Panorama hike from Leysin to La Riondaz

Getting there

This hike takes place in canton Vaud, and is easily accessible from Lausanne (1:10 h by train) or Geneva (2 h). It’s a rather small town, so avoiding cars is better whenever possible.

Starting point: Leysin-Grand-Hôtel

Finishing point: Leysin-Grand-Hôtel

Distance: 7.6 km

Total time: approx. 3 h

Elevation gain: 460 m

Fitness difficulty: Moderate

Technical difficulty: Easy

Facilities: There’s a toilet, a table with a bench, and a BBQ place at the trailhead. On the trail there is a refuge with a restaurant, which opens seasonally.

Notes:

• It’s a natural refuge for animals, so there are closed areas to the public, and certain activities (e.g., drones) are not allowed. However, it also means that one can see animals!
• Those afraid of heights might struggle with the peak portion of the hike, which is quite narrow and almost going through the ridge.
• If going in interseason, better to check for the presence of snow, as it makes the hike more challenging.

The hike itself

We took the train until Aigle, where we transferred to an R70 train, a small regional train that starts going through the city. It eventually changes directions and starts climbing up the mountain, with some regions pretty steep!

There’s a few minutes walk between the station and the trailhead, so don’t despare yet if you don’t see a toilet – it’ll be at the actual trailhead. Already there, once you reach the trailhead, you can see spectacular views of the mountains surrounding the area. The area of the parc is also a protected area, with some wild animals, so it’s not allowed to have drones, and in some regions to practice winter sports.

The path is very well marked, and the first climb until the Refuge de Solacyre is very straightforward. The refure has a restaurant, which was closed when we were there in April. It will probably reopen in summer, so it’s worth checking the website if that’s a stop one is interested in.

The hike started getting a bit more challenging from this point onwards, mostly because there were still patches of snow, and they were perfectly located on the path. This made the path much more slippery than we anticipated, so I wouldn’t recommend visiting in this season without making sure one has the right equipment.

Towards the peak

The path towards the peak La Riondaz is relatively steep and narrow. The views from the top, however, are spectacular! You can see the Lac Léman, and the Restaurant Tournant Le Kuklos, and experience in itself – a restaurant that rotates inside! -, which I’d like to visit some day.

I will admit that we did struggle with the way down due to the snow deposits on the mountain, with a couple of areas that were too steep and got us sliding a bit unconfortably downhill. We survived unscratched, although we then had to cross an area full of snow before we arrived back to the path we took at the beginning. Snow hike integrated!

Highlights of the hike

This is a relatively easy hike that offers spectacular views. It’s ideal for a chill day trip, especially for those living in the French-speaking area of Switzerland.