Two days is enough for this valley if you spend them well. This is the exact weekend we plan for friends when they visit: one high trail, one swim, one long dinner — and the chapel lookout at an hour that makes everyone quiet.
Day one: the ridge and the lake
Leave after an early breakfast and take the juniper ridge trail straight from our gate. Three hours at a walking pace, with the whole valley opening below the second saddle. Drop to the lake for a swim, then follow the shore path back into the village for coffee.
Day two: the slow version
Sleep in, take breakfast on the terrace, then walk the forty-minute chapel loop before lunch. The afternoon belongs to the pool. Borrow our packs, poles and lake towels from reception — and take a packed lunch, because the ridge café closes earlier than you think.
"Go up for the views, come back for the swim, and be on the chapel steps an hour before sunset."
Ask at reception for the printed map — it marks the water stops, the shady benches and the one junction everyone walks past. Twice.
