Augstmatthorn
Description
In Interlaken, you can either hang your bikes on the rear rack of the Postbus to Habkern or tackle the ascent on the mountain road under your own steam. You climb 500 meters in altitude this way, pass the village and follow the road uphill to Alp Lombach. Immediately after the mountain restaurant, you turn right onto a single trail, and here you have to push for 200 meters in altitude. Eventually you reach the trail that leads through the western flank of the Augstmatthorn to the ridge high above Lake Brienz. The view from here is simply breathtaking: the lake glistens below, with the triumvirate of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau shining behind. The descent leads from the ridge directly down to Lake Brienz and is particularly difficult for the first few meters. Extreme caution is advised here in wet conditions. As soon as you reach the first trees, the trail becomes smoother. It is really fun once you reach a small hunting lodge. The path winds its way down in countless serpentine bends. The Supertrail ends at the first houses in Ringgenberg. Here you reach the signposted mountain bike route 451 (Lake Brienz Bike), which you follow back to Interlaken.
Note: This route leads through a federal hunting ban area. Riding this route on a mountain bike is the responsibility of each individual, with full awareness of the legal situation.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
27 km
1435 m
1435 m
1 day
Interlaken
Interlaken
1540
limited
More information
No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.
Video
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User comments (10)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
Why is such a tour with a clear ban still on the net and on Ride.ch? MY opinion: That such routes should be removed and that we bikers should abide by the law, especially if it is a protected area.
Checked 2021
Most of the route lies within the Augstmatthorn federal hunting ban/wildlife conservation area. According to the Federal Ordinance on the Federal Hunting Ban Areas, Art. 5, Para. h, it is not permitted to drive any vehicles outside of public roads, alpine and forest roads in these areas. The ban is not specifically aimed at mountain biking, but applies to all vehicles. The federal and cantonal authorities have repeatedly confirmed that this also includes mountain bikes. The ban is part of the regulations concerning various leisure activities and serves to protect wild animals from disturbance. On the Augstmatthorn in particular, the pressure on wild animals from various outdoor sports has become very intense in recent years.
On the Augstmatthorn, the official driving bans are signposted, communicated by the municipality and canton and monitored by the gamekeeper and the protected area ranger. Fines can be issued in the event of infringements. Individual riders must decide for themselves whether they want to take this risk.
Would love to ride this tour. What is the situation? Is it forbidden or not? Who knows?
Most of this route lies in the Augstmatthorn federal hunting ban area. This area extends to the other side of the ridge (towards Niederried-Ringgenberg). (Biking is prohibited in this area (even on a third of the way down to Niederried!). Failure to observe the rules can result in fines and a report to the public prosecutor's office. After the new rush of visitors, bikers have already received various fines, some of them steep. See also: https://www.habkern.ch/verhaltensregeln
Due to the almost extreme number of tourists in the Augstmatthorn area, rangers and gamekeepers in the nature conservation and hunting ban area are very wary of fines for illegal activities. Mountain bikers in particular can expect heavy fines and even prosecution on this route due to the prohibition (as already mentioned, nature conservation and hunting ban area). The situation has definitely changed locally in recent years and I no longer recommend this tour.
We were in good spirits yesterday, but were greeted by a forest information board and a more than clear ban on bikes in Lombach. The wildlife sanctuary is a protected area and you will certainly be reported to the police if you enter it. We took it in our stride, respected the ban and improvised another continuation of the tour.
The route of the tour partly rides through a hunting ban area. The responsible gamekeeper will report you to the police if you enter this area!
Driving the route during the week or at off-peak times is recommended.
We rode the tour in July. We managed the ascent from Interlaken ourselves, the road to the Lombach mountain restaurant is a pleasant climb. The pushing passage to the junction at Bodmisegg can be completed in about 20-30 minutes. After that, the hiking trail that runs along the slope to the ridge would actually be mostly rideable, but the path is repeatedly covered by loose stones and landslides, so you are forced to get off the saddle again and again.
Once on the ridge, the steep slope towards the lake is immediately noticeable and the upper two hairpin bends of the descent can be seen. If you are afraid of heights, this tour is not recommended. The upper part of the descent is technical and, in combination with the sloping terrain, caution is advised. The further down, the smoother and faster the trail becomes.