Looks like we’ve become champions at visiting places with marble runs this year. After visiting Charmey and the Kugelbahn Lenzburg, we set out to discover the Kugelweg Hasliberg. The Kugelweg is a 3km long hiking route between Bidmi and Reuti stations, with 12 marble runs installed along the way, made by local companies. And it is supposed to be great fun for kids and adults.
Meiringen-Hasliberg: getting there
Hasliberg is located in the Berner Oberland region, east of Interlaken. You must take the cable car to the Bidmi station to get to the trailhead. The cable car runs directly from Meiringen and from the intermediate station Reuti, where parking lots are provided.
By car: For those heading to the Hasliberg area from Bern, it’s best to head straight to Meiringen in the Haslital Valley. You’ll find a large paid parking lot (Parkplatz Talstation Alpbach; watch for the brown signs “Bergbahnen Meiringen” as you exit the main road). All-day parking costs 5 francs, and you can pay in cash or via the Paybyphone or Sepp parking apps (Twint is unavailable). From the car park, it is about a 5-minute walk to the lower gondola station.
By public transport: By train to Meiringen station; from there, take bus 174 to the Meiringen, Luftseilbahn stop. Alternatively, it is a 10-minute walk from the station.
Fares
You can find a complete price list on the Hasliberg website. If you only want to do the Kugelweg, buy a Wandertageskarte from Meiringen. It costs CHF 28 for adults, CHF 18 with Half-fare card, and CHF 14 for children aged 6 to 16. Children with a Junior Carte and children under six ride for free.
Since we combined the Kugelweg route with an “add-on” – the 4.5 km long Muggestutz Zwergenweg-themed Dwarf trail from Mägisalp station to Bidmi, we needed a one-way ticket from Meiringen/Alpbach to Mägisalp and then from Reuti back to Meiringen/Alpbach.
You don’t have to worry about buying a ticket being complicated. Just tell the ticket office where you’re going to hike (or point to the map) and you’ll get the right ticket.
Don’t forget to buy the wooden ball you’ll need for CHF 3 too! It’s available in a few colors for you to choose.
Marble run trail
The route starts right at the Bidmi Intermediate Station. Before you set off, your children will be tempted by the beautiful large playground, where you can have a barbecue. Then, you can head off in the direction of the signs.
There are also tracks on the trail where you can compete to see which ball takes which way and which will be faster.
The Kugelweg is a great way to keep the kids moving on a hike while enjoying the fantastic views of the Bernese Oberland.
On the way, you can buy alpine cheese and ice cream.
On this large track, you can try out how the Archimedes screw works, and then you can also guess which track the ball will come out of.
This is the only metal track on the route.
And the only color track. While the kids play, you can enjoy the spectacular views of the mountains and glaciers.
The ball tracks are really sophisticated, but sometimes it can happen that if you drop the ball into the track a little too hard, it can jump out of the way. So keep a good eye on the ball to know where to look for it.
The Kugelweg ends in Reuti. Before you hop back on the cable car, you can grab a bite to eat on the terrace of the Hotel Reuti, where the last track is located (or the first one if you decide to take the route in the opposite direction, i.e., from Reuti to Bidmi).
Summary
- The trail is 3 km long and not suitable for strollers.
- The route will take about 2 hours, with stops at the ball tracks. Some of the tracks are so elaborate, and you will be so excited to try them repeatedly 🙂
- I recommend a trip to Hasliberg in the middle of the week because weekend days can be hectic and full of hikers.
- The route requires good shoes. The paths are rocky and sometimes quite steep.
- As I wrote, sometimes a ball will pop out of the track. You’d better buy an extra one to avoid tears from a ball lost for good.
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