The South side of Mount Bürgenstock

Wednesday September 27, 2023 -- After the very long and somewhat strenuous hike from the day before, we decided to keep it short again on this, another beautiful day for hiking.

On the south side of Lake Luzern is a small mountain called Bürgenstock, which is best known for its resort catering to the elite since 1873. Besides several luxurious hotels, an exciting cliff walk on its north side and the Hametschwand elevator (the highest outdoor lift in Europe) were built for the entertainment of the clientele. There is also a funicular on the north side directly from the lake to the summit, so that guests can arrive by special boat, instead of with the bus from the south, which is what we do. 

As we had already walked the cliff trail and ridden on the Hametschwand lift (it rises so quickly, you barely have time to admire the view), this time we walked along the south side of the mountain with some pretty nice views of Lake Luzern and Mount Buochserhorn. After a long forested stretch across a crest (very welcome in this heat), we descended on a slippery trail full of roots on the west side of the mountain, this time with the fabulous backdrop of Mount Pilatus and Lake Alpnach. It was a short afternoon hike (only 2½ hours), but just right for this day, as we were planning a long hike for the next. Another positive for us is that this region is close to where we live, so we don't have to travel far...

Oh, and we also came across a snake on the trail, watched it slithering through the leaves on the forest floor. Not a poisonous one. 

(Photos of our cliff walk and ride on the Hametschwand lift from June 2019 are HERE)

From the hotels on Bürgenstock, this is the view north to the Hertenstein peninsula and Mount Rigi, and beyond that to the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern. We were "late" starting on this outing, as it is now alread 1 p.m. 

An interesting piece of art that actually lights up. The building on the right is a HUGE store that sells only watches from one manufacturer. 

This time the view is straight ahead to the city of Luzern.. The houses below form the community of Kehrsiten. The funicular ascends directly below here. 

Admiring some pretty buildings. (A hotel probably)

This building is called "the Spycher". It is a historical granary from Canton Aargau which was transported here in 1967 and now serves as an event location. 

A fun trail sign. It reads "Philosophenweg" or "Philosopher's Path"

In November of 2018 we started at the same place and hiked along Trail no.98 to Stansstad. Then in June 2019 we walked the cliff trail in the other direction. And this time we headed south with great views to the east (Buochs) and some into the Engelberg Valley to the south and then to Mount Pilatus to the West. 

A view of Mount Pilatus to the West

And now behind us we see all the fancy hotels for the exclusive clientele!

Heading around the bend, we are surprised by this amazing view eastward across Lake Lucerne toward the Schwyzer Alps. Below are the cities of Ennetbürgen and Buochs

Down below is a small airline runway. We sat here on a bench and watched a small airplane take off. 

The small grey plane is just getting ready for take-off

This was a lovely trail to walk along the southern flank, with the great views. Behind Urs is Mount Rigi

Here at Etschenried farm we head to the Seewligrat, which is the crest of the mountain, and a trail mostly through the forest. 

This snake (probably a dice snake = Würfelnatter) was lounging on the trail, and made its way through the leaves as we approached. This is a non-venomous snake. But we were surprised to find it here. 

VIDEO:

The Dice Snake making its way through the forest floor cover.

Unfortunately the video goes in and out of focus

The crest trail was mostly through the forest, but here was an opening with a view up the Engelberg Valley. On the left is Mount Buochserhorn, whose flank I descended back in JULY.  

At the westernmost tip of the crest we descended with a view of Lake Lucerne. The city at the back of this arm is Horw

This was the toughest part of the hike. The trail was damp and slippery and covered with lots of roots

Carefully making our way down

And now a splendid view of Mount Pilatus. 

The rest of the way down the mountain was through pastoral landscape. 

Look at this neat, clean and superbly taken care of property! There was a Bentley in their garage when we passed by, so.... 

Our trail continued on the road below, heading south (to the left). 

The cutest little farmhouse, also called a Spycher, like the one up at the resort

Right in the center of the mountain is a small village called Obbürgen, which the bus passed through on the way to the Bürgenstock Resort further up the hill. 

I love the trails through the pastures, they are so nice and soft to walk on. 

The final stretch before getting to the valley bottom, where we caught a bus back to the train station in Stansstad at about 4:30 p.m. 

A downhill stretch through the forest. 

Down in the industrial section of Stans where we caught the bus was a commercial center called "Mirage" (also a restaurant) that displayed two of these beautiful jets on the premises!

From the bus now, we get a good look at the summit of the mountain from where we descended on the overgrown path (down to the left). 

The three hikes we have done on Mount Bürgenstock. The light blue trail is the one we did this day (purple is the cliff walk and Hamendschwand Lift from 2019, and orange is the November 2018 hike. 

Location of Bürgenstock within Switzerland