Winter Panorama Trail on Mount Rigi from Scheidegg to Kaltbad

Wednesday December 27, 2023 -- We invited friends to stay for a couple of days with us, and one of our planned outings was a winter walk on our local mountain, Mount Rigi.

The day was better than we could have hoped for, with very clear air and lots of sunshine. We parked the car at the parking lot for the Scheidegg cable car (Kräbel), rode the cable car to Rigi Scheidegg, and walked 7 km to Rigi Kaltbad, where we had lunch on a sunny terrace at the Alpina Hotel. From there it was another train ride to Rigi Kulm summit for additional views across the Central Plateau of Switzerland to the north, followed by coffee at the Station Bistro because we just missed the train back down the mountain and had to wait a full hour for the next one! As there is a train station right next to the cable-car station where we started our excursion, we were able to complete the loop right back to the car park.

Mount Rigi has a nick-name: "Queen of the Mountains", as it is the first "real" mountain on the north side of the Alps, offers 360-degree views of a substantial part of Switzerland including the Alps and all the way into Germany and France, and has had easy access since the construction of the cog-wheel train in 1870. Unfortunately, because of this easy access, the mountain has become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, especially on such a rare beautiful day, and right dead center in the Christmas holidays! 

But this day trip was enjoyed by all!

(Side Note: We have done this walk many times in summer and winter, and once before in much better snow conditions. Those photos are HERE).

We came by car this time to Mount Rigi, where we parked at the Chräbel parking lot, or base station of the Scheidegg Cable Car. This view is of Rigi Kulm, where we also ended our excursion with a train ride at the end of our 7-km walk. The summit is just under 1800 meters above sea level. 

This is the Scheidegg Cable Car. We were hoping to get to the cable car station before the masses coming up from Arth Goldau train station, but an extra run had just arrived with about 50 people! Lucky for us, we were in the first cable-car run up the mountain. In the background is Lake Zug and Mount Rossberg, where one of Switzerland's most disastrous rock-slides occurred in 1806.

From the Scheidegg station on the east side of the Rigi range, we get a view down to Lake Lauerz and the Mythen mountains. 

To the north, a better look at Lake Zug, which is half covered with the typical fog we get there. The communities below are called Arth (at the head of the lake) and Goldau, a major train station. 

At the start of our walk westward is this huge bench, fun to climb up on and great for a photo!

I was happy to get on a photo too!

Here at Scheidegg are several summer homes and a hotel or two. Even though there isn't as much snow as hoped, we still had a winter landscape. 

Looking directly south, you can just see part of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) and the Uri Alps, plus Mount Seelisberg where we had been a couple of days earlier. 

A close-up shot of the main peaks of the Bernese Alps to the southwest, in this case the recognizable north face of Mount Eiger, with part of Mt.Jungfrau just barely visible behind it, and Mt.Mönch on its left. These are the famous Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen trio. 

Our 7-km walk along the Rigi Winter Panorama Trail. Having parked the car at "Chräbel" at 10 a.m., we took the cable car to Scheidegg, walked to Kaltbad where we had lunch at about 1 p.m, then from there took a train to Rigi Kulm. We had to wait for the 3:15 p.m. train back down to Chräbel, so we looked at the view for a bit, and relaxed over coffees in a warm restaurant!

We started out on our 7-km walk on the Panorama Trail at 10:30. They aren't kidding about the panorama!!!! This view is across the Alps of Central Switzerland, including Bernese Oberland. 

Enjoying the winter sunshine with friends. 

Only on this section the slope made descending a bit difficult. A plastic bag made a good slide, we should have brought more! From here on, the trail was level. 

The pink signs indicate times for the winter trails, which take about 20-30% longer to walk. So in effect, this was about a 2¼-hour walk altogether to Rigi Kaltbad.  

A view to the West to Mount Zug on the left (like a table-top mountain) and Rossberg in the center (the highest peak there is called Wildspitz) 

For most of the way we had very good snow conditions for this winter walk!

Unfortunately the lack of snow makes the mountain look unattractive, but this is a view to the summit, which we traveled to by train later. By the arrow on the left is the panorama trail which we reached later. 

About halfway along the trail is an old railway bridge (no photo this time, but here is a photo from one of our other hikes here --> BRIDGE) at a location called Unterstetten, from where you get this spectacular view of Mounts Bürgenstock, Pilatus, Stanserhorn and the mountains of Ob- and Nidwalden. Plus of course, Lake Lucerne. 

A look down at Lake Lauerz and the two Mythen Mountains above the city of Schwyz. In the background are the Glarus Alps 

Nearing the end of our walk, this is the most fantastic view over the Alps. 

This is the hotel Alpina where we had lunch, on the table in the corner on the terrace at the arrow. We would actually have been just in time for the next train from here to the summit, but it was 12:30 and that was the only table that was free, so we took advantage of it. 

Enjoying our lunch on the sunny terrace at Rigi Kaldbad station. Surprisingly, not a single person on the crowded terrace smoked! (THAT has never happened before, I was preparing myself mentally to have to put up with cigarette smoke!)

From our table on the terrace we looked down at the new and modern train that we could have caught to the summit of Mount Rigi from here. This train does the run from Vitznau on the south side of the mountain at the lake, to the summit. (The old trains were red-and-white, and so much cuter!) We caught the next train up an hour later. 

At 13:35 we caught the next train up to the summit. This was our first time riding in these modern trains, which have been in operation here since only the spring of 2022. 

Heading up to the summit of the mountain by train. This building at Rigi Staffel is the "Schwinger-Haus". Schwingen is a national sport here, a type of wrestling, and there are competitions held up here every summer. 

And here at the Rigi Kulm summit station is the view that all the tourists come up here for! This view is to the Uri and Glarus Alps. Our hike took place on the next crest from here, straight ahead. 

This view is to the Bernese Alps, slightly southwest. 

This is the Rigi Kulm Hotel. We still have a small hill to hike up to the summit. 

On the steps to the communication tower at the summit of Mount Rigi

A fantastic view today to the north! Lake Zug is clear of fog. We live in the city at the northeast corner of the lake. Far in the back we can see all the way to Germany and the Black Forest. 

Directly below the north side of the Mount Rigi is a large upper alpine pasture called Seeboden Alp. Directly in the center is the town of Küssnacht where my Dad spent his late teenage years. And on the far right on the lake is where Urs grew up. 

From here you can see right down to the city of Schwyz, and all across the Schwyzer and Glarus Alps. 

We're heading back down to the train station, but just missed the 14:16 train down, so we went into a small cafeteria and had coffee while waiting for the next train. 

At 15:45 we are almost down the mountain now. Below is Lake Zug, Arth and Goldau

Here we are back at Chräbel parking lot. We came down in the blue train, which is continuing to the valley bottom. The red train is part of the original fleet which was replaced by the modern trains, but deployed on this line when there are lots of people on the mountain, which was the case today. 

Here's what the panorama trail looks like on Google Satellite Maps.