Hiking on the South Flank of Mt. Rigi, from Mittlerschwanden (Vitznau) to Gersau

Thursday June 8, 2023 -- Today was the holiday of Corpus Christi in Catholic Cantons of Switzerland (in the predominantly Protestant Cantons like Zurich, people still had to go to work). We tried to avoid really popular places again, assuming people who like to hike were going to use this day off to go there.

Our nearby mountain Mount Rigi, the gateway to the Alps so-to-speak, is very popular with tourists who basically take the train up to the summit at Rigi Kulm, take a few photos, and head down again. But there are many interesting trails on this mountain, mainly on its south side, which aren't used by a lot of people. Even though we have walked there often, there are a lot of trails we haven't tried out yet.

We started very early again, taking the first run (8:15) of the Vitznau-Rigi cogwheel train to its first stop, from where we did a surprisingly adventurous walk which consisted of an uphill section in the shadow of the tall cliffs, which was a good thing as it would have been too hot otherwise. The hike was like two hikes: One high alpine hike with narrow trails and steep drops, vertical cliffs and masses of boulders from a rock side, and then a section of lush meadows and forest trails as we descended to lake level to Gersau. (Whereas the first part was in the cool shade, it did get very warm on the second part!)

We loved this hike with its fantastic views of Lake Lucerne and all the well-known mountains around it (Pilatus, Stanserhorn, Buochserhorn, Bürgenstock, Niederbauen and more). The highlight of the day is that we spotted a deer with its baby on the edge of the woods, standing so still you might not have noticed had we not been looking. They watched us for a very long time without moving. I guess running away wasn't an option....

Our excursion starts at 8 a.m. at the lakeside station of the Vitznau-/Rigibahn. Here we discovered another of those "Grand Tour of Switzerland" frames!

There are now brand new trains for the ride up to Rigi Kulm, but they are awaiting the next run of Asian Tourists. This early in the morning it's just us die-hard Swiss hikers taking the train, so we get to ride the old nostalgic one. There were only about 15 of us on the train. 

We were the only people to get off at Mittlerschwanden Station, 270 meters above lake level. The others are going up to the summit, where there is sunshine!

This is the view down onto Lake Luzern as we start our uphill hike. Across the lake is Beckenried and Musenalp, where I did a hike on my own on May 22, those photos are HERE.

To the West, a good profile view of Mount Pilatus in the background, and Mount Bürgenstock in the foreground. 

The first hour of our hike is an uphill climb of 240 meters to the cable car at Hinterbergen (it took us longer because the trail was narrow and steep), then 35 minutes to the cable car station at Wissifluh, and in our case, an additional almost two hours to Gersau on the lake, as we did not go the direct way. 

A fabulous 10-km and ca. 4-hour hike on the south side of Mt. Rigi. We started at 8:20, and caught a bus in Gersau at 13:45. This is close to our home, so we were back home by 3 p.m., in time for an afternoon nap!

Apparently there is no sunshine here yet at 8:30 a.m, so our ascent was mostly in the shadow of this cliff, but that was OK, because it was already starting to be a hot day. 

We wondered at the purpose of that door....

An interesting trail with lots of narrow sections along the cliff. 

These are the flowers that are currently in bloom on the mountain. (Columbines, I think)

Finally a bit of sunshine at the first large clearing called Gäbetschwil

Our trail took us to below the clearing on the right. It was hard to imagine that we had all that forest and steep mountainside to pass through!

A look down at the lakeshore town of Vitznau from where we started on this excursion with the train. 

We always keep our eyes open for wildlife, and spotted these deer on the edge of the forest in a clearing. The baby must only be a day or so old, as the mom didn't lead the way out of danger. Instead, she stayed as still as possible, hoping we wouldn't see them.

This is about as far away from the trail that the deer were. The baby moved its head around a bit, but the mom didn't move for all of the five minutes we watched. 

More interesting sections along the cliff

More interesting sections along the cliff

Ladders definitely help get us up the hill really quickly!

A look behind us at the cliffs we had been following. The cliff has a name: Rotbalmegg

Our first view down along the lakeshore to the West, namely to Weggis and the Hertenstein promontory. The strip of water behind the promontory is the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern. 

We got to the large mountain alpine pastures called Hinterbergen at 9:36, so it took us more than an hour

It was such a perfect day for this hike! Another look down at Vitznau below, Mt.Bürgenstock on the right, Mts. Buochserhorn and Stanserhorn on the other side of the lake. 

The little Hinterbergen cable car just passed on its way up as we walked beneath the cable-way 

Behind me is Mount Bürgenstock and behind that Mount Pilatus

You can't really see it from here, but the Wissifluh cableway summit station is perched on that cliff! (We have yet to ride that one). Our trail took us past that summit station. 

The Wissifluh restaurant is at the location of the arrow. That's about 40-minute walk from here. 

This is an unusual type of cattle for these parts. Not sure what they are, but they look like the Indian Zebus.

Oh look! Mini Marshmallows (These bundles don't weigh 200kg like the other ones). 

An old sawmill at the entrance to the forest trail on our way into the next "curve". 

Such lovely morning sunshine

This place was called Oberrufli, and we stopped here for a break at 10:15

Then there was a section where there had obviously been a rock slide at some point

Crossing a region where there had once been a rock slide. Behind Urs is the Hinterbergen clearing. 

A zoomed view of the Hinterbergen cable-car approaching the summit station!

A view of the entire shoreline here all the way to the Hertenstein promontory. Behind that is the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern. The city of Luzern is all the way in the back on the left.

This is now shortly before the other cable-way called Wissifluh

It looks like the trail stops here, but it goes up to the left!

Summit station of the Wissifluh cable-way, perched on a cliff

Wissifluh is also a farm and there used to be a restaurant here as well. This swing made of old cable-car cabins is so cute!

Continuing on, a look behind us at where we walked: The Rotbalmegg cliffs, Hinterbergen pastures, and what used to be a restaurant here at Wissifluh

We admired this wonderful location for a residence. On the right is the "Wissifluh" tower. We are not sure if this is a look-out tower, but we didn't go down there, as the view from up here was good enough!

Heading down now on the very south side, here is a fabulous look-out point looking west to the south side of Mt. Bürgenstock, and the cove that is Buochs and Ennetbürgen. 

Close-up look way down below at the Park Hotel in Vitznau (1,150 CHF for one night!!)

Walking down the southern slopes of Mount Rigi. It was very warm for this last section down to the lake.

Roses everywhere, lots of colour!

Everywhere steep hillsides of grass need to be mown, dried and harvested. 

Here we join Trail no.98: "Waldstätterweg", which we have walked before in March 2018, but in the other direction. Those photos are HERE

I think this run-down shed all over-grown is kind of cute! It was very warm here, and we were glad to get into the forest for the final 30 minutes down to the road on the lake. 

The sheep are smart to take refuge in the coolness of the stone shed on this hot day!

We got to the lake level at 13:20 and still had to walk 15 minutes to the ship dock in the village. This time we didn't have to hurry

Everywhere the roses are blooming

The roses everywhere provide lots of variety in colours as well

So glad to douse my sweaty face with refreshing water! (Lakeside park in Gersau)

Walking along the promenade in Gersau on our way to the ship dock (also bus stop)

The steam ship "Gallia" was just pulling into the dock at Gersau at exactly the same time as our bus. We opted to NOT take the ship this time!

The section from Mittlerschwanden to Wissifluh was definitely the most interesting, and I just might walk it again some time!

We have done a lot of walking on Mount Rigi! In retrospect though for this hike, we should have taken the shortcut on the south side (a piece of paved road), sind we had walked that lower section before. 

Bus ride from Gersau to Brunnen train station (for the train to Zug), we pass the church in Gersau. Gersau claims to be one of the prettiest villages in Switzerland. It also used to be an independent micro-state with alliance to the Swiss Confederation

Driving along the lakeshore road parallel to the ship which is also headed for Brunnen. On the left is the gorge which we hiked down in April of this year, as we walked along the lakeshore on the other side to Beckenried. Those photos are HERE

A pretty Gasthaus near the lake in Brunnen (a bus stop on the way to the station)