Mountain bike tours

Mountain bike tours

Valais Alpine Bike 4. Grächen-Brig

This Valais Alpine Bike stage takes you along the route of the UCI 2019 Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships and brings you to the enchanting Gibidum Pass and the lake of the same name.

  • Difficulty

    medium, S2

    Difficulty : medium
    S2 Many obstacles such as roots, stones and larger steps; tight corners. Certain passages may have gradients of up to 70%. Basic technique required, including controlled braking and body displacement to overcome obstacles
  • Length

    50.9 km

  • Duration

    5:00 h

  • Show on map

For this stage of the Valais Alpine Bike route, you set off from the village of Grächen along a rural road towards Gasenried. The first highlight is a magnificent descent towards Mattsand on the Mattsand Enduro route. To reach Stalden further down the valley, take the Matterhorn Valley Trail, which follows the historic path lined with drystone walls that is included in Switzerland’s Federal Inventory of Historic Transport Routes. From Stalden, the cable car takes you to Gspon in just a few minutes. From the mountain station, the magnificent Gspon Panorama Bike route passes through the forest of Sädol before reaching – with a good deal of effort – the Gibidum Pass and its bucolic lake. The alpine scenery on this high plateau offers the perfect opportunity to stop for a contemplative moment against the backdrop of the Valais Alps. At this point you enter the wilderness of the Nanztal Valley. A steep but smooth descent takes you to the Nidristi alpine pasture before a last easy, top-quality trail leads to Brig, the destination of this stage.

Available offers

Valais Alpine Bike - Option Crans-Montana - Brig

On this bike tour, great biking fun awaits you on the mountain pastures with culinary highlights, re...
From 949 CHF

Biking along bisses, culinary highlights on the Alps, relaxing in thermal baths and kilometre-long descents: during the ride along the Valais Alpine Bike, you can do several things from your Valais to-do list at once. But actually, the ride is too beautiful to simply tick it off. It's best to start again from the beginning

Valais Alpine Bike

Snow-white mountain peaks, sunny valleys and the idyllic Alps: there are countless reasons to visit...
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Pure pleasure on Valais single trails

Snow-white mountain peaks, sunny valleys and the idyllic Alps: there are countless reasons to visit Valais, but the one that attracts bikers to the south of the Alps the most is the innumerable single trails. Starting from the thermal resort of Leukerbad, the Valais Bike takes you on wonderful trails down the flanks of the Rhône Valley to Gampel-Steg. From there you continue to Raron and take the cable car up to Unterbäch. Take a deep breath and brace yourself because the next day you’ll climb up to the imposing Moosalp before following a fast trail down to the Matter Valley. The picturesque Gibidum lake will tempt you to linger awhile, but the bike tour comes to an end shortly thereafter at the Stockalper Palace in Brig. Be it a valley or peak: this bike tour through Valais provides many good reasons for a second visit.

Valais Alpine Bike - Option Brig - Grimentz

Experience a varied mountain bike tour from Brig to the Lötschtal and on to Sierre and the Val d'Ann...
From 709 CHF

Lötschental & Val d'Anniviers

A stone's throw from the bustling centre of the canton of Valais, the largely unspoilt Lötschental awaits you. Here you fight your way uphill along narrow roads, but the effort is well worth it, because once you reach the top, fantastic panoramas await you. The ride back to civilisation takes you first along remote trails before you return through vineyards to lively Sierre. Too much hustle and bustle? Then the lonely Val d'Anniviers is just right. To get in the mood, try a trail along the valley flank, a detour to the Lac de Moiry and finally, a ride down to Grimentz. The two valleys will inspire you!

Your accommodation in a click

On our e-Shop, you can easily find and book the accommodation of your dreams from a wide selection of offers throughout the canton.

Turn-by-turn directions

Setting off from Grächen, take the Mattsand Enduro route, which provides pure adrenaline after a short climb to Gastenried and on to the village of Mattsand. Then take the Matterhorn Valley Trail until you reach Stalden lower down the valley, from where you catch the cable car to Gspon. The Gspon Panorama Bike tour starts from the mountain station and takes you through the forest nature reserve of Sädol to reach the Gibidum Pass along a fairly physically demanding alpine path. Starting from the Gibidum Pass, a wide and steep yet flowing 4x4 trail drops down into the Nantzal Valley and runs alongside the alpine pasture of Nidristi to Schratt. The route then continues in the direction of Brig on a first-class trail which – after an initial technical section – provides a fast and ideal downhill ride.

View the stage on video

Start: Grächen (1613 m)
Destination: Brig (672 m)

Author's recommendation

After the gruelling altitude difference of the climb from Gspon, cool off in the mountain lake on the Gibidumpass amid the uniquely beautiful mountain world.

Technical information

  • Altitude

    2201 m 672 m

  • Ascent

    890 m

  • Descent

    2900 m

  • Technique

    Bewertung: 3 .0 von 5.0 Punkten

  • Stamina

    Bewertung: 3 .0 von 5.0 Punkten

  • Experience

    Bewertung: 6 von 5.0 Punkten

  • Landscape

    Bewertung: 6 .0 von 5.0 Punkten

Public transport

Take the train to Visp (SBB) then the Visp–Zermatt line (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn) to St. Niklaus. Then take the postal bus to Grächen. Don’t forget to book a place for your mountain bike on the St. Niklaus–Grächen line on the Resabike platform (www.resabike.ch).

Approach

From Basel and Zurich: Take the A1 motorway to Bern; A6 to Spiez; follow the sign to Kandersteg; Kandersteg–Goppenstein car-carrying train; follow the sign to Visp; St. Niklaus; Grächen.

From Geneva: Take the A1 motorway to Lausanne; follow the sign to Sion/Sierre; Visp; St. Niklaus; Grächen.

From Milan: Take the A8/A26 motorway in the direction of Simplon; Iselle-Brig car-carrying train; follow the sign to Visp; St. Niklaus; Grächen.

Parking

Follow the directions for parking in Visp, St. Niklaus or Grächen. For this stage of the Valais Alpine Bike Tour, we recommend that you park your vehicle in Brig or Visp and travel to Grächen by public transport (SBB train/MGB train/postal bus). Remember to reserve a place for your mountain bike on the St. Niklaus-Grächen line on the Resabike platform (www.resabike.ch).

Equipment

We recommend: bike in excellent working order, helmet, gloves and bell, clothing suitable for the weather (always carry a waterproof), food and drink.

Preparing for mountain bike outings

Safety information

Follow the Valais Alpine Bike route no. 41 in Mountainbiking in Switzerland. View this tour on SwitzerlandMobility: Valais Alpine Bike no. 41.

Use marked bike trails and routes only, making sure you observe all signposting.

Kindly close gates after passing through. Please be considerate to walkers, as well as to plants and animals. As a rule, walkers have priority. When planning, take into account participants’ fitness level and ability. All riding is at one’s own risk.

Preparing for mountain bike outings

Additional information

Book one of the Valais Alpine Bike holiday offers! Choose between three, four or seven nights and enjoy some great riding days. You will be staying in bike hotels and will be provided with a daily luggage transport service; all that’s left for you to do is hit the trails! Go to www.visitvalais.ch/shop-valais-alpine-bike

More information : 

Valais Bike regional route: see full itinerary

View this tour on SwitzerlandMobility: Valais Alpine Bike no. 41

Literature

Get the the Valais/Wallis mountain bike map to discover the best routes in the region.

The tourist offices in Grächen and in Brig have got brochures and information material about mountain biking in the region.

Maps

SwissTopo Maps 1:25'000: 

  • 1308 St. Niklaus
  • 1289 Brig