | 82 | 63 | 86 | 96 | 107 | 115 | 111 | 120 | 104 | 122 | 128 | 91 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | – | – | Frost | Possible | Likely | Likely |
| Daylight | 8 h 58 | 10 h 18 | 11 h 49 | 13 h 31 | 14 h 57 | 15 h 47 | 15 h 29 | 14 h 15 | 12 h 38 | 11 h | 9 h 28 | 8 h 37 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Our line still crosses both: follow the signed diversion. At Staldifeld, near Dallenwil, the path is closed for the zentralbahn's double-track works from 1 June to 18 December 2026, with a signposted detour of about 4 km. Before Engelberg, the old path through the Aaschlucht is closed until the end of March 2027 because its bridge is destroyed; a new section is open, but the official route there is not mapped yet, so follow the signposts onto it (SchweizMobil's detour records, read 13 October 2026).
SchweizMobil: ViaSbrinz, route 40Above Innertkirchen, at Gäntel in the Gental, the path is closed for forestry work from 24 September to 31 October 2026. Our line follows SchweizMobil's signposted detour, 1.8 km in place of the closed 1.6 km. After 31 October, follow the signposts (SchweizMobil's detour record, read 13 October 2026).
SchweizMobil: ViaSbrinz, route 40Several stays close now. The Bärghuis Jochpass ends its summer season on 18 October 2026 and opens for the winter on 5 December. The Engelberg youth hostel (112 beds) is closed from 18 October to 27 November. Hotel Hubertus in Obergesteln ends its summer with departures on 18 October and opens again on 25 November. The Hotel Astoria in Ulrichen is closed from 4 October to 27 November: that is a hotel notice, not a trail closure. Hotel Bären in Guttannen and Hotel Grimsel in Obergesteln were open (the stays' own pages, read 13 October 2026).
Swiss Youth Hostels: EngelbergSchweizMobil names lifts and buses that shorten the stages: the zentralbahn from Grafenort to Engelberg, the cable car to the Trübsee and the chairlifts over the Jochpass on stage 2, the bus from Engstlenalp to Innertkirchen on stage 3, and the bus from Ulrichen to Ladstafel on stage 5. We could not read the lift and bus timetables: check them before a late-season walk. The Bärghuis Jochpass, by the chairlifts, ends its summer on 18 October 2026 (the Bärghuis Jochpass page, read 13 October 2026).
Bärghuis Jochpass: summerFrom stage 2 on the route follows white-red-white mountain paths over three passes. SchweizMobil calls stage 4, over the Grimsel, a long stage (8 h), and stage 5, over the Griespass, takes 9 h. The Sbrinz-Route association walks the route from Lucerne to Domodossola in ten stages, with a break at Riale on the last day (SchweizMobil's stage records and the association's stage pages, read 13 October 2026).
Sbrinz-Route: the stagesGetting there
Travel around Obergesteln to Ponte.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
The zentralbahn runs from Lucerne by Stansstad up to Engelberg all year. The Lake Lucerne ships also sail from Lucerne to Stansstad: they run their winter timetable from 19 October 2026 to 16 April 2027 (the lake ships' timetable page, read 13 October 2026).
Lake Lucerne shipping company: timetablesThe zentralbahn stops at Stans, Dallenwil, Wolfenschiessen, Grafenort and Engelberg on stage 1. Buses run from Engstlenalp down to Innertkirchen and from Innertkirchen up to the Grimsel pass. Obergesteln has Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn trains along the Goms.
PostAuto: timetablesThe trail ends at Ponte in the Formazza valley, in Italy. A bus runs from Ponte down to Domodossola, SchweizMobil says; we could not read its timetable.
SchweizMobil: ViaSbrinz, route 40Take your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: the signal can be weak in the gorges and on the passes.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
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Route & sources
SchweizMobil publishes the ViaSbrinz as regional route 40, Stansstad to Ponte in Italy: five stages, 115 km with 6,300 m up and 5,400 m down (its five stage lines measure 113.1 km), with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 2169030, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 111.4 km from Stansstad to Ponte, the whole route, cut at SchweizMobil's stage ends and walked in its direction. Our stages measure 25.2, 11.8, 22.8, 24.0 and 27.6 km, against SchweizMobil's 26.1, 13.0, 22.8, 24.4 and 26.9. Most of the difference is at Engelberg: our line ends stage 1 where it leaves the relation's approach ways into the town, 0.9 km short of the station where SchweizMobil's stage ends, and starts stage 2 there. On stage 3 our line follows SchweizMobil's signposted detour round the forestry closure at Gäntel, in force until 31 October 2026. Two closures on stage 1 are still on our line, at Staldifeld (until 18 December 2026) and in the Aaschlucht before Engelberg (until the end of March 2027): our line still crosses them: follow the signed diversion. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
SchweizMobil: ViaSbrinz, route 40Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation