Saflischpass da Bellwald

The classic Saflischpass loop, combined with the descent from Bellwald and a new trail leading to Brig. Both make for a phenomenal ride, without adding any elevation gain thanks to the train and the cable car. We start from Bellwald and take a gently sloping dirt road toward Niederwald. At a chapel, we leave the road and take the trail, which intersects the road again shortly afterward before descending steeply toward the Rhône Valley.

It’s a beautiful S2 forest trail with two short S3 sections that are somewhat exposed on the right, where we may need to push our bikes. We arrive at the valley floor, cross the cantonal road, and then the Rhône, switching sides. We continue with several ups and downs along a dirt road to Ernen, one of Switzerland’s most beautiful villages. We continue on paved road toward Binn, with very little traffic. Before a long tunnel, we turn right onto the old road—restored exclusively for bikes and pedestrians—called Twingi. Here, too, the gorge and the steep surrounding mountains are a spectacular sight.

We then continue on paved road toward Binn, before turning right and beginning a serious climb—though never too steep—toward the Saflisch Pass. Up to an elevation of 2,200 meters, we follow a beautiful dirt road that ends at a mountain hut. At an elevation of 2,100 meters, there’s a cool spring that invites you to take a break.

A trail begins at the mountain hut, with a very short initial section where you’ll need to push your bike; after that, the trail has been prepared for bikes and is absolutely spectacular.

It’s all rideable all the way to the pass, although the last few meters are steep, and only the fittest riders will make it up in the saddle.

Take a break to enjoy the view at the pass, and from there the very long descent begins—it’s fast and beautiful (S1, with a few stream crossings that can be tricky).

Before reaching the cable car that goes up from Rosswald, we turn left onto a bike-friendly trail (S1)—fast and smooth, with consistently fantastic views.

This brings us to some houses (with a fountain), and we continue on a dirt road before turning left onto another recently built trail (trail marker 81): this one is also beautiful, with a few tight switchbacks but never too much (S2). The trail runs through the woods and can be quite dusty.

We then reach a dirt road, which we ignore as we head left and take the trail that leads us to the old Simplon Pass road (S2 for a few tight switchbacks).

We follow it downhill until we reach the Stockalperweg, where the new, exhilarating trail begins, taking us up above Brig. The trail is full of large, fixed rocks, with a section requiring us to walk across two small bridges. S2, with some exposed sections. It has some very fast stretches.

We cross through Brig, head to the station, and take the train toward Andermatt to Fürgangen. From here, we can either bike the remaining 300 meters of elevation gain back to Bellwald or take the small cable car located next to the station. Note that it can only hold 2 bikes at a time.

The route can also be done without passing through Bellwald, though I recommend staying overnight there because of its beautiful, sunny location high up in the valley. You can start from Fiesch as described here, switch sides of the valley at Fürgangen via the Tibetan bridge, and rejoin the trail just before Ernen.