A Short Section on the Thur River Trail between Lütisburg and Dietfurt

Wednesday November 8, 2023 -- The only really nice day we have had this month so far (and more bad weather till mid-November) and Urs had to work! Well, till noon anyway, so we met up in Zurich and traveled to the Toggenburg region for a short afternoon walk on another section of the Thur River Trail. 

We had hoped to complete a three-hour section starting in Lütisburg (where we had ended a 12-km stretch this February -- Photos HERE -- , and wanted to continue on in autumn) to Lichtensteig, but only managed to complete an 8-km stretch as the sun was already starting to go down at 3:30 p.m.!

The air was so clear that we hoped we could see some of the mountains of eastern Switzerland, but our view was "blocked" by the small surrounding hills on this stretch.... which was also just barely along the river, even though it is part of the themed riverside trail! The best view we had was from the train on our way back to the city of Wil. In retrospect, we should have gone higher (but didn't want an uphill climb), or stayed closer to the city of Zurich, to save on travel time.

Let's hope we get another mild and clear day like this one, although at this time it doesn't look like it's going to be a pleasant November....

We started at 1:15 pm at the train station in Lütisburg where we ended the 3-hour hike we did here in February (Photos HERE). This is trail no.24: "Thurweg" ("Thur River Trail"). Bütschwil is the next town we are headed to, one hour from here. 

With this nice weather and expectation of rain the next day, the farmers are busy distributing manure over their pastures. It smelled like pig manure for most of our two-hour walk!

Ahead of us we can see the church steeple in Bütschwil, which is the next town we are headed to. Also to the south are the mountains near Lake Walensee, I think. Maybe the west side of the Churfirsten range? 

So nice to see the cows in the pastures still. There were many along the way. 

To our east we could just see the top part of Mount Säntis (A hike along the top of those hills would have provided much better views!). This is a zoomed photo. 

Farm houses along the way. 

Our plan was for a 3-hour and 12-km hike from Lütisburg to Lichtenstieg, but we ended the hike in Dietfurt, as the sun was already setting at 3:30 p.m. (We started at 1:15 p.m). Even though this was part of the "Thur River Trail", we didn't see much of the river.  

Still, a nice balmy November day for an afternoon walk. And the pastures are still a vibrant green!

Here for a change is someone cleaning the leaves off the path with a good, old-fashioned broom, instead of the annoying leaf-blowers whose noise you cannot escape from here.

After an hour of walking, we came into the town of Bütschwil. We passed by the church before crossing the river to the east side of the valley. 

Always a quick look into any church we pass by. This is the parish church in Bütschwil. 

Sometimes we even see some fun cars. This is a Porsche.

Even though we are in Canton St.Gallen, some of the houses have a distinct Appenzell style. 

This was a pretty house as well. 

The suspension bridge across the Thur River at Bütschwil

Crossing the Thur River

Now we've crossed over to the East side of the Thur River, where we had much more sunshine for this late afternoon walk. 

A look at the Bütschwil church now on the other side of the Thur River

This was quite funny.... to our right, a farmer was loading fresh and steaming manure into his truck for spreading on the fields. And that cow on the left was staring intently at him... and not at us for a change. She didn't pay any attention to us at all. 

There's that cow, still staring at the farmer and totally ignoring us. 

Heading down toward the river now

Another peak in the distance to the south, maybe Mount Speer?

Our second glimpse of the river this day.

Lots of nice farm houses along the way. 

We came to an interesting little side valley where feeder streams come down to the Thur River, and where there are some fortress ruins (Burg Rüdberg) in the forest. 

We did the short detour to the ruins of the Rüdberg Fortress. There isn't much left except some stone walls. 

Information about the Rüdberg Fortress which controlled the only passage between Lake Constance and Lake Zurich from the 13th to late 15th Centuries. At the time, the only traversable road in the Thur Valley passed by the fortress. 

The view down to the Thur River from the Rüdberg Fortress. Most likely the trees didn't block the view back in the day!

Heading back down to the river again. The leaves here made the trail a bit slippery.

Apparently, Urs found a tricky section of this stream to cross! It was actually easier to cross right where the stream entered the river. 

At river level where the river makes the bend near the fortress (which would be at the top of the cliffs on the right). 

After another 10 minutes of walking from the bend in the river, we came to the bridge in Dietfurt and had to decide if we wanted to end the walk here or continue for another hour to the next town of Lichtensteig. But the sun was already very low and the town would have been in shadow, so we decided to continue the walk on a different day, and headed to the station in Dietfurt. 

While waiting for the 15:41 train in Dietfurt, another look at that lovely snow-covered mountain to the south. This is most likely the very western side of the Churfirsten Range. 

What our 8-km walk on the Thur River Trail looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

On the train heading north back to Wil, we pass by the side valley where we detoured to the fortress ruins on that cliff above the Thur River. 

And from the train window is where we got the best and most fantastic view of the Alpstein Massif and Mount Säntis. This would have been the better place for a hike... had we known. Here we are just passing through the community of Lütisburg, where the church is located on a small hill at the junction of the Necker and Thur Rivers.

Location of the Thur River Valley section between Wil and Wattwil, the region where we walked both in February and this time. The trip home took two hours.