Upper Valais

Shuttle paradise

Why you should go there: The amount of high quality natural trails that can be accessed by public transport and cable cars is definitely worth a trip. Additionally, the region has started to invest in more purpose built trails some of which are among the better we have seen. If you are looking for a one or two week bike vacation in summer, you can easily ride new trails every day due to the huge amount of trails available. 

The upper Valais with its long cultural heritage, picturesque little mountain towns and breathtaking scenery is a singletrail heaven. Whereas the Goms-Region mainly runs on tourism, the main valley in Brig and Visp are home to some larger employers where most locals work. Even though the area is touristic, especially in winter and summer, it still has that authentic feel to it. 

The lower south facing mountains can usually be ridden almost all year round as the region does not get a lot of precipitation and more hours of sunlight than most other regions in central Europe. Even some cable cars that transport bikes run all year round. Make sure to check a few webcams before travelling there in winter though. 

As the valley is nested deep into the Swiss Alps, for most people it takes a while to get here. It is highly recommended to use public transportation to get there and to get around locally. The high speed train from Zurich or Geneva just takes two hours to get into the region. 

Who is it for: If you like natural singletrails descents that can be accessed without too much pedalling and you have the technical skills, this might just be your dream location. 

Who should avoid it: Beginners and riders with less technical abilities will have very few options here. Apart from one run in the bikepark, there is hardly anything that will make you happy. 

Trails

There are almost an infinite number of singletrails in this small area. To give you an overview, we have broken it down into six subregions (from east to west):

In the most eastern subregion Goms & Bellwald the singletrail density might not be as high as in some of the others but still worth a visit. The Alpine mountain passes that mostly open at the beginning of June and close in November all have buses that transport bikes. The trails can be technically challenging. If you like purpose built trails make sure to visit Bikepark Bellwald that has recently heavily invested in new trails. It is one of the few places where the trails are equally fun for the beginner and expert rider. Highly recommended. Head to this area if you enjoy calm places with natural beauty.

The Aletsch Arena that is home to Europe’s largest glacier consists of three mountain towns that are all connected by its own cable car from the valley bottom. There are a lot of very scenic and technically challenging trails that can be combined to an all day adventure. In the fall of 2021 the Bettmeralp opened a cable car accessible flow trail that is mainly aimed at kids and beginners. 

Brig is argueably the nicest city in the area with its cosy old town center. It is also hub to several bus lines, some of which go up higher than 2000 meters above sea level. Together with an hour or two of hike a bike you can reach descents of up to 2000 meters vertical. Most trails are natural and can be technically very challenging. To reach the trails, it is also possible to pedal from the city center. Make sure to reserve your place on bus as the bike racks are heavily used especially during peak season in the sommer months. 

The town of Visp with the huge chemical plant from Lonza (they produce the vaccine for Moderna) is not very scenic. However, the region is home to some of the best natural singletrails out there. There are several buses that either drive up very high or can also be combined with a cable car to reach the downhills. Even though most descents here are also technically challenging, it might be the location with the easiest and flowiest trails in the area. This  is the perfect place to get in many runs supported by bus shuttle. 

Further West, there are three additional mountain towns that can be accessed by small cable cars that transport bikes. Whereas the North facing (Unterbäch & Eischoll) trails are mostly in the forest and flowier, the South facing trails of Gampel/Jeizinen are rockier. The latter trails can be ridden mostly all year round due to their perfect sun exposure. This is your go-to place for early season riding.

The Lötschental recently also started to invest in its biking infrastructure and started to optimize the trails for bike use. There is also a cable car to access most trails keeping the needed pedalling to a minimum. Beautiful views included. 

Food & Drinks

As the area we are covering is huge, it is quite difficult to point out the best places. Here are a few that we liked: