The Holiday Trilogy Part 1: Le Chasseral

Well, it’s been a while... Even though I was hiking a lot since my last blog post, I somehow didn’t find the time (and the desire) to sit down and write about them. :) Less computer, more reality, was the motto for the last few months, but now that period is eventually over and it's time to pick up the writing again. For a start, I will cover three hikes from my vacation beginning of May. Initially, those holidays would have been spent in Scotland, but as the Covid situation wasn’t yet good enough, I had to cancel the flight and decided to check out the western part of Switzerland instead. As the weather hadn’t been too good and the mountains were still covered in snow, it was the perfect occasion to check out some places that were on my list for a long time already. To start things off properly, I opted to visit the Chasseral (a popular peak in the Jura Mountains) and combine it with a short side trip to the highest point of the canton Neuenburg. It’s also the perfect start into this little “holiday trilogy”, so here is what happened that day. :)

Having spent a rather cold night on a campsite at the Lake of Biel, I made my way in the early morning to the small village of Frinvillier, my starting point of today’s hike. Blue sky and a shining sun accompanied me on the walk out of the village and a moment later, a turnoff led me to the right into the woods. Without having had the chance to warm up, the first steep ascent that followed was kinda tough, but luckily the lovely trail and the beautiful forest were distracting enough. Also distracting, but in a negative way, was the noise coming from the nearby highway and I was glad once I was out of earshot and all the noise that remained was the tweeting of the birds. :) Coming upon a dirt road after a while, it was the first time I had a view into the distance and what a gorgeous one it was. Looking towards the plain where I had come from, I could see the Alps at the horizon shooting up into the sky. It simply was a lovely sight to behold and the perfect spot for a short rest. :)

Unfortunately, the Alps were too far away to be seen on this picture

Moving on along the hiking trail after the break, it didn’t take long until I hit the same road again. This time however, the trail ended and I had to continue my hike along the dirt road. No worries though, as the scenery in that part remained splendid enough. :)

Unfortunately, the longer I stayed on the road, the duller became the walk, as the landscape simply didn't offer any kind of variety. When I had read about the hike in advance, the talk was of loads of blooming flowers in spring, but may be spring was late this year, as there was nothing blooming at all. Well, at least some entertainment was given by two barking dogs at a farmhouse and a first passage of the trail that was still covered in snow. Passing through a grove, I eventually started to walk along the Chasseral ridge and it didn’t take long anymore until I could see the huge antenna on top of the Chasseral for the first time. It was a lovely view to behold and soon afterwards, the blooming flowers appeared as well. Okay, blooming might have been the wrong word, as they all hung their heads and looked pretty battered after the cold weather from the last couple days. Following the ridge for a while, the hike became almost a bit dull again. Once more the scenery mostly remained the same, consisting of groves, tattered flowers and green hills to either side of the ridge. Views into the distance there were none, except towards the peak and its antenna every now and then. My expectations had been a bit higher to be honest, but at least I couldn’t complain about too many people on the trail, as I usually was alone with the everlasting tweeting birds. :)

Just to give you an idea how it looked like for most of the time. Clouds also covered the sky by now and they obviously didn't help to make things better :)

Passing through another grove and basically right when I thought it can’t get any duller, I scaled a rise and for the first time since that viewpoint in the beginning, had a lookout towards the horizon. Uff, finally! And as it was after noon already, I decided to eat my lunch right there. :) It was nice to look at the Alps in the distance once more and when a curious suricate came to say hello, my spirits were definitely lifted again. :)

The view during my lunch break. Looking towards the Lake of Biel

Resuming my walk about 40 minutes later, the best part of today’s hike ensued. Slowly ascending towards the peak of the Chasseral, the views got better and better, not only towards the Alps, but also towards the antenna. Growing bigger and bigger in size, it just was too conspicuous to ignore it. But also the snow that still covered a big part of the trail, was a welcome change to the scenery and while I trudged through the white mass, the dull parts of before were more than forgotten. :)

Approaching the top and its highly visible landmark :)

Coming upon the peak, I couldn’t really stay below the antenna, as there still was the chance of icicles falling down and so I decided to take the mandatory summit break a bit further away. It was still cloudy and the wind was blowing fast, but with the magnificent panoramic view that spread all around me, that was no problem at all!

The view from the top. The lake to the left is the Lake of Biel, the lake to the right is the Lake of Neuenburg

Moving on about 30 minutes later, it was time for the side trip to the highest point of the canton Neuenburg. Following the road down from the top, I passed the restaurant with its bus stop and stepped onto a proper hiking trail, which continued along the ridge of the Chasseral. With the road remaining 20 meters to my left, it felt a bit strange to walk along that trail, but I guess they had made it for safety reasons, as the road is usually pretty busy, even in low season. Well, I slowly descended along that hiking path and soon came across a couple viewpoints. Unfortunately, none of them were marked and I wasn’t sure which one of them was the highest point. Having read that there was a stone marking the point, as well as the border between the cantons of Bern and Neuenburg, I just carried on, descending further, until I reached a pass where exactly a stone like that stood. Assuming that that was the highest point, I took some pictures, but my gut feeling told me to check the map as well and yep, of course I was in the wrong place. :) Retracing my steps to the viewpoints while using the GPS to make sure I got it right this time, I eventually located the correct spot and stared at a small stone buried in the ground, marking the highest point of the canton Neuenburg. :) Well, I guess they aren’t too proud of it, as otherwise they definitely would have marked it better. :) The view however was simply stunning and for quite a while I enjoyed the marvelous outlook towards the flat country of western Switzerland.

You can see the stone that marks the highest point in the ground towards the left. No wonder I missed it the first time :)

Resuming my hike after some time, I headed for the pass again and afterwards followed the road down the Chasseral for a few minutes. Turning right at the next possibility, I started to descend and soon entered the woods once more. Alternating between paths and roads, forest and open sky, it certainly wasn’t the most entertaining descent ever, but at least every now and then a beautiful view back to the Chasseral appeared.

And finally some blooming flowers! :)

All in all, the time passed fast and approaching the end of my hike in Lignières, I was glad that I was on time for the hourly bus back to the campsite at the Lake of Biel. While the first part of today for sure won't go down in history, the second part definitely made up for that and so I left the Chasseral behind with positive vibes only. :)

Highlight of the day: the views around the top of the Chasseral

This hike is for you if:

- you want to stand on the highest point of the canton Neuenburg

- you’re looking for panoramic views towards the plains of western Switzerland

- you want to hike along a ridge that isn’t exposed at all

- you want to visit one of the most conspicuous antennas of Switzerland :)

This hike is not for you if:

- you’re looking for diversity

- you mind to walk in the forest a lot

- you want to avoid popular hiking areas

Once more, this is a hike that is pretty straightforward. Most of the time you can just follow the "Jura Höhenweg", which is marked at every turnoff with the number 5. Basically the only time you won't follow it, will be if you choose to descend to Lignières as well. There was one point during the descent where a turnoff wasn't marked (around number 4 on the map above), so have a map ready to recheck your position every now and then. If you want to shorten the hike, you also can take the bus down the Chasseral, but beware, as the bus is only running in high season. As for the highest point of the canton Neuenburg, it's marked as Chasseral Ouest on some maps, otherwise feel free to use the picture in this blog post for your orientation. :)