Short Hike in the Rolling Hills of the Entlebuch near Escholzmatt

Sunday August 30, 2026 -- After the three-hour hike we did on Saturday, Urs didn't really want to do another long hike, so we had considered a simple two-hour walk along a riverbank somewhere. That plan then quickly changed to a "simple" two-hour walk in the lovely rolling hills of the Entlebuch / Napf region, because given the choice, we still rather pick the mountain walk. Plus this lovely region is only a 90-minute trip for us, less time than to get to the river walk I had originally considered.

We traveled to the town of Escholzmatt, where we have started and ended several previous hikes, and first followed a "Stations of the Cross" trail uphill to a little pilgrim church called St.Anna, and then continued back down to the Ilfis River through lovely cool woods and green meadows, back to the village of Wiggen, where we had also previously ended two hikes.

We were back home by 1:40 p.m. (a 90-minute trip) before the day became hot once again.

The lovely Entlebuch Region as we approach Escholzmatt at about 9:30 a.m. 

Having left home at 8:10, we were at the start of our day's excursion in Escholzmatt at 9:36. The walk we have planned is exactly two hours according to our map, so we expect to be done by noon. 

Walking down main street in Escholzmatt, with its attractive buildings, made especially pretty by all the red geraniums. 

Attractive fountain next to the town's church. 

The last time we were here (on a snow-free day in December 2025), we were pretty impressed by this building, even without the fabulous geraniums. It is the Gasthaus Löwen, and the oldest Gasthaus in Escholzmatt, having received its tavern license in 1671. 

St.Jakob Parish church in Escholzmatt. Built in 1892-1894 in the Neogothic style, this is a fairly new building. We didn't go in this time because we had a look at the interior on that December 2025 hike.  

Another view of the "Red Lion Inn" before we head up the hill behind the village. We had considered stopping here for lunch after our short little walk, but they are closed on Sundays. 

Heading up the hill on the west side of the town, with a view to the St.Jakob church. 

This was not a long nor strenuous hike, just two hours and a little over 6 km. I mainly wanted to join the starts and ends of other hikes we have done to Wiggen, and to/from Escholzmatt, but walking along the road would not have been fun. We started at 9:40 in Escholzmatt, and got back to Wiggen at 11:58, so just over two hours with a long break at the St.Anna Chapel. 

St. Anna is a pilgrim church, so the trail through the forest up to the chapel was part of a "Stations of the Cross" trail, with such votiv shrines along the way. 

Views of the Entlebuch hills as we head up toward the St.Anna Chapel. 

It took us 30 minutes to reach the chapel, a climb of about 200 meters altitude. The placard had information about the Reformation Period in Switzerland. (I didn't read it). 

The "back" side of the chapel is the first we saw as we reached here. There was a super modern toilet here as well, which was a surprise (On the other side was a picnic area, so probably popular as a family excursion, and so the toilet is very practical!)

And the front side of the chapel. We did a quick look around inside before taking a break on a nearby view bench. There is not a lot of documentation about this chapel, but the date above the door reads 1613, which would be the build year. But it is assumed there was already an older chapel than this one at this site. 

There is currently a landscape photo exhibition, thus the two screens, but most impressive is naturally the fantastic wood-panel ceiling. 

The individual panels on the ceiling are family crests. In 1922 the chapel received a major restoration, and at that point is when the panels with the family crests were added. 

We had a 15-minute snack break on this bench in the shade, with a view of the rolling hills to the west. 

The view from our little bench across from the St.Anna Chapel. 

By 10:25 it was time to continue on our walk, with a final look back at the little chapel. 

Heading southwest now, I had hoped to see some of the Bernese Alps, but the elevation here isn't high enough. 

Looking behind us again at the little chapel hidden in the trees. 

A little detour to see what the best view is. That massif ahead of us is called Hohgant, and on the far right is the northern part of Mt.Niederhorn. On the other side of that is Lake Thun. (We are currently in Canton Luzern, and the mountains we see to the south form the border with Canton Bern). 

Another look behind us past a field of grazing cows, to the little hill where we can only just still see the chapel. 

In this part of the country we see more of the Simmental cow breed. 

We now head west again for a short stretch along one of the many paved roads up here, before we start on our descent to the south. The view back toward the east is definitely the prettiest!

We don't often come across totally caved-in houses such as this one.... What a shame. 

We now had a nice and cool descent on a forest road... 

...and along some nice soft meadow paths. 

Once in a while we pass attractive farm houses on the hillside. 

The final stretch is on a paved road down to the Ilfis River on the outskirts of Wiggen. 

The railway line of the BLS train runs here between Luzern and Bern. More specifically, the Kambly Cookie Factory is nearby, and we usually detour to there when we are in the area, but today was an exception. (Sundays are usually very busy at the shop there). 

Urs is always particularly taken by the farmhouses that have pear trees growing along their facades. This one has the branches of the tree stretched right along the windows, something you don't often see. 

Fortunately we were not in a rush to get to the bus stop in Wiggen (another 20 minutes along the river from the crossing here), as the barrier had just gone down, and we had to wait quite a while! (No train in sight, but we don't cross when the barrier is down). 

Here comes the BLS train on its way from Escholzmatt to the next stop in Trubschachen at the Kambly Cookie Factory!

Crossing the Ilfis River now for the last 20 minutes of our walk. 

Following the Ilfis River, and parallel also to the main vehicle road down the valley here. 

A nice footpath along the Ilfis River. Here we get the first view of the little village of Wiggin, where we will catch the bus which comes from the south from Kemmeriboden and Marbach, then heads to the train station in Escholzmatt. 

We reached Wiggen at just about noon, enough time to buy refreshments (or ice cream, in this case for Urs) at the little shop and snack bar here. The bus is expected at 12:08, and it was running late by 3 minutes. (We would have had time to go into the church, but I was sure I had been inside before on my February 2024 hike to here, but this does not seem to have been the case). 

And now the bus heads back to the train station in Escholzmatt. We were home again by 1:40 p.m., to relax for the afternoon!

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. It was a short hike (2 hours) starting in Escholzmatt and ending in Wiggen. 

All the hikes we have done in the region around Escholzmatt and Trubschachen. This is also called the Napfgebiet, outliers of the Napf mountain. The border between Canton Luzern and Canton Bern runs between Wiggen and Trubschachen. 

Location of Escholzmatt within Switzerland. 

 

Appenzell Culture Trail from Herisau to Niederteufen

Saturday August 29, 2026 -- A short while ago (in fact, in early March of this year), we became aware of an interesting themed trail in eastern Switzerland called the "Appenzell Culture Trail". We really enjoyed the section we did at the time, ending in the town of Herisau (see photos HERE), and so it was Urs' desire to do another 10-km stretch of this themed trail again, starting, this time, in Herisau, and continuing eastward.

We didn't feel like walking through the town of Herisau, as we had been there once to watch the New Year's "Chlausen" tradition (photos HERE), and so we took a bus to the end of the line on the eastern outskirts of Herisau, and simply followed the themed trail for about 10 kilometers, to a convenient bus stop along the way. Sites of note along the way were a wooden covered bridge over the Urnäsch River and the quaint towns of Hundwil and Stein with their lovely decorated house facades. We descended into two ravines, also crossing the Sitter River, and at the end passed by a penitentiary with a large warning sign that "hikers are not to make contact with the inmates!"

For me it wasn't the best hike, as for the first four kilometers (i.e. about an hour), the section of our trail was within hearing distance of a farmer who was sawing wood, and I had to wear my ear plugs.... The little heifers were cute, though. And the painted houses really very pretty. 

A nice thing about our choice to start in Herisau today, is that it is only a two-hour trip from home, passing by way of the land bridge over Lake Zurich between Pfäffikon and Rapperswil on the direct "golden" train. Here we pass the boardwalk on Lake Obersee at Rapperswil, which we walked across recently in May of this year. 

At 9:10 in the morning, traveling along the upper part of Lake Zurich called the "Obersee", with a view south into the Schwyzer Alps. 

On the way to Herisau through the Toggenburg landscape. 

From Herisau we took a bus through the town to the outskirts. Here we are passing by the government buildings. (Technically, to continue on the Themed Trail "Kulturpfad Appenzell" we should at least have started near the church in the town center, but we didn't feel like walking those extra 30 minutes through the residential area. In retrospect, we did miss a nice view over the city, though). 

Just before the end of the bus line, we get this nice view over the Appenzell Landscape to the south. 

At 10:05 we were at the end of the bus line at the outskirts of the city of Herisau, to start on the Regional Trail no.22: "Kulturpfad Appenzell", i.e. "Culture Trail Appenzell". We are headed to Hundwil via Churzenberg.

Starting on the outskirts of Herisau, we walked about 10 km to the nearest bus stop along the route after three hours of walking, which is all that we wanted to do this day. We started at just after 10 a.m., and got to the bus stop at 14:20. 

A description of what to expect on this section of the "Appenzell Culture Trail". We only made it as far as the Sittertobel Ravine, as it would have been too long to walk all the way to Teufen. We will continue on that stretch next time. 

Near the start of our hike on the outskirts of Herisau. There were very many pretty houses such as this one to admire. 

We often run across structures such as this one. They are called "Insect Hotels" and in this particular one, there are apparently 1200 holes for various insects, especially bees and butterflies, as well as a proper supply of water... 

To the north we can see all the way to Lake Constance, i.e. the Bodensee. 

And from the site called Churzenberg, we get the first views of Mt.Säntis to the south. (Although we had lots of sunshine here, the clouds moved in quickly over the peaks). 

The beautiful house at Churzenberg. They are the ones with the great views toward Mt.Säntis!

Heading down now into the first of two ravines that we crossed this day. (This is where the Urnäsch River flows). It was at this farm where someone was using a whining band-saw, which we then heard for about an hour of our hike, as we came out of the ravine again straight ahead at the town of Hundwil, and the sound carried everywhere. 

Following Themed Trail no.22 to the "Alte Tobelbrücke" ("Old Bridge in the Ravine") and then the town of Hundwil, which used to be the district capital, and where they still held public voting till 1997. 

Close-up view of the village of Hundwil on the other side of the Urnäsch River (Ravine). 

Being watched (and somewhat critically) by the cows in a meadow that we had to pass through!

At 11:10 (an hour after starting on our walk) we were at the old covered wooden bridge over the Urnäsch River. 

Urnäsch River in the Hundwiler Tobel (Tobel = small ravine). 

After a steep ascent back out of the ravine, we now approach the town of Hundwil. 

Heading toward the town of Hundwil. 

We reached the main street in Hundwil at 11:36. All the houses here were so very pretty, so typical of this region. 

First a look into the town's church, and after that we took a lunch break on the benches underneath the trees on the right. 

Details of the Evangelical Church in Hundwil. The heart of the building is Romanesque from the 13th Century, but was rebuilt in Gothic style in the late Middle Ages, and finally received its current look in 1750, with a new tower in 1894. 

Now we head north down the main street in Hundwil. 

Of course, a quick detour into the local bakery! They were selling local specialties here, in particular the very ornate spice cakes called "Appenzeller Biber". 

This one is the Hotel Krone. 

A view back toward the church as we head down and away from the main road. 

The trail passed up through a fenced pasture with a view of the church tower behind us and.... 

....and a small herd of very curious little heifers..... 

....who followed us right back to the main road and seemed to cry when they were left behind!

Up a final steep hill with a rest on a bench beneath some tall linden trees, and a view to the next town we are headed to: Stein in Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. (There are other towns named "Stein" in Switzerland). 

We then reached the heart of the town of Stein at 13:10. (We bypassed the main road, where we unfortunately missed seeing the Appenzell Folklore Museum and Cheese Dairy). 

More very attractive houses. 

A small park with a lovely fountain and comfortable shade!

Very pretty main square in Stein, with the Evangelical church in the background, our next stop! (The church was built in 1749).

Such a beautiful organ, and rather unusual to see it at the front behind the altar instead of in the balcony above the entrance door. 

The back side of the church where one would expect the organ to be! 

Other details of the church in Stein. 

Next to the church

On the other side of the church square

A final look at the church in Stein as we head down hill now toward the second ravine.

An old Appenzell-style house. 

This view is to the other prominent peak here called Hoher Kasten (on the right) where there is a revolving restaurant, and where you can start on some very nice crest hikes. On the far side of that range is the border with Austria, where the Rhine River heads into Lake Constance. 

After a nice downhill section through the forest, we reach the next river, called the Sitter. It was an interesting short stretch that we walked here.

We also had to cross a couple of bridges, once here over the Sitter river, and once over the nearby side stream. 

Crossing the side stream on another interesting bridge. 

We then had a bit of an uphill stretch through the forest along a series of wooden stairs. 

We were surprised as we came out of the ravine to be headed to what certainly looked like a prison of some kind (which it was), right in the middle of the loveliest landscape! It is called the Gmünden Strafanstalt, established in 1884. The sign warns hikers to walk by quickly without interacting with the inmates. We didn't see inmates, just three guards at the front door, and the most gorgeous vegetable garden behind the fence.

We got to the bus stop at the Schwanen Restaurant near the prison at 14:22, in good time for the 14:37 bus, which was quite a bit late anyway due to some event....(probably cows on the road). 

There was this alpaca farm near the bus stop, so I interacted with the animals for a while!

The 14:37 bus was only three minutes late, but on the way back to the train station in Herisau, we ran into backed-up traffic (possibly also due to cows on the road), but even with a delay of 10 minutes, we still managed to catch our connecting train in Herisau. It was a 2½-hour trip back home. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting in Herisau-Rohren at just after 10 a.m., and getting to the Schwanen-Niederteufen bus stop (Gmünden) at 2:25 p.m. 

Heading back now by bus to Stein and Hundwil (the towns which he had passed through), we catch a glimpse of the Gmünden prison facilities where we had just walked by. 

Passing through Stein along the main road, I noticed this museum which is the Appenzell Folklore Museum, and there is apparently also a cheese dairy here (and another of those red frames from the "Grand Tour of Switzerland" which I like to collect photos of). We didn't know about this as we approached the church square from a different direction. As it turns out, the museum was open right at the time we were here!

Driving through the pretty village of Hundwil again! (Past the fountain and bakery!)

Main street in Herisau on the way to the train station. 

These are the hikes we have done in the region of Herisau and Teufen, but this is the first time in between the two! Next time we will start at the bus stop near the prison again, and continue past Teufen to Trogen, along the Appenzell Culture Trail. 

Location of Herisau within Switzerland.