Quick Hike after Work: Kerns to Sarnen South of Lucerne

 (This post created on June 5, 2025, from a text posted to Facebook)

Wednesday April 8, 2015 -- Spring is finally here with some warmer weather and the longer days... so we decided we can even meet up after work for an evening hike somewhere other than our regular walk along the lake. So last Wednesday I met Urs in Lucerne at 4 pm, and by 5 pm we started our 2-hour hike in Kerns, a village near Lake Sarnen somewhat south of Lucerne. (Actually, there was a cheese shop there that I wanted to buy a special cheese from, but of course they were closed on Wednesday afternoon!) 

So we hiked up the hill to a small chapel to eat our pasta salad, then walked along the St.James Trail (Part of the Camino de Santiago within Switzerland) and went to see the "High Bridge", which is the highest covered wooden bridge in Europe (100m above the river at the bottom of the gorge. I couldn't photograph the gorge because it was in shadow, but my knees got weak looking down.). From there we walked back down to Sarnen, and were home by 8:30 p.m. It was a lovely 8-km hike, but I couldn't do it every evening!

Having met at about 4 p.m. in Luzern, the train now takes us on a 25-minute trip to Sarnen. Along the way we enjoy the view of Mt.Pilatus, which is the main mountain in Luzern. 

Heading south along Lake Alpnachsee, the view is to the Obwalden Alps of Central Switzerland.  

This is the view of the Obwalden Alps from the bus station at Sarnen, as we wait for the bus to the starting point of our hike in the village of Kerns. 

Starting at 4:50 p.m. in Kerns (which we reached on a 20-minute bus ride from Sarnen), we first headed up to the little chapel at St.Antoni, a 30-minute walk from here. (I had done this same stretch the year before on my own, and wanted to show the little chapel to Urs). 

Starting at just before 5 p.m. in Kerns, we headed up the hill to the St.Anton Chapel, then along a piece of the St.Jame Trail and down to the "Hohe Brücke" and after that down the hill again to the train station in Sarnen, where we caught a train back to Luzern at just after 7:30 p.m. In all it was a 7½-km walk... 

Walking along the main road in Kerns (A look behind us to where the bus stop was). 

Those cute little wooden buildings are called Spycher. They are actually grainaries with living quarters above them. We see them all over Switzerland. 

The mountains had just gotten new snow a few days before, and they look fantastic!

Leaving the main road now for the smaller path which goes up the hill. Lovely weather for this early evening walk!

Some very pretty farm-houses here. 

Eating homemade pasta salad on the porch of the little St.Anton Chapel (5:30 p.m.). This chapel was originally built in 1540, but rebuilt in 1639. 

These photos, taken on my May 2014 visit to this chapel, show some very interesting frescoes around the entrance door. 

Inside of the little chapel. The right side altar still dates from the 1639 build, but the left side altar is from 1860. The most recent restoration from 1974 exposed some very nice paintings and frescoes. 

A look back at the chapel as we continue on our walk after a 20-minute break here, heading south. 

Walking along the St.James Trail in Canton Obwalden. 

Along the St.James Trail. Our shadows are getting long!

A really nice foot-path here. 

Looking to the north, we get a very nice look at Mt.Pilatus. 

Panorama view to the north: Mt. Pilatus on the left, Mt.Stanserhorn on the right. 

Down below we catch sight of the bridge over the ravine. We're headed down that way. Lake Sarnen (Sarnersee) is in the background. 

Down below on the right is the bridge. Far in the distance and just barely visible is the church in Ranft, the village where Nicholas von der Flüe, (later Switzerland's Patron Saint) was born and had a family before he moved into the ravine to live as a hermit. 

At 6:50 p.m. we got to the "Hohe Brücke" (High Bridge) which spans the Grosse Melchaa River,  which comes down out of the Melch Valley. One of 200 covered bridges in Switzerland, this one happens to be the highest covered bridge in Europe, lying exactly 100 meters above the river. The bridge was built by the military in 1943 during the Second World War. 

A look at the bridge from its south side. (Afterwards, we are continuing down the mountain along that path on the left). 

The highest covered bridge in Europe: "Die Höhe Brücke" ("The High Bridge"), with a 30-meter span 100 meters above the Grosse Melchaa River. 

As we head down the hill, we get views of Lake Sarnen. 

A small trail follows the edge of the forest. It's 7:20 p.m. now and the sun is about to go down. 

Here on the way down into the town of Sarnen is an outdoor "worship" site. It's called a "Lourdes Grotto". The sun has gone down now. 

This is what our walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

Heading back along Lake Alpnachsee toward Luzern at 7:45 p.m. Same view as about three hours earlier....