Final Stretch of the Walstätterweg from Meggen to Luzern

Sunday January 26, 2024 -- Lots of nice weather in our region this day, so we didn't go very far....

There is a 115-kilometer themed trail which circumnavigates the part of Lake Luzern called the Vierwaldstättersee, most of which we have walked to date in 10-kilometer sections or so (with some variations). There was only one section which I had not yet walked, along the Küssnacht arm of the lake, a 10-kilometer section from Meggen into the city of Luzern, and so we decided to walk it this day to complete the circuit. (Side note: Lake Luzern is known as the "Vierwaldstättersee" -- translates to "Four Cantons Lake"--, as it borders the four Cantons of Luzern, Schwyz, Nidwalden and Uri, with the eastern arm better known as Lake Uri, which is located almost completely in Canton Uri).  

As much of the stretch is on paved roads, it was a good time to do this after overnight rains. (At this point, meadow trails are too wet and muddy). We had excellent visibility into the snow-covered peaks of the Nidwalden and Bernese Alps as well as the lake, and lots of sunshine for the most part. The biggest issue of the day was that as we got to the lakeside promenade in the city of Luzern, the masses of people out walking on this beautiful January Sunday were claustrophobia-inducing, so we opted to catch a bus to the train station instead of walking the additional 25 minutes.... but we also had bad luck with that, as overjoyed soccer fans were blocking the traffic in and out of the city due to a 3:1 win against the Zurich soccer team. In the end, we would have gotten to the train station faster on foot, even with all the crowds on the promenade! Luckily it's only a 30-minute trip home for us, once we finally got to the station....

It is so wonderful to finally have sunny weather with clear visibility of the Alps to the south. This is a photo as we pass Lake Zug by train on the way to Luzern. On some days the famous Eiger-Mönch-Trio look so close and so large!  At this point it is 10:30 a.m. 

A zoomed view of the north face of the Eiger! (The dark pyramid....)

From Luzern we took another train along the lakeshore of the Küssnacht arm of Lake Lucerne, to the village of Meggen. The dominant mountain here is Mt.Pilatus, Luzern's mountain. This is the same region we are going to walk back to Luzern. 

At 11:20 we got to the Meggen train station. It was a one hour and 10 minute trip here, with two transfers of 15 minutes each. So really barely 30 minutes of travel time!

We started at the Meggen train station at about 11:20 and headed down to the lakefront. It is here that we had ended another 8-km section of the Waldstätterweg (Lake Luzern Circuit Trail) in February 2024 (Photos are HERE).

A lovely park-like area on the lakefront in Meggen. 

From the lakefront looking Southeast we can see all the way to Mount Schärhorn which is at the Klausen Pass in Canton Uri. 

This view is southwest along the lakeshore which we are walking. For the rest of our walk we had mountain Pilatus in our sights. 

And to the south, once again, are the snow-covered peaks of the Bernese Alps. 

After admiring the view in mostly the eastern direction along Lake Luzern, we start off on our walk around the Meggenhorn toward Luzern. (In the background is Mt. Rigi. This is the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern.)

This is the stretch of the "Waldstätterweg" Trail (no.98) which we walked this day, starting in Meggen. Our goal was the train station in Luzern (south of the bridge on the west side of the lake), but there were way too many people on the lakeside promenade, so we caught a bus. We took a detour to the boat dock at Meggenhorn, and altogether walked about 9 kilometers. 

Sculpture along the way. 

Just 15 minutes from Meggen train station is the Meggen ship station. From here it is basically a two-hour walk to Luzern, just right for a Sunday stroll. We are walking on the regional trail no.98: "Waldstätterweg". (This is the final missing piece from my having walked around the entire lake). 

Looking behind us to the boat landing at Meggen. In the background is Mt.Rigi and the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern. Starting mid-April, there is a single ship tour on Sundays on this arm of the lake, with a boat stop here. 

From here you can see to the summit of Mt. Rigi (Rigi Kulm) on the left, and the village of Greppen on the waterfront. 

Interesting houses along the way. 

Another look to the Schwyzer, Uri and Nidwalden Alps. (The main mountain here on the right, which is on the bend of Lake Luzern and Lake Uri, is called the Niederbauen. It also forms the border of Cantons Nidwalden and Uri). 

Another interesting house 

A lot of wealthy people live here!

Some even live in castles! This castle is called Neuhabsburg. According to Wikipedia, it was built in 1871 in Neogothic style, and is privately-owned by a Ralph Sonnenberg, one of the richest men in the Netherlands. 

Ah, so nice to finally see some sunshine around here! All kinds of people and creatures enjoying this mild day!

Looking eastward along Lake Luzern. On the left are the mountains of Cantons Luzern and Schwyz, in the center are the mountains of Cantons Schwyz and Uri, and on the right are the mountains of Canton Nidwalden. 

Typical farmhouse in this region. 

Now we've arrived at another castle, the Meggenhorn castle. 

Below on the lake, the ships make their way between Luzern, Brunnen and Flüelen. 

The Meggenhorn Castle was built in 1870 and was privately-owned till 1974. Now it belongs to the Municipality of Meggen, and used as a museum and a venue for various events. There is a café in the building, and the grounds are open to the public. 

A beautiful bird landed in the castle vineyards. (A buzzard most likely).

We decided to detour off the main trail down to lake level at Meggenhorn, as there is another ship dock there. We passed this lovely farmhouse along the way.  

A look back at the Meggenhorn Castle as we head down to lake level. 

This is the ship station at Meggenhorn. In spring and summer there are a few boat stops here on a round tour of this arm of the lake. 

This is the view we had directly to the south from Meggenhorn. On the left are the feet of Mts. Bürgenstock and Stanserhorn, on the right is the foot of Mt. Pilatus, and straight ahead the mountains of Canton Obwalden, mostly. (Melchsee-Frutt and Brünig Pass). Straight ahead you can see the bridge that crosses the lake where there is another small "side lake" called Alpnachersee. (We were very intrigued by that horn-like peak, which may possibly be called "Brünig Haupt", which we determined from lots of research). 

After checking out the ship docking station (there were several other people there), we found a small footpath to another promontory with a statue of Christ. There were a couple of people at the bench having a champagne picnic, so we didn't want to stay long. 

A cormorant flying by. 

From the promontory, we can see the city of Luzern to the northwest. 

Jesus Statue at Meggenhorn, erected in 1910 apparently. 

Heading back up to the castle, we pass once again the large farmhouse which we passed on the other side on our way down to the lakeshore. 

Heading onto the castle grounds. There were many people here, most of them heading into the café.

From the castle wall, another view of Mt.Pilatus. 

The castle chapel has interesting spires. We walked up there to see if we could see the inside, but the doors were locked. 

Up at the castle church!

View from the castle chapel directly to the south, past Bürgenstock ad Mt.Stanserhorn on the left, Mt. Pilatus on the right, to the Obwalden Alps. 

Idyllic view

Heading out of the castle grounds now, we see one of those rare, large sequoias which we sometimes come across. In German they are called "Giant Mammoth Trees" (although that seems a bit redundant). 

Standing beside the Giant Mammoth Tree with a view to the castle church. 

A look along the lakeshore in the direction of Luzern. Our trail continues on the road at the right. Ahead of us is a newly planted walnut orchard.

Another look across the Luzern arm of Lake Luzern, past the newly-planted walnut farm. 

Here's a short stretch of nice narrow trail, and not muddy!

Here now at the Seeburg ship dock, the path starts to follow the lakeshore along a main road. In summer there are three ships on Sundays that make the rounds of this arm of the lake, and this is one of the docking stops.

Before reaching the main Promenade and the final 3½ kilometers to the train station (which we did not complete in the end), we found a lovely set of chairs and tables across from the Seeburg Hotel, where we sat for about 20 minutes enjoying the view.  

Enjoying the sunshine and the view at the lakefront of the Seeburg Hotel at about 1 p.m. 

Our final moments of peace before reaching the main lakeshore promenade, which was overflowing with people on this lovely Sunday afternoon. 

This part of the promenade passes the Luzern Transport Museum. There were lots of people taking a walk here on this lovely Sunday afternoon. 

These guys are enjoying the sunshine as well, and don't seem to be as bothered to be in a crowd as we were! In the background are the spires of the prominant St.Leodegar Catholic Church, which I had never even had a look at, even though we live so close. We were planning to stop by there, but never did make it that far. 

A nice villa next to the promenade. 

At this point we were totally overwhelmed by the crowds of people on this path, that we headed to the main road at the next possible access, and waited for a bus. As it turns out, even though there is a bus every seven minutes to the train station from here, we waited over 20 minutes as the buses could not get in or out of the city due to chaos by soccer fans. In retrospect, we would have been almost faster on foot, as it was only another 30 minutes on foot from the bus stop to the train station!

A look at the part of the city of Luzern on the north shore of the lake. Even from here you can see all the people walking along the promenade!

And now another look behind us at the beautiful snow-covered Alps. A ship is currently docking at the Transport Museum, and will continue on its way into the city. We could also have taken that boat to the train station, but I wanted to walk at least to here, to close my loop on the lake circuit trail. 

A ship stops at the Luzern Transport Museum dock. It's now about 2:30 p.m. and we headed to the main road to catch that bus which didn't come.... 

After waiting over 20 minutes for a bus, and then bearing with it as it inched its way through the traffic along the lake, we got off one stop before the train station and made our way across the bridge on foot, getting to the station long before the bus had even started across the bridge. At this point it's already 3:15 p.m., and we would have gotten here faster if we had simply continued to walk along the promenade!

In the end we walked less than the 10 kilometers we had planned. This is what our walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

This ca. 10-kilometer stretch along Lake Luzern was the final missing section of the 115-kilometer trail around the Waldstätter part of Lake Luzern which we have been walking in short sections over the past 10 years (The other section is around Lake Uri, Trail no.99: "Swiss Path" which we have now also basically completed). 

This is a description of the Waldstätterweg trail, a specially-designated trail around the part of Lake Lucerne from Brunnen to Seelisberg. 

We have now completed walking all around Lake Luzern on Trail no.98 "Waldstätterweg" (from Brunnen to Seelisberg via Luzern and Stans) as well as Trail no.99: "Weg der Schweiz" (from Brunnen to Seelisberg via Flüelen, around the Lake Uri part of Lake Luzern).