Your guide on this themed route will be a dinosaur, more precisely, a “Jurasaur” Perimuk, who has lost his talisman. In his search for it, he meets his animal friends on a five-kilometre-long loop above the village of Biberstein. There are several stations along the route where you can listen to the story of Perimuk’s search using your smartphone and solve various fun tasks with your kids.
How to get to Biberstein
The village of Biberstein is located on the north bank of the Aare River near Aarau, in the canton of Aargau.
By public transport: Take the train to Aarau and then take the bus to the bus stop Biberstein, Dorf. It is about 100 meters from the bus stop to Schloss Biberstein, where the official start of the route is.
By car: From Bern or Zurich, take the A1 motorway, then take the Aarau-Ost exit and continue in the direction of Rupperswil, then Aarau-Rohr. Cross the bridge over the Aare. You will have Biobadi on your right, and after a few meters, turn left into the Schulhaus Parkplatz. From here, it is about a 5-minute walk to the castle.
Starting point – Schloss Biberstein
The dominant feature of Biberstein is the 13th-century castle built by Count Habsburg-Laufenburg to limit the territorial expansion of the Counts of Kyburg. The castle’s location on the banks of the Aare River allowed him to collect tolls from shipping on the Aare River. A ferry near the castle also operated between Biberstein and Rohr until World War II, when a bridge replaced it.
The route starts at the castle by the souvenir shop. Here, you can buy a small wooden ball from a vending machine for two francs. This will show you the way later on. To make sure you don’t get lost, the route is marked not only with signs with a picture of Perimuk but also with dinosaur footprints on the ground.
You will also find information boards along the route. Colorful illustrations on the boards complement the story of the “jurasaur” Perimuk and offer a lot of interesting additional information.
Stations – bring your smartphone or tablet with you
At each station, scan the QR code with your mobile phone and listen to the story of how Perimuk meets his animal friends and searches for his talisman. The soundtracks are about two minutes long, so even smaller children can easily keep their attention.
Haselbrünneli
About halfway along the trail, a barbecue area, Haselbrünneli, is in the middle of the meadow. Of course, there is also a play-station here.
The second half of the route and the reward at the finish
The second half of the route is more or less downhill and offers views of Aarau and the surrounding area. At the trail’s end, a little surprise awaits the children in a black letterbox at the Gastwirtschaft Juraweid. I deliberately cut off half of the picture to keep it a surprise for you 🙂
Summary
🦕The trail is free, but don’t forget to take a 2 Franc coin for the small ball you’ll need along the way.
🦕 Although the website says the trail is accessible with a stroller, I wouldn’t recommend it and would take a smaller child in a carrier. The narrow uphill path can still be avoided by following the wide forest path, but then, the downhill path is full of rocks. I’ve slipped on rocks, and I can’t imagine that happening with a stroller.
🦕All in all, I can highly recommend the Perimukweg in Biberstein. There are two more Perimuk-themed trails in Jurapark Aargau (in Wölflinswil and Herznach), which you can find on their website.
🦕 The exact coordinates of the Perimukweg Biberstein can be found in the app and on the Tourenplaner SCHWEIZ website. And also in my hiking guide for families “Die 44 schönsten Familien Wanderungen”. Don’t you have it yet?
