Grimsel Pass (2,164 m / 7,100 ft) and Susten Pass (2,260 m / 7,410 ft) are the two Swiss passes that turn a Furka crossing into a loop. Grimsel runs 38 km / 24 miles from Gletsch to Meiringen past a chain of hydroelectric reservoirs and is normally closed between October and May. Susten runs from Innertkirchen to Wassen on a road built between 1938 and 1946, and because it was engineered late and deliberately it has wide sweeping curves instead of the tight switchbacks of older passes. Together with Furka they make the classic three-pass day.
Two passes with completely different personalities
It is easy to lump these together because they share a valley, but they ride nothing alike.
Grimsel is an old route made industrial. The first fully documented crossing dates to the 14th century, a hospice is recorded on the pass in 1400, and the track was not upgraded to a paved road until 1894. Then, between the 1920s and the 1950s, Kraftwerke Oberhasli built a series of hydroelectric plants around the pass, which expanded and diverted the road and filled the valley with reservoirs and dam walls. The result is a pass road that alternates between raw high-alpine granite and engineering on a scale you do not expect at 2,000 m.
Susten is a modern road with a strategic origin. On the eve of the Second World War the Swiss federal government and the cantons of Bern and Uri agreed to modernise and pave the old mule route for defence and transport. The resulting 46 km road, with 26 bridges and tunnels, opened in September 1946. Because it was built late and to a plan rather than grown from a pack trail, it sweeps where older passes switchback.
Route at a glance
| Item | Grimsel Pass | Susten Pass |
|---|---|---|
| Summit elevation | 2,164 m / 7,100 ft | 2,260 m / 7,410 ft (road tunnel at 2,224 m / 7,297 ft) |
| Connects | Gletsch (Valais) and Meiringen (Bern) | Innertkirchen (Bern) and Wassen (Uri) |
| Length | 38 km / 24 miles | 46 km / 29 miles of engineered road, 26 bridges and tunnels |
| Climbs | Meiringen 595 m to summit | Innertkirchen 27 km / 1,599 m gain; Wassen 17.7 km / 1,308 m gain |
| Character | hairpins, tunnels, reservoirs, dam walls | wide sweeping curves, glacier views |
| Season | normally closed October to May | seasonal, typically mid-May or early June to end of October |
| Built | paved 1894, reshaped by hydro works 1920s–1950s | 1938–1946, opened September 1946 |
| At the summit | Totesee lake, hotels, large parking area | 300 m road tunnel, Stein Glacier viewpoint |
Send the full three-pass loop to your navigation app with the Meiringen–Gletsch–Realp–Wassen–Innertkirchen directions.
Grimsel from the north, a staircase of reservoirs
The northern approach starts in Meiringen at 595 m / 1,952 ft and works its way up the Aare valley. At Innertkirchen (625 m / 2,051 ft) the Susten road branches off — remember this junction, because you will come back to it. The road continues along the river to Guttannen at 1,057 m / 3,468 ft.
Beyond Guttannen it passes through a pair of short tunnels to Handegg at 1,378 m / 4,521 ft, where the Gelmerbahn funicular — the steepest in Switzerland — climbs the mountainside. From Handegg the road takes several hairpins and an 850 m / 2,790 ft tunnel up to the Räterichsbodensee reservoir, then continues to the Grimselsee and the Grimsel Hospice at 1,980 m / 6,500 ft. The final climb to the summit is a set of sweeping hairpins with the reservoir dropping away behind you.
At the top there are hotels, a large parking area and the Totesee at 2,160 m / 7,090 ft — a natural lake that has itself been enlarged into a reservoir. The Sidelhorn rises to 2,764 m / 9,068 ft to the west. It is worth knowing that the summit sits on the continental divide: water on one side eventually reaches the North Sea via the Aare and the Rhine, water on the other reaches the Mediterranean via the Rhône.
South of the summit the road drops steeply through more hairpins to Gletsch at 1,759 m / 5,771 ft, where it meets the Furka Pass road climbing the opposite side of the valley. From the Grimsel descent you get the best available view of Furka's hairpins.
Susten, the one that flows
Turn off at Innertkirchen and Susten does something different. The western climb is 27 km / 17 miles with 1,599 m / 5,246 ft of gain; the eastern side from Wassen is 17.7 km / 11 miles with 1,308 m / 4,291 ft. Both are laid out in long, open curves rather than stacked hairpins, because the engineers of 1938 had the space and the budget to route it that way.
For a lot of riders this makes Susten the most enjoyable of the three passes. You can hold a line, the sightlines are long, and the surface is generally excellent. It is also the least tiring on a heavy bike — which matters if it is your third pass of the day.
A 300 m tunnel crosses the pass at 2,224 m / 7,297 ft. The highlight, though, is on the south side: the Stein Glacier and the Steinsee sit below the road, and there is a proper viewpoint and parking to take it in. Do not rush past it.
Riding the three-pass loop
The standard version runs Meiringen — Innertkirchen — Grimsel — Gletsch — Furka — Realp — Andermatt — Wassen — Susten — Innertkirchen. Roughly 130 km / 80 miles of pass road, three summits above 2,100 m, and it closes on itself so you can base anywhere on it.
Ridden anticlockwise instead, you take Susten first while you and the tyres are fresh and finish with the Grimsel descent into the Haslital in evening light, which is arguably the better photograph. Either way, allow a full day: this is 130 km that behaves like 300.
If you are extending the trip, Andermatt puts the Oberalp, Gotthard and Nufenen passes within reach, and heading south-east leads toward Splügen and San Bernardino and the Italian border.
Practical information
Season. Grimsel is normally closed between October and May because of heavy snowfall, though as the only direct road pass between the cantons of Bern and Valais across the Bernese Alps, ploughs work to keep it open as long as possible each year. For the region generally, Andermatt's tourist board states that the alpine passes usually open between mid-May and the beginning of June and close at the end of October, weather depending, and advises checking current road conditions before crossing — particularly in spring and autumn. As of August 2026 that is the published guidance. The Grimselwelt visitor operation points travellers to its own road and avalanche bulletin and to the alpen-paesse.ch pass status service for live conditions.
Weather. Snow usually falls on the Grimsel from late September until late June, and it can snow at the height of summer during cool spells. Permanent snowfields remain near the pass most years. Plan for a summit temperature well below what the valley promised.
Tolls. Neither pass is tolled. The Swiss motorway vignette applies to motorways and expressways elsewhere on your route; buy one before you need it and check the official current arrangements rather than a printed figure.
Traffic. PostBus services run over the Grimsel several times a day between Meiringen and Oberwald. Postbuses have priority on mountain postal routes — give way promptly. Grimsel is also part of national cycle route 8, so expect cyclists on the climbs, and both passes appear on Tour de Suisse routes from time to time.
Fuel. Meiringen, Innertkirchen, Wassen and Andermatt. Nothing useful at any of the summits.
Gear notes
A three-pass day is a temperature-cycling exercise: valley floor at 600 m, summit at 2,260 m, three times over. That is hard on tyre pressures and on your own concentration.
Because the loop involves several valley-floor junctions where a missed turn costs an hour, it is worth having the whole thing loaded as a route rather than navigating pass to pass. The route planning guide covers building a multi-leg loop that survives the transfer to a device, and offline maps on a unit such as the JADO S6 riding system keep it visible in the deep Haslital and Urseren valleys where coverage is unreliable.
On pressures, a bike that was set correctly in Meiringen will read differently at the Totesee. A TPMS sensor gives you the number instead of a guess, and how motorcycle TPMS works explains what to do with it. Before a day this long, the pre-ride check is five minutes well spent — brakes in particular do a lot of work on the Grimsel descent.
FAQ
Which is better, Grimsel or Susten?
Susten is the better ride: wide sweeping curves, long sightlines and a good surface, because it was engineered in the late 1930s rather than grown from a mule track. Grimsel is the better spectacle, with its reservoirs, dam walls and the view across to the Furka hairpins. Do both.
When are the passes open?
Grimsel is normally closed from October to May. Regionally, the passes usually open between mid-May and early June and close at the end of October, subject to weather. Check live road conditions before travelling in spring or autumn.
How long does the three-pass loop take?
Around 130 km / 80 miles of pass road. Without stops that is three to four hours; with summit stops, the Stein Glacier viewpoint and the Rhône Glacier grotto, it is a comfortable full day.
Are the roads difficult?
Susten is among the easiest high passes in the Alps to ride. Grimsel is more demanding, with tight hairpins and steep gradients on the descent to Gletsch, but it is a wide, well-maintained road with barriers — nothing like the single-track sections of Gavia in Italy.
Is there a toll?
No toll on either pass. Switzerland's motorway vignette covers motorways and expressways, not pass roads.
Sources
- Grimsel Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimsel_Pass
- Susten Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susten_Pass
- Fascination Alpine passes, Andermatt Tourism — andermatt-sedrun-disentis.ch
- Grimsel Pass road conditions, Grimselwelt (Kraftwerke Oberhasli) — grimselwelt.ch
