As you could see on my social media, even though we really enjoyed the holidays in Moravia with our loved ones, it still lacked something to create the right atmosphere: snow! (I don’t count the hike to Velká Javořina, where there was snow dust, but we “enjoyed” the freezing wind that bit us in the face). That’s why I knew that as soon as we returned to Switzerland after the holidays, we had to go somewhere for snow immediately. Not even skiing right away, but just soaking up the atmosphere like from a winter fairy tale. And we (my husband, so as not to deny him merit) managed to find such a place near the village of Nods at the foot of the Chasseral peak in the Jura mountains.
Getting there
The village of Nods is located about 50 minutes by car (50km) northwest of Bern. Follow the signs to Nods and Chasseral. Directly in the village, follow the sign to Chasseral. Then you will see signs for free parking – one is at the local ski lift, the other for cross-country skiers and winter hikers (much larger) a little further on the right side of the road (well marked).
Trail
Directly in the parking lot is a map of cross-country and winter hiking trails. For safety, we still had a route in the Schweizmobil application in reserve.
Winterwanderweg copies the cross-country circuit, so you have nowhere to get lost. You can either set off on a well-trodden snow path right next to the cross-country ski trail (I recommend it with snowshoes), or a few meters lower along the path (Chemin de Prés-Vaillons). The photos show that wading through the snow is more fun for kids than walking comfortably on the road.
The route runs along the forest, after about a kilometer it ends on a plain. Past the full-grown tree with the yellow wanderweg symbol, continue in the direction of the pink sticks stuck in the snow. When you turn behind you, you will have a view of the Chasseral peak, which rises at an altitude of 1607 m above sea level.
After about another kilometer, the route turns left and starts to form a circuit. When you reach the signpost with the three pink arrows, head up towards the forest (not to the cabins you will see on the left). Now you have about a half-kilometer climb through the forest to the next signpost.
Once reaching it, turn left back in the direction of Nods. Even if you go slightly uphill for a while, perhaps the magical snowy nature will make up for it. When you leave the forest, you will have a view of the village of Nods and, on a clear day, the Alps in the distance.
Summary
- The route is 6 kilometers long.
- If you go to it with very small kids, you can take them on a sled.
- We saw a lot of people on the route with snowshoes on their feet – you can pack them with you, but they are not a necessity, the route can be managed even in sturdy winter boots
