Bern Canton, Rämisgummen.
To the main crocus field:
Distance: 1.7 km one way.
Elevation gain: 93m one way.
Walking time: 30 min one way.
Our walk overall:
Distance: 62 km loop.
Elevation gain: 247m loop.
Walking time: 1h 55min loop.
Access: Car.
Parking: Parking at road junction between Käsern, Geisshaldenalp, Rämisgummen - 46.885529, 7.856578 . The parking is small and it can get full very fast. On our way back in the afternoon the cars were parked on all the sides of all roads, spilling out of the parking.
Rämisgummen is located at around 1,220m in altitude and in 2021, when we visited this place on 24th April, it seemed an ideal timing to see this wonderful crocus carpet. It seems to be a nice place for all kinds of people: it is a short walk between the parking and the main crocus hill; and there are a few of longer, panoramic loops if someone wishes a longer hike. The crocus hill & the walk from the parking got rather busy during lunchtime as many people brought picnics with them. After lunch, it seemed that everyone dispersed elsewhere. We also came across many bumblebee queens, a few butterflies and we heard a frog! There were a few dog walkers too. We also came across a family with a pram - it is hilly, but it is doable as the incline of the main gravel road is not too steep. However, the gravel surely does not make it always easy to push a pram.
There is nowhere to purchase any snacks, but a picnic in between the crocuses is a lovely idea.
When to come here? As many spring flowers, it can be tricky to be there at an exact best time of the year. We managed to time our visit well on 24h April 2021. My trick to those things is to look up a # of a place on Instagram - for example, here I checked #rämisgummen to follow if the crocuses are all out and if they opened up already.
There are a few ways to approach this place - we spend there an almost full day. Walking to the main crocus hill took us ~ 30min and we stayed around the hill for a while, sitting around, admiring the views, taking pictures. After lunch, we went on a short walk (our son had a pedal-less bike with him) and followed the same way back to the car. The path to the Rämisgummenhoger peak was mostly a meadow path, while the rest was a gravel road with varying stone sizes. I would recommend going to the peak rather than taking the main road around it as the views from the top are really lovely.
Unfortunately, there are no small loop hikes around the main crocus hill, but there are ~13-15 km loops, which we almost agreed to hike.
In addition to crocuses, we also found white forget-me-nots, wood anemones and some yellow flowers I cannot name.
All the hiking routes can be viewed at SchweizMobil website here.
Rämisgummen doesn't seem to be a place advertised much by tourist offices. I have found out about this place from other bloggers: mainly from Family Earth Trek. Other bloggers who record this place nicely Permanent Tourist (mostly pictures), Emmental blog.
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