Pfannenstiel Panorama Trail above Lake Zurich's Gold Coast

Wednesday September 23, 2026 -- After 10 days of visits by friends and lots of riding trains with them, we don't want to do a lot of train traveling right now! But on this beautiful day we still wanted to do an excursion, just not going too far.

We don't often walk the trails above Lake Zurich, although the views there can be quite pretty, and on days with great visibility, you can even get a panorama view of the Alps. In fact, there is a special themed trail called the "Zurichsee Rundweg" (Trail around Lake Zurich), of which we have done a few sections on the south and west sides of the lake, but sadly very little on the north/east side.

As the fall weather is now getting less hot (although afternoons are still warm), we can attempt some lower elevation walks, and so we started in the town of "Uetikon am See" right on the lake about halfway down what is called the "Gold Coast", hiked up through a small ravine to the panorama trail, and enjoyed an easy walk northward to the ruins of the Friedberg fortress, from where we descended back to lake level at Meilen through another little ravine called the Dorfbachtobel, one we had descended once before on an early spring hike from the Pfannenstiel lookout tower in April 2018. 

We knew this would be a very short hike (only 9 km) so instead of going straight home from there, we stopped in Zurich at the Zurichhorn park to watch the Tinguely Sculpture called HEUREKA in motion, something we have talked about seeing for years. It runs three times per day in summer and the 3 p.m. run fit into our schedule... but with our luck, when we got there, it was out of order. Furthermore, it would have been a nice afternoon for a short boat ride on the lake, but due to the low water levels, the boats were not running...

PART I:  9-km Walk on the Pfannenstil Panorama Trail

Having left home at 8:15 and traveling via Zurich, we were headed south along the east side of Lake Zurich by 9:45, with views of the Albis Range on the west side of the lake. This side is nicknamed the "Gold Coast" of Lake Zurich because it receives lots of sunshine and is ideal for growing grapes. 

Our day's hike starts in the town of Uetikon (between Männedorf and Meilen) at 10 a.m., with, of course, a visit to the town's church, followed by an uphill walk through a small gorge. 

Even along a "megalopolis" like the sunny "Goldcoast" on this side of the lake, there are many quaint and old buildings to admire. 

Heading up an alley toward the church and the main part of the town of Uetikon. 

The church looms above us as we head up the alley. 

Half-way up the alley is a view bench where we sat for a couple of minutes, enjoying the first of many views we had of Lake Zurich this day. 

Evangelical Church in Uetikon

Details of the little Evangelical church in Uetikon which was built in 1681/1682 (The Catholic church is in Meilen). 

Cute little shop on the main road in Uetikon. 

By 10:30 we were headed up into the first little gorge. It was not a very strenuous ascent to the panorama trail. 

Such a lovely idyllic setting here in the little gorge. There are even benches where you can spend a cool break on a hot summer day. 

Cute little bridge which we had to cross to get out of the gorge for a small stretch, and then back into the gorge, where we walked along a cool forest trail for another 30 minutes along the stream called Haslibach, including a 10-minute break on a bench in the shade.  

By 11:10 we had joined the themed trail no.84: "Zurichsee Rundweg" (A trail that follows the entire circumference of Lake Zurich, of which we have done several sections on the west side of the lake). This is also part of another themed trail called the "Panoramaweg Pfannenstiel" because we are walking along a low mountain called Pfannenstiel. We are headed in the direction of Brand. 

Emerging now into the semi-agricultural area above the lakeside towns. 

And now we get the first of many nice views of the lake and the mountains further to the southwest, including Mt.Rigi, which dominates the landscape in the whole Zurich/Luzern area!

A close-up look at a couple of peaks we could just make out past the profile of Mt.Rigi, and we were surprised to see that those are the peaks of the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio which are very far away in the Bernese Alps!

It wasn't the best day for clear views of the Alps, but nevertheless, you can make out the Glarus Alps quite nicely on the south side of the lake! (Back in April 2018 when we did a hike here on the Pfannenstiel mountain to the look-out tower, we had much clearer views of the Alps. Those photos are HERE). 

After crossing another small forested section, we emerged into an upper plateau at these lovely buidings, which are actually a psychiatric clinic! (A private klinik called Hohenegg).  

As it was now 12:15, we found ourselves the perfect view bench in the shade, as the day was definitely getting warm!

Down below and slightly to the north we see the church tower of the town of Meilen, where we are going to end our hike. Across the lake is the city of Horgen. 

We were able to observe the auto ferries which connect Meilen to Horgen in 10-minute runs! An ideal way to cross the lake instead of driving via Zurich to the north or Rapperswil to the south, as this is about the center of the lake!

Time to continue along the panorama trail!

This is a special fountain called the Unot fountain. Since January 1912 there is a 28-km pipe which brings natural spring water from the Goldinger spring in the Goldingener Valley (Atzmännig) to here without the use of pumps. Naturally I filled up my bottle with this wonderful water!

Details about this interesting and unique fountain, and the transport of the water from the Goldinger springs, which emit water at 3500-3800 liters per minute, which then eventually get distributed to five communities here on the lake. 

Next to the well is a bench with a "book-box", the second one we had seen on this walk (when we took a break in the first little ravine). You can sit on the bench, enjoy the view, and read books all day! (I cannot recall exactly, but you might also be able to "take a book, leave a book" as one often sees here in the former telephone cabins.)

By 12:50 we had reached the hamlet called "Burg", next to the ruins of the former Friedberg Fortress. We had been in this village before in April 2018 when we walked down to Meilen from the Pfannenstiel look-out tower. 

Lovely houses in the small hamlet called Burg

Lovely houses in the hamlet called Burg

A quick detour to the grounds of the Friedberg Fortress ruins, which we also visited in April 2018. There is not a lot left, just a perimeter wall about one meter high. 

An information panel gives some history of the fortress and what it might have looked like. It seems to have its origins in the 13th Century, and first mentioned in documents of 1306 as a residence of various important people till 1354. By the mid 15th Century it could no longer be used as a residence, and is no longer mentioned in documentation. In 1902 the ruins were excavated. 

And now the final stretch down toward the railway line, about 20 minutes through the Dorfbach gorge. This is the lower portion of the gorge which we did not walk through on the April 2018 hike (we did the upper portion), but it is definitely more attractive than at the time. In particular, HERE is a photo from that blog album to compare.

We passed over a few such bridges and a couple of ponds. 

Very pretty at this time of year. 

Our 9-km, 2½-hour walk along the Lake Zurich "Gold Coast", starting in Uetikon at 10 a.m., and reaching Meilen at 13:25. (Due to not properly preparing ourselves for the short trip to Zurichhorn, we just missed the 13:33 train which we could easily have reached, and had to sit on a bench at the cemetery for about 25 minutes to catch the next train at 14:03). 

PART II: Tinguely Sculpture "Heureka" at the Zurichhorn Park on Lake Zurich

Catching the 14:03 train in Meilen for the 10-minute ride to Stadelhofen and then a tram back in the direction we had just come from, plus about a 10-minute walk, we reached the lakeside park at Zurichhorn at 14:30, with a specific plan to watch the Tinguely sculpture in action at 3 p.m. 

This is the Zurich Horn boat dock. But due to the severe heat waves we had this summer, the water level is too low for the ships to run at this time. Which is a shame, as we might have liked to have a short boat trip.

This lovely sculpture is called "HEUREKA", and the first "Goalless Motion Machine" by the famous Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, born in Fribourg. (His maybe most famous piece is the Tinguely Fountain in Basel, which I had visited in March 2019 (Photos HERE including a video). I had been here in this park once before to view this sculpture, but it was in winter (November 2022) and the sculpture is not "in motion" in winter. 

It wasn't yet 3 p.m., when we were expecting a show of the sculpture in motion (we had double-checked on the website before coming here). So we walked around it admiring it for a while, and keeping our eye on that empty bench in the shade there!

A confirmation on this placard that there are displays of the HEUREKA sculpture in motion three times per day for 8 minutes! The 3 p.m. timing worked perfectly for our excursion of the day, and we were really looking forward to the display. (Additional information: This was Tinguely's first such sculpture, created for the "Swiss National Exhibition" in Lausanne in 1964, which by the way I attended with my parents as a toddler..... ). 

....and what a disappointment to find out that "due to a technical defect, the artwork does not currently run, and they are trying to fix it as soon as possible!"

We did wait until 3 p.m. in the hopes that the sign was old and forgot to be removed, but no luck. Urs is checking the schedules for the next connection back home. (Side note: We also visited his moving sculpture in the fountain in Fribourg, where he was born. Photo HERE). 

A final look south to the Glarus Alps. On a clear day the views are fantastic, with the lake at the front and the snow-covered peaks (well... not in summer) in the background. (Compare this same photo with my November 2022 visit to the Zurichhorn Park --> HERE). 

A short bus ride from Zurich Horn to Tiefenbrunnen train station for the 15:15 train via Stadelhofen and Zurich for the 90-minute trip back home. (Home by 5 p.m.)

What our 9-km walk above Lake Zurich looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting in Uetikon, joining the panorama trail, and descending to Meilen. 

These are the hikes we have done in the lower Lake Zurich region. Tina Turner lived here on the "Gold Coast" (the eastern side of the lake) in Küsnacht, since 1998 till her passing in May 2023. 

A day on Mt. Rigi: Rigi Kaltbad, Rigi Chänzeli, Rigi Kulm, and Rigi Scheidegg

Tuesday September 15, 2026 -- It was my friend Bianca's wish for many years to one day be able to travel up Mount Rigi. So today, with a special day pass currently being offered by the Coop Grocery stores, we made a day of it, and called it our "Rigi Day". 

Starting at 8:40 in Küssnacht on the west side of Mt.Rigi, we took the short (30 minutes) bus ride to the Vitznau Cogwheel railway station, beating the crowds of tourists who come by boat from Luzern by an hour (no boats till 10 a.m.!). Our first stop was at Rigi Kaltbad station where we had an hour break for the 20-minute walk to the Känzeli Look-out platform, and a visit to the cliff church on the way back (Urs and I had been here recently on a winter walk in January). 

We then took the next train up to Rigi Kulm, enjoyed the stunning views over Lake Zug and the Central Alps on this absolutely stunning day (best visibility in a long time), had some fries at the station "cafeteria" and watched the influencers do their silly photos. (After our trip up to Kaltbad, all the next trains were packed full of people, I'd never seen so many up here. Next to the tourists, probably many locals were taking advantage of the day tickets on this glorious day).

After heading down on the half-full train toward Arth Goldau, we decided to do a detour with the cable-car up to another part of the Rigi Range: Rigi Scheidegg, for views to the eastern Alps, but unbeknownst to Bianca, she didn't do well with cable-cars, so we didn't stay long.

From there another short trip back to Küssnacht to end a fabulous day.

PART I:  Vitznau Cogwheel Train and walk to Rigi Chänzeli

At 8:30 a.m. we left home and had a 10-minute break here at Weggis Lakeside at 8:45 while waiting for the next bus to Vitznau. What a gorgeous morning! In the back is Mt.Bürgenstock (with the stunning cliffside trail here on the north side, see for example the photos from our August 2025 hike there) and Mt.Pilatus on the right. 

Weggis lakeside looking south across Lake Lucerne toward the Nidwalden Alps. 

By 9:10 we got to the dock and valley station of the Vitznau-Kaltbad cogwheel railway line. It was a brilliant time, as there were very few people here. Most of the tourists arrive by boat from Lucerne, and the first itinerary for the boat has them arrive in droves an hour later!

Down below is the train that we will take up to Rigi Kaltbad, where we have planned an hour's break for a 15-minute walk to the Chänzeli look-out platform. (The train continues to Rigi Kulm). 

Great views as the cogwheel train heads up the mountain. On the far left is Mt.Buochserhorn, in the center back is Mt.Stanserhorn, then Mt.Bürgenstock, and on the far right is Mt.Pilatus. 

I had known about this special seat at the very "back" of the train from another trip I did in the down direction here, and at the time a tourist was sitting here taking photos. So this time I approached a station employee and asked if we could sit here, and we got the seat before the group who'd reserved in this wagon even knew about it!

Views to the south as the train continues up the mountain. 

View out the back window of the cogwheel train as we reach the Rigi Kaltbad station, where the first part of our journey ends. 

This large building is right next to the train station in Kaltbad. I wouldn't want to live here, with all the masses of people that come here!

What a fabulous day! We can see so far in all directions because visibility is so clear! To the southwest we get a really good look at the Bernese Alps, and in particular the famous Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio! And the big mountain in the front is Mt. Stanserhorn. 

A very zoomed view of the beautiful Mönch-Eiger-Jungfrau trio, where the North Face of Mt.Eiger is very prominent!

The 15-minute (1 km) trail to the Chänzeli look-out platform is wide and easy to walk, even wheel-chairs can navigate it. I am trying to fix the walking poles for Bianca. 

Views down to the lake on the trail to Rigi Chänzeli

Here we are enjoying the fabulous views from the Chänzeli platform. It's 10:07 now. 

Directly below us is the Hertenstein promontory and four arms of Lake Luzern: Lake Küssnacht on the right, the arm at the city of Luzern at the back right, then the arm by Standstad on the other side of Mount Pilatus, and the main lake on the left, to the south. 

To the northwest is the whole of the Central Plateau with views far into the Black Forest region of Germany and the Vosges mountains of France. 

Panorama view to the North-West-South with Mt. Pilatus in the very center. 

Heading back to Rigi Kaltbad station again, this time we can see all the way into the Uri Alps.

We had time to go into the "Felsenkapelle" (Cliffside-Chapel) on the way back to the train station. Urs and I had visited here recently in January of this year, on a winter walk we did from Rigi Scheidegg to Rigi Kaltbad along the panorama trail. 

PART II: Rigi Kaltbad to Rigi Kulm

Continuing up on the cogwheel train (which now, an hour later, was very full with the tourists who came by boat from Luzern), we saw these people working on the hillside. Are they planting trees?

As the train passes a smaller peak called Rigi Rotstock on its north side, the view is down to the town of Küssnacht on the Küssnacht arm of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee). 

More views as the train continues to Rigi Kulm (the summit). 

As we get off our train, we see that a different train has been brought up from Arth Goldau, one with an open wagon!

Somewhat higher than the train station is the Rigi Kulm Hotel and the communication tower, from where you get 360-degree views! I have been here often, and I have NEVER seen this many people headed up there.

We sat here on a bench admiring the view for a while! The small green peak on the right is called Rigi Rotstock, and the Rigi Kaltbad station where we stopped for our first walk is on the far side of that peak. 

From here we watch the blue train heading down to Arth Goldau. This is the train we will take later, after spending a couple of hours up here. 

The trains heading down to Arth Goldau from Rigi Staffel station. (It would have been fun to go down on the open-car wagon, but later, when we took the train down, they were only running the blue one). 

We took the hotel's elevator to this level for the views on the north side of the mountain, but did not walk up to the communication tower. (Bianca had a knee operation and could not walk that much). 

An easy trail along the fence on the north side of the Rigi Kulm peak, with views to the Küssnacht arm of the Vierwaldstättersee, as well as the Luzern arm of the lake further back at the foot of the also very popular Mt.Pilatus. 

Totally drinking in the fantastic views. We could not have asked for a clearer day. 

Directly below us is the large open Seebodenalp plateau, about halfway down from the summit here to the town of Küssnacht at the north end of Lake Küssnacht. Also the view across the Central Plateau to the northwest. 

And directly to the north, the beautiful Lake Zug. (The city of Zug is at the far end of the lake). 

From here we continued along the fence and back to the railway line. This is an interesting and old way that the farmers used to build fences in the mountains. 

Not a lot of photos of me this day!

Many people hike down the trail on the right from the Rigi Kulm station to Rigi Staffel station (and then possibly on to Rigi Kaltbad), but this would have been too difficult for Bianca's knee, plus I have done it a few times. We just watched the next train headed up to the Rigi Kulm station, where we are now going back to. 

This is the 11:40 train arriving at Rigi Kulm Station. This is the same train we will take down an hour later, at 12:48 departure. 

First we took the elevator up again to the hotel, as they have a nice view terrace. But the line-up there for self-serve food was 30-people long, and the tables were in the sun. So we came back down to the Rigi Kulm station, smaller restaurant, no waiting time, to share a large portion of fries! (This was at 11:55, and we had decided to take the 12:48 train back down). 

Even though it got crowded in front of the restaurant when the 12:00 Vitznau train came up (and then down), afterwards the people spread out, and we could watch the influencers modeling their expensive clothes on their photos with the mountain backdrop. 

At 12:38 the Arth-Goldau train spit out the next load of tourists (and locals, I guess) and we boarded this train, not even half full, for the 12:48 run down the mountain. 

Views again of the Bernese Alps as we sit in the train with windows open, cool air, great views, waiting for the descent to Arth Goldau. 

PART III: Back Down from Rigi Kulm and up to Rigi Scheidegg

At 12:50 we are headed down the mountain now, along the other train line to Arth Goldau (not the same one we had come up on). At this time there are not many people going DOWN, so we had plenty of space and view windows. 

Down below is the Rigi Staffel station. From there our train heads downhill. 

At Rigi Staffel station, our train heads left down the mountain. 15 minutes later, the Vitznau train leaves Rigi Kulm Station (large groups of people were waiting for that one) to return down the other side of that peak ahead (Rigi Rotstock) to the boat dock at Vitznau. 

A close-up look at the summit of Mount Rigi, i.e. Rigi Kulm and the communication tower. From here we can also see how many people are walking down the trail, the same trail we had walked earlier. 

Final look at the summit, Rigi Kulm. 

The wide view into the Schwyzer Alps to the southeast. 

And then a close-up look at the dominant peak above the town of Schwyz, namely the Grosse Mythen, and in the background the Glärnisch Massif in Canton Glarus. The red rock at the top of the Mythen is older than the rock below it.  

And a zoomed view back up to the summit at Rigi Kulm, with the Kulm Hotel and the little chapel.

Passing the Rigi Klösterli station with the Hotel Hirschen (there is also a chapel here and several other buildings).  

Now a very nice view of the town of Goldau, Lake Lauerz further to the south, and the prominent Mythen mountains at the back as we near the bottom of the mountain. 

The mountain on the left is called Rossberg, and it was here in 1806 where one of the Switzerland's worst rock slides happened. (457 fatalities, 323 dead cows and cattle, 111 buried dwellings, 220 destroyed barns and stables and 4 buried churches and chapels.)

Massive construction going on here at the Kräbel station and base station of the Scheidegg cable car, and we now have to make a large detour from the train stop. We got here at 13:25 and had to wait 10 minutes inside the cabin. The cabin holds 15 people, but in the end there were 8 people who traveled up at this time (runs only every 30 minutes). 

View down on Lake Zug as the cable-car heads up to Rigi Scheidegg. 

More views across Lake Lauerz to the two Mythen mountains. 

From the top station at Rigi Scheidegg at 13:40, a view to the city of Goldau. From here you can see the scars left by the 1806 landslide on Mount Rossberg. 

Summit station of the Rigi-Scheidegg cable-car. 

A short break on this bench to admire the view into the Schwyz and Uri Alps. 

Then we did a small loop walk to enjoy the views to the south as well as the north. 

More spectacular views of the Alps and Lake Luzern (Vierwaldstättersee) below. 

From this eastern side of the Rigi range we also see the snow-covered Bernese Alps. 

Looping back now on the other side of the little chapel, we also sat for a few minutes to admire the views over Lake Zug, and the Rigi Kulm summit. We were up here for altogether an hour before heading back down again.  

By 3 p.m. we were headed back down to the Kräbel station. 

We were back down at the Kräbel station at 15:05, but had to wait 15 minutes for the next train coming down from Rigi Kulm. 

With a look back at the summit of Rigi Kulm as we reach the Rigibahn railway station at Arth Goldau. 

Arth Goldau Train station at 15:38, heading to the final train home!

At 4 p.m. we arrive in Küssnacht on the west side of Rigi Kulm. From here we can also see the Seebodenalp Plateau which we had seen from the summit, looking in this direction. 

Küssnacht has grown massively in the past decades. 

This map shows the trip we did, starting in Küssnacht at 8:30 at the Seebodenalp cable-car station (1). First break (10 minutes) at Weggis on the lake (2). Then boarding the cogwheel train in Vitznau (3). One-hour break at Rigi Kaltbad for the 20-minute walk to Chänzeli (4). Then the train (10:30) up to Rigi Kulm for a two-hour break there (5). Then down (12:50) by train to Kräbel (6) where we then took the 13:35 cable-car up to Rigi Scheidegg (7). After an hour we descended again to Kräbel (14:45), then by train to Arth Goldau (8) and on back to Küssnacht (9) which we reached by 4 p.m.