From Willisau to Menznau via Ostergau Lakes

Sunday May 28, 2023 -- Urs has long talked about going to see the Ostergau Lakes near Willisau, a lovely region of peat bogs where these lakes were created by cutting out the peat during WWII when oil and coal were scarce fuels. This is a lovely nature reserve and was a good idea for this sunny day on the Pentecost Holiday weekend, as we encountered very few people in this area: Most others were probably at church services or in the popular areas in the mountains, which we were trying to avoid.

As I had done two long hikes on the two previous days, I didn't mind that this was going to be a short walk, just under 10 kilometers and about 2-3/4 hours with little uphill. This small hike had so much variety, with forest trails, the nature reserve, and a surprisingly nice narrow path along a short piece of the St.James Trail through the lovely agricultural region of the Luzern Back-Country. And a nice bonus is that it only took us just over an hour from home to get there with public transit.

As air clarity wasn't spectacular anyway, it didn't matter that we weren't doing a panorama tour, although in retrospect, if the air had been clearer, we might also have had some nice views of Mount Pilatus from the hill above the lake.

Side Note: The train to Willisau from Luzern is a double-train with the two trains being separated in Wolhusen. The other part of the train continues in the direction of Bern to towns from where buses run to such popular hiking areas as Sörenberg, Napf, Marbach and Eggiwil. That section of the train was so full, there was barely any standing room left. And our section? We were almost the only ones going the other way.

A 30-minute walk from Willisau train station and up along a small forested hill, we come to a plateau where we get the first views over the Luzern countryside (and the Swiss-Krono factory below)

All around us the grass had been freshly mowed and it smelled so good!

A lovely spring day in the Luzern back country

Being watched...

On the upper left of the photo is the town of Willisau where we started on our walk.

The bench instructed us: "Instead of rushing, you can rest here for a bit", which is what we did!

That is a huge linden tree up ahead. It will smell wonderful once these trees start to flower!

Our first glimpse of the Ostergau lakes below

This is a special breed of sheep called "Engadine Sheep". It is a very robust, rare and protected species of Swiss sheep originating from the formerly difficult to access regions of Engadine in Canton Graubünden.

Lovely meadows

A better view of the lovely Ostergau Lakes. If the air had been clearer, we would have seen the whole range of the pre-Alps to the south.

Heading down to lake level

Just above the farmhouse was a bench in the shade, and we sat here for a while admiring the countryside.

Because the farmers were mowing the grass all around, birds of prey were circling below us, hoping to find mice scurrying in the cut grass!

After reaching the main road below, we headed left and then through the pond region.

We started at the Willisau train station at 9:30, and caught the train back home in Menznau at about 13:30. It wasn't a long hike for us, but the weather was nice for walking, not too hot, and few other people in this area.

We often pass some interestingly-decorated gardens

VIDEO:

Once we reached the little lakes, the frogs were croaking like crazy, I'd never heard anything like it. Try as we might, we couldn't actually see ANY frogs!

Making our way through the thick rushes next to one of the ponds, to try to find some frogs which we could hear croaking like crazy! We couldn't see a single one.

Looking behind us past the pond to the upper area where we had walked from the forest on the left.

This information panel explains how the lakes came to be formed: During the Second World War, oil and coal were rare commodities, so people began cutting out the peat in these peat bogs for fuel. The water level was reduced by six meters with strong pumps. Since then, nature has reclaimed the region.

More lovely meadows

Heading back uphill past the Ostergau lakes on our way to Menznau, the next nearest train station.

A lovely farmhouse. (Note, this ascent was in a bit of a "dip" and there was no breeze here, so it was very hot)

A lone tree far off on the hill.

We had found a shady spot next to a farmhouse to eat our lunch, then continued southwards along what is officially the St.James trail, and in this section a surprisingly nice and narrow trail. Up ahead you can just see Mt. Pilatus