Steep Uphill Climb to Lake Golzern in the Maderan Valley

(This post was created on May 3, 2026, based on a Facebook Album at the time).

Sunday June 28, 2015 -- Lisa (my daughter) likes the uphill climbing better than downhill and wanted to swim in an alpine lake as a reward, so we hiked to Lake Golzern in the Uri mountains, a lake I've been to twice before, but those times I went up by cable car. 

Lisa thinks cable cars are for "woossies", but by "uphill" she wasn't expecting the almost straight up first 500 meters of a total 600-meter climb! Gradual uphill is better. But in the end the pain is forgotten when you can greet the cows and wonder at the incredibly beautiful landscapes, and suntan in a meadow of buttercups! And the lake was beautiful and refreshing, but we got sunburns. Sometimes walking downhill is harder than uphill, but we chose a different and more gradual path to go down. 

Altogether it was a 10-km hike, but compensation for the uphill climbs means this worked out to about 16 km of walking.....

To get into the Maderan Valley, the bus runs along a narrow winding road up from the town of Amsteg, into this gorge off the Reuss Valley. It's less than a two-hour trip to get here. 

Following the Chärstelen River toward the end of the bus run at the valley station of the cable car. 

At 9:00 a.m. we were at the start of our hike at the final bus stop in the valley. According to the trail markers, it is an hour and 45 minutes to hike up to the Golzern Lake!

The starting point of our hike is at the valley station of the Golzern Cable Car. First we cross the bridge over the river, with a view up the Maderan Valley. 

Ahead is the hill that we are climbing pretty well straight up!

A huge grasshopper which we met on the way up! (According to Internet research, this might be a "Wart-Biter", a type of bush-cricket and not a grasshopper at all!)

The cable car would have been so much easier, but not as rewarding.... I guess

After a long and steep uphill section through the forest, we reach the upper mountain pastures. 

Time for a break about half-way up.

Time for a break about half-way up.

Those people in the cable car are probably thinking: "Look at the idiots sweating up the hill when they could be enjoying the view from here!"

Looking into the beautiful Maderaner Valley.

Only another 2 km to go! It's now 10:40, and we've been walking for over 90 minutes. But at least it's not so steep any more. 

More beautiful mountains making their appearance at the back of the valley.

The mountain meadows are ever-changing.

Looking back the way we came. This mountain is the Bristen.

Finally got to the part which wasn't so hard to walk....

It's now 10:50, the day is getting warm, and we are looking forward to getting to the lake!

This cow was really interested in Lisa; she came over right away!

Swiss Brown Cows are the Best!

All along the trail are little tables with Quarz Crystals and homemade ointments etc. for sale. It's all done by honour system. The items are priced, and you put the payment in a little box...

Finally got to the lake and it was high time for a swim!

Panorama View of the Golzern Upper Plateau in the Maderan Valley. 

Trying for a fun photo!

The water was very refreshing!

We settled in this buttercup meadow right by the lake.

Before heading back down we walked around the lake.

A convenient bench with a view!

Back now around the south side of the lake

There is a boardwalk through the reeds on the west side of the lake. 

A final look back across the lake before we head back toward the road which goes down the mountain. 

Going back the same way we came. Later, though, we took a different road down the mountain. 

This is back at the cable-car station, but we are still not using the cable-way. The mighty Bristen is in our sights. 

We took a different and not so steep trail back down into the Maderan Valley. Starting on the downhill section at about 4:30 p.m., we reached the bus stop about an hour later. 

A waterfall along the way. 

The locals use this road to get to their homes up in the Golzern plateau. 

The final section back to the bus stop at the cable-car station, looking up the Maderan Valley. The final stretch was almost two kilometers along the river. 

Just about back at the Cable Car station where we catch the Post Bus back down into the Reuss Valley. We got back to the bus stop at about 5:30 p.m. 

This is basically the route we walked: First the steep uphill section to just below the cable-car summit station, then to the lake and around it, and back down along the wider road, and following the river back to the bus stop. 

Walking at a moderate pace, this is about a 3½-hour hike with 660 meters of altitude gain. What a great performance! 

Heading back north, this is a view across Lake Lauerz near the Arth-Goldau train station. 

Long Hike from Lake Klöntal to Lake Wägital over the Schwialp Pass

 (This item published on June 26, 2023)

Friday June 12, 2015 -- Just returned from a week in Sicily on the 11th of June but the weather is supposed to get bad here in Switzerland in the next few days, so we headed out on another long hike to take advantage of the good weather.

We hiked a pass we've never done before, from just above the gorgeous Klöntalersee (Lake Klöntal), then climbing almost straight up 400 altitude meters to the Schwialppass and then down to the dam on the lake called Wägitalersee (Lake Wägital). We lucked out on the weather and this is totally my favourite kind of hike: No other people, steep mountains all around, cow bells, green pastures, alpine flowers.

But it was long, 17 km and almost 5 hours, plus the hike uphill was pretty steep and hot and the downhill steep and gravelly....

The trip starts with a bus ride from Glarus into the Klöntal (Klön Valley) and along the beautiful Lake Klöntal

VIDEO:

A short stretch along Lake Klöntal with the bus. 

Before reaching the final bus stop, a look behind us at the west end of Lake Klöntal

We started our hike at the restaurant in Richisau, the final bus stop in this stretch. The time provided here to Lake Wägital on the other side of the Schwialp Pass to the North is approximate only. It's about 3 hours to the south end of the lake and 4-1/2 hours to the nearest bus stop at the dam at the north end. We started here at 9:30 a.m.

This was a long hike for us, nearly 5 hours. The section over the pass to the south end of the lake, about 3 hours, was not too bad, but the additional almost two hours along the lakeshore really stretched out too long for me. 

As we head to the start of our hike along the Pragel Pass road, this view is up the Klön Valley (Klöntal). The more popular hike here is over the Pragel Pass, at the back on the left. We are going to ascend near here on the right. 

Lots of very large maple trees here. There are so many nice greens at this time of year. 

Another look behind us to the west as we go up the road. The range of mountains on the south side of Lake Klöntal are called the Glärnisch. 

What is a hike in Switzerland without the cows in the pastures!

A short break before starting on our 400m climb. The climb was very steep and mostly through forest, so not much to photograph

An hour of climbing and then we finally get this first view to the Pragel Pass and the Schwyzer Alps (the snow-covered ones) in the Muotatal region of Switzerland. 

Finally, a relatively level stretch of road with this panorama view of the range of mountains that separates this valley from the Sihltal (Sihl Valley). The tallest peak in about the center is called the Fläschenspitz

Very happy to have the first long climb behind us!

The first alpine roses

The view toward the Pragel Pass, across this upper plateau with several farms makes me want to walk here instead of toward the north!

Heading north along an easy wide mountain road toward the Schwialp Pass

This farm is called Brüschalp

Such a beautiful landscape with so many meadow flowers

Here we are at the Schwialp Pass

We arrived at the pass shortly before noon. The village of Au is the first one you come to when you reach lake level, another 1 hour 40 minutes from here! (And from there, another 1 hour 15 minutes to the bus stop!)

Several of the pretty flowers in the meadows!

A whole "Rock Garden" of yellow buttercups!

Our first view of the Wägi Valley (Wägital) and Lake Wägitalersee as we round a corner near the pass, on the north side now. There is still snow in the avalanche couloirs. 

Another look at the mountain range separating us from the Sihl Valley to the west. This range is called the Firsten. This is just north of the Schwialp Pass

We spotted a marmot!

We found a spot here a little off the path, where we had our picnic lunch and enjoyed this fantastic view, before heading down the wide mountain road below. 

Ah, these flowers were so pretty! I just had to take a photo among them. Another "Rock Garden"

Babies resting in the tall meadow grass on the way down from the pass

Here we are at the south end of Lake Wägital, at about the level of the village of Au. It is now 14:30, 2.5 hours since getting to the pass. We spent a long time up there, we liked it so much

Heading north along the west side of the lake, this look is across the lake to the small village called Innerthal. 

On the road along the lake

And now we've made it to the dam, it's now 15:40, an hour and 15 minutes from the back of the lake. 

Along the dam on the north side of Lake Wägital

There is a bus stop here at the dam on the route from Lake Zurich (Siebnen-Wangen) to Innerthal, the main village here on the East side of the lake. We had walked enough by now (5 hours or more) and were catching the bus right here!

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps, including the bus ride along the north shore of Lake Klöntal, and the bus ride back down to Lake Zurich. 

Location of the two lakes Klöntalersee and Wägitalersee in Switzerland, in relation to where we live.