Europe

Hiking by the Moiry lake and the Moiry glacier, Switzerland

Deep in the beautiful Anniviers Valley in the canton of Valais lies this artificial lake with an incredible intense turquoise water that immediately take your breath away. Many years ago, I think it was in 2012, David and I did a loop hike around the lake Moiry. It was a wonderful day!

First comes love.Then comes marriage.Then comes baby…

How to get there by public transportation: Take the train to Sierre and then a Carpostal bus all the way to Moiry lake. For the timetable have a visit HERE.

By car : At the end of the highway A9, take the exit Sierre-Est and then to Val d’Anniviers. Continue to drive all the way via Grimentz and then to the Moiry lake. There are two parking lot by the lake. One by the restaurant and the second one is on the other end of the lake by the Moiry glacier.

There are many choices of trails around this wonderful Moiry lake!

For those who are not into long hikes you should come anyway because one don’t need to walk very far or not at all to have a gorgeous view because the parking lot is just by the Moiry dam! You can have lunch and drinks with a gorgeous backdrop of the intense blue lake and the mountain range by the restaurant Clem’s and Fab’s!

As we did our hike before having Mirabelle we didn’t test this child friendly trail ourself but I have gathered some information about the trail for you. All these three options starts from the lake restaurant Clem’s and Fab’s.

Another importating thing, you won’t be able to walk all the way to the glacier with a stroller!

Option 1. STROLLER FRIENDLY: Follow the road along the left-hand mountainside for cars. Walk all the way to the parking by Moiry glacier and take a Postal bus back.

  • With this option it should take you about 1.30-2 hour from the restaurant to parking by the glacier.

Option 2. NOT STROLLER FRIENDLY: In my opinion a better and nicer choice is to start by crossing over the dam and then getting onto the lower trail on the right-hand lakeside path. All the way to the parking by the Moiry glacier and then take a Postal bus back.

  • With this option it should take you about 1.30-2 hours with an ascent and descent of 368 m.

Option 3. The option three is to do the loop hike! Which I don’t think is necessary as I belive it’s better to use the time for playing in the water (ice cold!), take the time to walk all the way to the glacier and have an ice-cream at the restaurant.;) But if you decide to go for it :

  • The loop trail around Moiry lake is 10,6 km long and should take about 4-5 hour to complete with an ascent and descent of 368 m.

If you decide to take the Carpostal bus back please click here to organise and check the departure of the CarPostal bus from Moiry glacier.

WARNING ! Please keep in mind depending on the time of the day, this hike provide very little or no shade at all ! Come prepared for the kids such as sun hat, sunscreens and water!

Photo credit: Here

Cabane de Moiry, 2825 m

Another hike what it seem to be a cool one is to walk all the way up to the Cabane de Moiry! Either from the base of the Moiry glacier or all the way from the restaurant. Once up by the cabin you can eat and even sleep up there.

For more information about the cabane de Moiry please visit HERE and HERE .

Starting point: Last car park after Barrage de Moiry, by the glacier.

Starting elevation:  2349m

Total elevation gain: 476m

Total time required: 1 hr 30

Photo credit: Here

Photo credit: Here

 

The Haute tour du lac 2500 m

David and I opted for a 5 hours long hike on the Haute tour du lac 2500 m. We don’t remember the trail to be technically difficult or physically hard but on the way back we decided to hitchhike from the parking by the glacier to the restaurant.

  • The hike is 13.4 km long
  • Ascent and descent of 567 m

The lower path by the lake Moiry which is child friendly.

The trail starts once you have cross the dam and instead of continuing on the trail by the lake, you take the trail that leads you uphill.

Spectacular view of the Moiry lake and the Moiry glacier, Switzerland.

The milky blue color of the lake is a result of minerals from the melting ice of the Moiry glacier.Above the lake Moiry in the Anniviers Valley, Switzerland.

The Moiry glacier in front of us!

In stead of walking down to the parking lot, we continued our way direction Moiry glacier!

The Moiry glacier is 5 km long!

For those who are walking up from the nearest parking lot, you need to jump over water streams and rocks, but it’s not difficult only fun!

From here on we hitchhiked and took the Carpostal bus back to Sierre.

The easier trail for kids by the lake Moiry.

Something extra!

If you are interested you can have a guided tour inside the Moiry dam! Please click here for more information.

Photo credit: Here

Days/times : From Mid-June to End-September

Visits can be arranged every Tuesday at 14:00 (on request)

Meeting point :In front of the restaurant at the dam
Duration of visit :Between 1 and 1½ hours
Bookings :Up to 16:00 on the previous day - +41(0)27 476 17 00
Prices :Adults: CHF 9.-

Children: CHF 7.-

Please note :
  • From June to October, visits are free with the Pass Anniviers Liberté
  • Wear warm clothing
  • Group tours (in French or German) available on request

 

So there you go guys, visiting and hiking by the Moiry lake and glacier are something to put on your bucket-list for this summer in Switzerland!

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9 Comments

  1. This looks like a beautiful destination. The scenery is just amazing. Adding Moiry Lake to my Bucketlist now, its also great to know that it is also child friendly

  2. I have been wanting to revisit Switzerland for some time now. But don’t want to do the touristy trails. This hike to Moiry lake seems perfect. the views are so stunning. Glad you mentioned that this hike provides very little or no shade at all. I’ll make sure I am well prepared with my hat and sunscreen when I do it.

  3. Hiking up the trail of Moiry Glacier is really interesting. I would definitely take the option 1 to reach there and take the portal bus back.

  4. It looks like you had a wonderful experience at the Moiry Lake and thank you for sharing these great tips. Would love to try out the hike one day myself. Hopefully I will be able to do so in the near future.

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