Furka, Grimsel and Susten by Motorcycle: The Swiss Three Passes Loop

If you ask a group of riders to name the best single day in the Swiss Alps, most will describe this loop. From Andermatt, three of the great Swiss passes join into a circuit of around 135 kilometres: the Furka to Gletsch, the Grimsel to the Haslital, and the Susten back to the Reuss valley. Each pass has its own character, and between them they cover almost everything the Alps can throw at you: open high mountain, hairpin stacks, dams, glaciers and some of the best engineered road in Europe.

Planning the loop

Andermatt sits at the crossroads of the central Swiss Alps and is the natural base. From here you can ride this loop one day, the Gotthard, Nufenen and Furka the next (see our Gotthard Tremola and Nufenen guide), and the Oberalp toward Graubünden on a third. Innertkirchen, Meiringen and Gletsch also work as bases, and the loop can be ridden in either direction. The order below, Furka first, puts the Furka and Grimsel in morning light and the Susten in the afternoon.

The route, section by section

Andermatt over the Furka to Gletsch (about 30km). Leave Andermatt west through Hospental and Realp. Above Realp the Furka road climbs in a series of hairpins to the summit at 2,429 metres. The eastern side is a little narrower and steeper; the western descent is the famous one. A few hundred metres below the top stands the Hotel Belvédère, a landmark building on a hairpin above the Rhône glacier, and the hairpins below it are the stretch Sean Connery drove in Goldfinger. The glacier has shrunk a long way back from the road, but the view down the Goms valley is still enormous. At the bottom lies Gletsch, a tiny hamlet with a grand old hotel and a station on the Furka steam railway.

Gletsch over the Grimsel to Innertkirchen (about 40km). From Gletsch the Grimsel climbs a wall of hairpins visible from the Furka. It is short and wide, with good grip. At the summit (2,164 metres) the dark Totensee lake sits among bare granite, and a cluster of hotels and kiosks serves the passing bikes. The northern side is a different world: the road drops past the Grimselsee and Räterichsbodensee reservoirs and their dam walls, through granite slabs polished by ice, and on down through Guttannen to Innertkirchen in the Haslital. This side has long, fast, open sections; a lot of the bends are fast sweepers with bad consequences if you run wide, and police speed checks are common.

Innertkirchen over the Susten to Wassen (about 45km). The Susten was built as a showcase of Swiss road engineering, and it shows: a wide, well-surfaced road with stone walls, tunnels and bridges, climbing steadily from Innertkirchen through Gadmen. Near the top the Steingletscher hotel faces the Stein glacier and its lake, and the summit tunnel crosses the ridge at around 2,224 metres. The descent down the Meiental to Wassen is long and quiet, through tunnels and galleries and across alpine pasture. It is one of the most satisfying descents in the Alps.

Timing the day

The loop is short enough that riders are tempted to rush it, and long enough that a late start costs you. Aim to be on the Furka by nine, before the coaches and campervans climb up from Realp and Oberwald. Coffee at Gletsch or on the Grimsel summit, lunch in Innertkirchen or Meiringen, the Susten in the early afternoon, and you are back in Andermatt by mid-afternoon with time for the Oberalp if you still have energy. On a busy summer weekend, riding the loop the other way round, Susten first, can put you against the main flow of traffic. If the weather looks unsettled, do the Furka and Grimsel first: they are higher and more exposed, and the Susten's tunnels and galleries give some shelter if a shower comes through later.

Wassen back to Andermatt (about 20km). From Wassen follow the old road up the Reuss valley through Göschenen and the Schöllenen gorge, where the road and the railway squeeze past the Devil's Bridge before opening out into the Urseren valley and Andermatt.

The roads

All three passes are well maintained. The Furka is the narrowest, with sections where two coaches cannot pass and some unguarded edges on the Realp side. The Grimsel and Susten are wide, with long open bends. Postbuses run on all three: they have priority on mountain postal roads and announce themselves with a three-tone horn, so give them room. Expect cyclists on every climb and campervans in the hairpins. Fuel is available in Andermatt, Innertkirchen and Wassen; fill up before each pass.

Switzerland enforces speed limits strictly, with fines that rise steeply with speed, and police check bike noise and modifications at popular spots. Ride the posted limits on the fast northern Grimsel and the Susten approaches.

When to go

The three passes are closed in winter and usually open between late May and mid-June, closing again in October or November depending on snow. They can also close at short notice for snow or storms in summer. July to September is the reliable window, and early mornings or weekdays avoid the busiest traffic. Check pass status with the Touring Club Schweiz (TCS) or the cantonal road services before you set off. If the Furka is closed, a car-carrying train runs through the Furka base tunnel between Realp and Oberwald.

Swiss motorways need a vignette, including for motorcycles; the pass roads themselves are free. Buy the e-vignette through the official Swiss federal channel to avoid reseller fees.

Where to stay

Andermatt and Hospental at the eastern end, Gletsch and Oberwald in the Goms, and Innertkirchen or Meiringen in the Haslital are the classic bases. See our biker hotels in the Swiss Alps. The loop combines well with the Great St Bernard further down the Rhône valley, and riders heading east can carry on over the Oberalp toward the Stelvio, covered in our Stelvio and Dolomites guide.