Werenbachtobel Trail on the East Side of Lake Zurich

Saturday October 23, 2021 -- We had a long hike planned for Sunday, but Saturday was such a nice day (although quite cold) that we still decided on an afternoon walk, just not far from home.

On the East side of Lake Zurich are some nice family trails along streams in small gorges called "Tobel". These are easily accessed by public transport, and even for us coming from Zug, just an hour to get there.

It was already nearing noon by the time we left home, and so we were happy with just a two-hour round tour of the Werenbachtobel, enjoying the wonderful fall colours, and even a bit of a view. The information we found on the Internet claimed that the Werenbachtobel was one of the most impressive landscapes among the gorges in the Zurich area, and that it emerged over the course of the last 10,000 to 15,000 years with the retreat of the Linth Glacier. 

We mostly pass through Zurich on our way somewhere else, and aren't familiar with much of the city except for the main train station. This was a reminder once again that we really should spend more time discovering the beautiful city of Zurich!

When you walk in a gorge, you don't have a lot of sunshine, but walking along the stream is relaxing!

And because the trees are now changing colour, it was pretty in the forest. 

Actually, there were two gorges we passed through. This one on the Northern section of the loop is actually called the "Stöckenbachtobel" and this is a different river than the Wehrenbach River that flows down the southern gorge. 

The brook that flows down the Stöckenbachtobel is nicknamed the "Elephant River", although no one is really sure where the name comes from. This stone elephant was set in the stream by the "Zurich Beautification Association of 1898" and children like to play here. 

We always enjoy crossing bridges, especially such old stone constructions

In the forest you might often come across interesting woodland birds and animals, such as this beautiful woodpecker. 

Once we left the Stöckenbachtobel, we had a section of road and city to cross before entering the other gorge. It was quite late for our lunch, and we were happy to find a bench here under these beautiful trees, although there was a very cold wind blowing. (You can just barely see Urs taking possession of the bench!)

The maple trees here mainly turn bright yellow in fall. There aren't many of the orange or red ones you see in Eastern USA or Canada

We took a detour over the hill past this old protestant church, which was unfortunately locked and can only be visited by appointment. From this hill you could see all the way to the Bernese Alps, but the air was very hazy. 

A look back a the little church hill as we descend and continue toward the Werenbach Gorge. 

This isn't actually officially part of the city of Zürich, it's like an outlier village called Witikon. 

This was cute!

As we descended into the Werenbach Gorge, we came upon the old mill in Trichtenhausen, which is now a restaurant

The beautiful painting on the building wall indicates that the locality of Trichtenhausen existed already over 1000 years ago (!), and apparently the mill was in operation from 1417.

This is the old mill wheel which exists since 1417, but no longer in use. 

Continuing back to our starting point in Burgwis, but this time along the Werenbach river

I do enjoy walking through the forest when the sun shines through. 

And if I'm lucky, a squirrel might sit still long enough for me to be able to photograph him!

The information we got from the Internet about this two-hour loop hike... 

Our 2-hour and 7.5-km afternoon walk as depicted on the hiking map.

It's nice for the city people of the Zurich and Lake Zurich area to have these forested areas within the populated areas, for easy access for jogging or family outings. 

This beautiful building at the Zürich Stadelhofen train station (from where we took a tram to Burgwis, to the start of our round-tour) reminded me that I should maybe visit the city more?