Urschner High Trail Hike at the Center of the Alps

(This post published on March 1, 2025)

Sunday September 28, 2014 – Up at 6 a.m. to head back to the mountains for the five-hour hike we want to attempt, because a 5-hour hike takes me 7 hours with all the food breaks, photo stops and naps along the way. 

Our plan was to walk a high trail called the "Urschner Höhenweg", starting at Tiefenbach on the Furka Pass Road, and walking parallel to the valley bottom heading east and descending to Hospental. First we took a bus from Andermatt westward along the Urseren Valley and up a switchback road to a starting place where we would have less uphill to walk. The 14-km hike back toward Andermatt was about 600 m above the valley floor (i.e at about 2200 m above sea level) and only required about 300 m total of uphill, but about 1000 m in total to descend back to the valley. We got back on the train in Hospental because that was about an hour less than to walk to Andermatt. It was a superb fall day with a nice breeze and clear air for sharp views up and down the valley. 

Way too many mountain photos! Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urserental

This photo I took the day before when we rode our bikes from the Oberalp Pass down to Andermatt from the east (Those photos are HERE). This view is up the Urseren Valley, toward the Furka Pass. From here you can see the hillside we walked (right hand side)

From Andermatt you take the bus up the Furka Pass Road. The starting point of our hike is here at the restaurant in Tiefenbach. The road continues on over the Furka Pass. Below on the left you can see the old Furka Railway Line which is now only used in summer for tourist runs with the steam train, as the passage to Canton Valais is now via the Furka Base Tunnel at Realp. 

Starting point of our hike at Tiefenbach shortly after 9 a.m. We are following Trail no.51: "Furka Höhenweg" (Furka High Trail), also known as the Urschner Höhenweg. It is about 5½ hours to walk to Andermatt. 

Starting point of our hike at Tiefenbach shortly after 9 a.m. We are following Trail no.51: "Furka Höhenweg" (Furka High Trail), also known as the Urschner Höhenweg. It is about 5½ hours to walk to Andermatt. 

We started at Tiefenbach at shortly after 9 a.m., and ended our hike at Hospental instead of Andermatt, as 4½ hours of straight walking was long enough for us. It was a great hike with fantastic views of the valley, and we took over seven hours to walk it. (Lots of breaks and naps). It would be another 50 minutes or so to continue on to Andermatt. 

At 9:30 we took our first break: "Second Breakfast", as we'd been up for three hours already! Behind me is the Furka Pass Road. 

Heading eastward along the Furka High Trail parallel to the Urseren Valley Bottom. Superb visibility this day. 

You can see where our trail continues after we head into the side valley first. 

The trail takes us into a side valley from where we loop back. This side valley is called Lochberg. 

An upper moor region. 

We had to pass over the concrete wall of a small dam on the Lochberg River. 

As we cross the Lochbergbach river, there is a trail junction from where you can head up to a Swiss Alpine Hostel called "Albert Heim Hütte", and also walk down to the Realp Train station at the bottom of the valley. 

Behind us now is the Lochberg side valley, and the small dam we had to walk over. Higher up on the left is a glacier called the Tiefen Glacier, and the Swiss Alpine Hostel is just this side of that glacier. 

From about the half-way point along the trail, we get a look at the Furka Pass road winding its way up from Realp. The mountains at the back are part of the Gotthard Massif. 

Panorama view into the Urseren Valley. 

Some of those boulders (which at some point came down the mountain) are HUGE. 

The impressive peaks above the trail

At 12:20 (about three hours after starting on this hike), it's time for a lunch break and to rest the sore feet!

Another view of the Gotthard Massif and the Furka Pass Road, with the town of Realp below. From Realp, the older Furka Railway line heads up into the side valley on the right, but the newer Furka Base Tunnel goes straight through the mountains, first to the south, then westward to Oberwald. 

More of those fantastic peaks above us as we continue on our walk. 

Enjoying this high trail hike! There were only a few other people on the trail. Up ahead are a couple of lakes where we took a long break. 

Directly below us now at the valley bottom is the small village of Zumdorf, apparently the smallest village in Switzerland. We stopped there for lunch on a walk we did from Realp to Andermatt in August of 2013. (Those photos are HERE). 

At about 1:30 we got to the little lake called Trübsee where we found a nice place away from the trail where I slept for about an hour! We continued on from here about 2:30 p.m. 

Next to Trübsee was another smaller lake called Lutersee, very pretty with the turquoise water. 

A look back at the two little lakes where we rested for an hour. 

At 3 p.m. we started our descent to Hospental. According to the sign, it should be another hour and 15 minutes. 

Heading down the mountain to Hospental (on the right), with the city of Andermatt in view behind me (the zigzag road there ascends to the Oberalp Pass). 

From Hospental, the side valley and road lead to the Gotthard Pass. 

We are being observed as we descend to Hospental!

A look back at the mountain where we came down from, as we reach the train station in Hospental at 4:15 p.m. In effect, we did take seven hours to do this hike. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting at Tiefenbach and descending to Hospental.  

Bike Ride from Oberalp Pass to Erstfeld in the Reuss Valley

(This post created March 14, 2025)

Saturday September 27, 2014 – After the crappy summer we had, we are now enjoying some beautiful early autumn days. The weekend was so nice we traveled on both Saturday and Sunday to the middle of the Alps at Andermatt (only a couple of hours from home, so easy day trips for us) and from there traveled east on Saturday to bike down from the Oberalp Pass, and on Sunday we went westward to do a 5-hour hike about 600 m above the valley floor (those photos are HERE). 

This album is from our bike ride. Really no exertion on this one! We took the bikes by train to the starting point at the Oberalp Pass (just over 2000 m above sea level) and coasted 40 km down the pass road (same one we sledded down in winter – i.e. closed to motor vehicle traffic in winter) to the town of Erstfeld in the Reuss Valley, stopping along the way to watch trains pass, to discover the Devil's bridge in the Schöllenen Gorge, and the pretty town of Wassen. (Originally we were planning to go all the way to Flüelen, but by Erstfeld we had had enough, and loaded our bikes onto the train there).

Traveling with the bikes on the small train from Göschenen to Andermatt and the Oberalp Pass. 

View across the town of Andermatt and the Urseren Valley (toward the Furka Pass) as the train heads up toward the Oberalp Pass. 

Train from Andermatt to the Oberalp Pass. On the regional train, you can open the windows and take photos!

There is one train station between Andermatt and the Oberalp Pass. It is called Nätschen, and we started here once in winter to toboggan down the winding road which is closed to traffic in winter. 

There is a small dam here to create a reservoir lake on the Oberalp-Reuss River, which flows out of the lake at the Oberalp Pass, and joins the Unteralp-Reuss River to ultimately flow into the main Reuss River at Andermatt. 

Last stretch before the Oberalp Pass. The road where we rode back with the bikes is directly next to the railway tracks here. 

From the Oberalp Pass, we watch a train heading into the gallery on the other side. The bike trail is between the lake and that gallery. 

Starting point of our bike "ride" heading west: Lake Oberalpsee. We got here at about 1 p.m. and started on the ride about 15 minutes later. 

This fancy train where you CANNOT open the windows, is the Glacier Express which runs from Zermatt to St.Moritz. Mostly foreigners ride with this panorama train, for which you have to pay a supplemental charge. We only ride the regional trains on the same stretch. 

Heading westward now on the bike trail along lake Oberalpsee.

A look behind us to the Oberalp Pass

Reaching the west end of the lake, where we can see the mountains in the region of the Furka Pass to the west. 

Taking a break and watching the trains before we head down the winding part of the road. 

Silver Thistles are a sure sign of autumn and the coming winter!

Zipping down the winding road now toward Andermatt. 

A view of the mountains which form the west side of the Schöllenen Gorge. 

Looking down to Andermatt, a ritzy town for rich foreigners and the hub for trains and buses in 4 directions.

After riding through Andermatt, we reach the upper part of the Schöllenen Gorge. This is the train tunnel which runs through the mountain from Göschenen below. 

The newly-built motor-vehicle road. The original paved road runs along the cliffs on the left, which is where we can ride with the bikes. 

Down below I am stopped on the old Andermatt/Göschenen vehicle road, which is now mostly a bike and walking route. Urs is standing on the new road to take this photo. 

The old Andermatt-Göschenen road, built over the Reuss River. 

New road above crosses the gorge, and the old road runs along the cliff walls. 

Train bridge from Göschenen to Andermatt. 

Panorama view with the Reuss River falling in waterfalls. 

After more winding roads down the Schöllenen Gorge, we arrive in Göschenen. 

A look at the railway bridge in Göschenen as we cross the Göschener-Reuss River further to the west (this river flows out of the beautiful Göschener Valley). 

Heading down the Reuss Valley, we get a look at the pretty church on the hill in Wassen, before we head up into that village. 

Before reaching Amsteg, we take a detour to the suspension bridge over the Reuss River near the entrance of the Fellitobel (Felli Valley). 

At 5 p.m. we are near Intschi on the west side of the Reuss Valley, with a view of the Gross Windgällen mountain above the town of Amsteg. This side of the valley is in deep shadow now. From here it was another just under 10 kilometers to Erstfeld where we decided to end our bike ride, even though the plan was to go all the way to Flüelen. 

What our 40-kilometer bike ride from Oberalp Pass to Erstfeld through the Schöllenen Gorge and the Reuss Valley looks like on Google Satellite Maps.