Le Moléson to Plan-Francey Via The Tremetta Trail

We enjoyed our last hike so much that we decided to go back and bring Jonathan with us this time. We opted for a different trail as our last hike was too steep, however it offered amazing views and an ambiance that just felt like Switzerland. We were hoping for a similar feeling with a different route that was less steep, however a few miles longer.

We opted for the Tremetta Trail (#11) which went from the summit in Le Moleson to Gros-Plané, where we took a short break at the buvette and then finished at the Funicular in Plan-Francey. The hike took us 4 hours (not including our stop at the buvette) and was 5.68 miles (9.14 km) according to my Garmin watch.

We parked in Moléson-sur-Gruyere at the funicular station and then took the funicular and the cable car to the top. Once at the top, we ate lunch at the restaurant and hit the trails around 1:00 with full stomaches. The three hikes (#8, #11, and #12) all depart from same area outside of the cable car station (as you exit the cable car take the steps on your right (same steps as to the toilettes)). The Tremetta trail follows the crest of the mountain quite some time and then turns right and goes downhill looping back toward Plan-Francey (passing through Gross-Plané). Trail #12 follows the crest for a shorter period and then turns left and goes down into the valley and wraps around the mountain the other direction. Along our way we followed signs for the Tremetta trail (also marked as the A5). The trails are well marked, however you have to know what you are looking for. We knew our trail (Tremetta #11) from the map above was also marked as the A5 because I had looked online ahead of time. The A5 sign also says in small letters underneath "Tremetta". The A1 is a marker for trail #12 from the map above, which wraps around the mountain in the other direction.

While walking along the crest of the moutain at the beginning of the trail, you are often walking right next to the electric cow fences. Pay attention not to accidentally brush up against the fence (as Eliana once swung her hand and it hit the fence and she got a small shock).

The fog was moving quickly from one side of the mountain to the other. We didn't choose the clearest day for this hike, but the temperature was perfect!

The trail is inside of where the cows graze so also beware of cow pies which scatter all over the path. You are sharing this hiking trail with Swiss cows who roam freely in the mountains all Spring and Summer. The path is sometimes rocky, sometimes muddy and sometimes gravel/grass mixture. There are other markings along the way painted on rocks or trees, however pretty intermittently. The children have fun playing eye-spy with these trail markers.

Eliana spotting a rock painted red and white which marked that we were still on the trail.

Lollipops are wonderful motivation while hiking (especially after about 2 hours in to the hike - she is a trooper!)

Of the 5.68 miles, Lucas was able to walk about 1.5 miles and then rode in the backpack for the rest. Due to safety reasons, he was in the backpack at the beginning as we were walking near some cliffsides and electrical fences. After we descended at least half way he was able to walk for a period of time. We only put him back in the carrier again because we wanted to have enough time to stop at the buvette and make the last funicular train down to the bottom (otherwise we were going to have to walk the last portion of the trail as well and we had tired feet and a tired Eliana).

Finding rocks to climb on

At the very end of our hike - Eliana has decided that she is finished

There were 2 beautiful wooden crosses along this route that were really breathtaking along the top ridge of the mountain:

This was part of the steeper section of the trail, however not as steep as trail #8 (Bonfontaine) which we hiked last time.

Overall, I am very happy with this trail and highly recommend it over trail #8 (Bonfontaine) which was incredibly steep with children and covered in loose rock that seemed to roll out from under your feet on the hillside. This trail had portions of steep areas, however we were able to maintain our footing and never were required to turn around and climb backwards or sit down on our bums to slide down as we did with trail #8. The views are still spectacular, however the distance is longer.

The children do love funiculars and cable cars so they always look forward to the ride up and down: