Before our summer hike to Villars-sur-Ollon, I knew nothing about this place. But we were looking for a hike reasonably close to Leysin, where we were picking up our son from hockey camp later that day. As I looked through my hiking guides from Wandermagazin Schweiz (yes, even in this digital age, I still look for hiking tips in book guides), I came across this convenient hike around three mountain lakes.
Oh, by the way, if you haven’t noticed – I also contributed to the aforementioned Wandermagazin Schweiz by writing a family-friendly hiking guide “Die 44 schönsten Familien Wanderungen“
Well, back to Villars-sur-Ollon. It took my breath away when we arrived. This was not only because it was beautifully decorated for the Swiss National Holiday (it was August 1). But because of how much there is to experience in this place, perched on a plateau at 1,300 meters above sea level. As well as hiking , you can enjoy golf, visit the thermal baths or ski in the extensive Villars-Gryon-Les-Diablerets winter sports area. Villars-sur-Ollon is known not only for its nature and activities, but also for being one of the renowned destinations for education. The prestigious international schools here, such as the Collège Alpin Beau Soleil, attract students (and money from their parents’ pockets) from all over the world. Their campuses overlooking the Alps definitely add to the exclusivity!
How to get to Villars-sur-Ollon
By public transport: Villars is reachable by the Chemin de fer Bex-Villars-Bretaye railway from the town of Bex in the valley. Trains to Villars run once an hour and take less than 40 minutes. Bex is easily reached by train from St-Maurice (3-4 minutes) or Montreux (15-19 minutes). Villars is also served every half hour by bus line 144 from Aigle. The journey takes half an hour.
By car. Get off the A9 motorway at Aigle or Bex-Monthey and follow the signs. From the valley, the road to Villars is full of serpentines and takes less than 20 minutes from the village of Ollon in the valley (less than 40 minutes from Montreux).
Parking: as I mentioned before, on the day of our visit it was celebrating the August 1st, and therefore the village centre was closed for cars. So we couldn’t park here and get to the train. So we drove a bit more, parked by the tennis courts at Parking Villars (Les Roches-Grises 3, 1884 Ollon). From here it is only about a 5 minute walk to the Roches Grises train station (follow the brown signs).
Villars – Col de Bretaye mountain train
In summer, the train runs from 8:00 to 17:00 every day. One train per hour. A return ticket costs CHF 34, with Halb-tax CHF 17 (the same price for departures from both Villars and Roches Grises). You can buy the ticket both at the machine in the underpass and on the SBB app.
As Villars-sur-Ollon is also a winter ski resort, the Villars-Bretaye train runs every 15 or 30 minutes from 8:00 to 18:00 every day in winter. A valid ski pass and Magic Pass include the journey from Villars to Bretaye and from Gryon to Villars.
Col de Bretaye
During the 16-minute train ride, we could already admire the landscape dominated by the view of Glacier 3000 and, of course, the surrounding peaks of the Vaud Alps. After getting off the train at the Col de Bretaye, we were pleasantly surprised by the presence of an employee of the local tourist office, who advised us which direction to take to start our chosen route.
Equipped with a paper map as well as the Tourenplaner app, we set off along the wide gravel road to Lake Chavonnes. It’s about a 30-minute walk.
Lac de Chavonnes
At Lac des Chavonnes we took a refreshment break, some other guests took advantage of the beautiful weather to swim. There is also a restaurant by the lake and plenty of places to have a picnic.
But we didn’t linger in the lake and went further along the left bank of the trail. From here, it is marked with a red and white stripe, i.e., as “Bergwanderung,” aka mountain trail, and we soon found out why.
There are several small beaches on the lake’s shores. Next time, we will definitely bring our swimsuits!
Part of the route led through a mountain pasture. As we climbed up it, we enjoyed a bird’ s-eye view of the lake.
From there, it was back to Bretaye along a wide gravel road. Looking at the cable car stations, one could imagine what it looks like in winter. I would definitely like to come back here to enjoy the winter fun as well.
Le Chamossaire View Point
From the Bretaye train station, it’s just a short walk downhill to the chairlift that takes you to the top of La Chassomiere, the highest viewpoint above Villars-sur-Ollon. Since we had a little more time, we took a little “detour”. But it was definitely worth it. At the top is an enclosed lookout point on a rocky cliff, from where you have spectacular views of the mountains in the Les Diablerets area, but also of Leysin, over which the Tour d’Aï towers with its characteristic shape.
Summary
- The trail is 5.4 km long and is not suitable for a stroller. However, the path to Lac de Chavonnes is suitable for strollers, so if this short walk is enough for you (you can definitely do it with small children), make sure you come here!
- Don’t forget your swimwear in the summer months.
