Cliff Walk and North Side of Mount Bürgenstock

Wednesday August 13, 2025 -- Here at lower elevations, temperatures of 30ºC and higher are unbearable for us (and yet nowhere near as hot as it currently is in France, Spain, Italy and Greece). But we still try to go out for hikes if we feel like it, but looking for trails that are more in the forested areas now.

Although we had once done the Cliff Walk on the north side of Mt.Bürgenstock near Lucerne (in June of 2019, photos HERE), at that time the more interesting part of the trail was closed due to fallen rock, and we ended up riding the Hammetschwand elevator instead, the highest outdoor elevator in Europe. This time we had the chance to walk the entire stretch of the Cliff Walk, dizzyingly high up with a vertical drop to the waters of Lake Luzern (Vierwaldstättersee) below. As this is on the north side of the mountain, we figured we'd have some nice shade. We also planned to descend to lake level on this north side, detouring to a lakeside restaurant accessed only by boat (or on foot, obviously!), and then walking back toward the Bürgenstock funicular station through the forest closer to the water level.

From there we then caught the "ferry-boat" from Kehrsiten to Luzern, a 30-minute trip (unfortunately also too many tourists with screaming children.... so boring for kids!) from where we only had about 35 minutes to get back home.

We did have lots of shade, but unfortunately, due to the heat, our views were pretty hazy. And when not in the shade, also quite hot! In the end, this turned out to be a 3½-hour walk nonetheless, but we were glad to be home pretty early in the day!

History: In 1873 a fellow named Franz Josef Dürrer built the first hotel up here for an exclusive clientele, who then complained that there was nowhere to walk on the north side of the hill, which was basically a vertical cliff face. So in 1900 he engaged Austrian and Italian miners to blast out a daring 2-km trail (Felsenweg).To offer his guests an additional thrill, he built an almost free-standing lift along the cliff-face to take the guests 150m higher to the highest point of the city of Luzern. The trail and lift were completed in 5 years, and caused quite a sensation at the time.

A train from Luzern to Stansstad, and then a bus ride up to the Bürgenstock Resort.... with views over the town of Stansstad and Mt. Pilatus. The town at the foot of Mt. Pilatus across the lake here is Hergiswil, the home of the famous glass factory.

Also on the bus ride up Mt. Bürgenstock, a view to the north side of Mt.Stanserhorn, famous for its open-topped double-decker cable-car.

A view to Lake Alpnach, a southern arm of Lake Luzern. It is at the south end of this lake that the popular steepest cogwheel train in the world accesses the summit of Mt.Pilatus.

After leaving home at 7:15, we got to the Bürgenstock Resort at 8:35, and set off for the cliff trail right away (we have been here many times before). The history of the Resort dates back to 1873 as a vacation destination for wealthy Europeans.

The first view down to Kehrsiten on the north side of Mt.Bürgenstock. The Bürgenstock Resort is accessed on this side by a funicular built in 1888 and which can be reached by boat from Luzern. (The funicular station is off the photo on bottom right).

Heading off on the cliff walk in the comfortable shade of the north side of the mountain.

Starting at 8:40 at the center of the Bürgenstock resort, we first walked along the Cliff Walk (2 km), then down to Obermatt restaurant, and then back to the Funicular Station along the lower trail. From there we took the 13:33 boat ride (36 minutes) to Luzern. We were home again before 3 p.m.!

All along the way we had such views of the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Luzern) to the north. This view is up the Küssnacht arm of the lake, with the Luzern arm on the left.

After a 30-minute easy walk along a wide trail (wheel-chair accessible), we reach the bottom of the Hammetschwand Lift, (which we rode in June of 2019, when the rest of the cliff walk from here on was closed). The lift was built by Franz Josef Dürrer some time after he commissioned the blasting of the 2-km long cliff walk in 1900. (He built the first hotel here in 1873 for foreign guests who complained there was nowhere to walk up here!). It took five years to build.

This is the half of the cliff walk which we were not able to do in 2019. The whole cliff walk was originally built in early 1900's but was closed in 1971 due to storm damage. Reopened in 1991 as part of the 700th year celebration of Confederation, and the new tunnels and safety nets created in 2006. The cliff trail is part of the Federal Inventory of Swiss Transport Routes.

Looking straight down the north side of Mt.Bürgenstock. It is a dizzying drop of about 550 vertical meters.

Part of the upgrades of 2006 on this section of the cliff trail to make the full 2-km walk safer.

We really enjoyed this section of the cliff walk with its tunnels and superb views of the lake.

Directly to the north is Mt.Rigi and the Hertenstein promontory, as well as the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern at the back.

This view shows how steep the cliffs are here!

On the other side of a safety fence on the 2006 upgraded trail, we can see where the original cliff-walk, created in the early 1900's—and used again after 1991—passed through! Looks exciting!

At 9:30 we got to the look-out called Känzeli, which was originally the end of the trail. (It takes about an hour to walk the Cliff Walk). From here you can see the end of the eastern side of Mt. Bürgenstock, and the harbour and restaurant Obermatt below, where we are headed down to.

A close-up look at the Obermatt Gasthaus where we are going to detour to, after descending the north side of the mountain.

As we started down the crest (which follows the canton border between Luzern and Nidwalden), we get a view of Mt.Stanserhorn and the Nidwalden mountains. We followed the crest for forty minutes eastward before the steep descent on the north side.

It was an interesting descent along the crest of the mountain.

Lots of steps to follow

At a level section of the ridge called Mattgrat, we had some very nice views down the southern flank of Mt.Bürgenstock to the mountains of Nidwalden.

Also from Mattgrat, a view of the Buochs arm of the Vierwaldstättersee. Across the bay is Mt.Buochserhorn, and the towns of Buochs and Ennetbürgen at the west end of the lake.

At 10:20 we got to the junction where the trail heads steeply down the north side of the mountain. It would take about 25 minutes to the lower trail at Untermatt, and from there we had a 10-minute walk to the Obermatt Gasthaus and Restaurant.

Reaching the Untermatt pastures at 10:50. It took us 30 minutes in that case to walk down the lovely zigzag trail in a shady forest, soft trails, few roots. Lots of little forest frogs (only about 2 cm long) hopped over the trail!

On our way to the Obermatt restaurant we pass the border stone between the two cantons Luzern and Nidwalden. Urs is standing in Canton Luzern, I am in Canton Nidwalden! I am always excited about the canton borders we cross over or walk along!

This section of our map shows the 270-meter descent we made from the crest on the north side of the mountain, and how we crossed the canton border from Luzern to Nidwalden. The Canton border here is weird anyway: The central section of the north side of the mountain belongs to Canton Luzern, and the southern part to Canton Nidwalden.

At 11 a.m. we reached the piers at the Obermatt Restaurant. We knew that the restaurant opened at 10:30, and were hoping to have something to drink and a dessert, of course!

This is a large house, but we don't think there is accommodation here, only a restaurant

It was a very large lakeside patio and most of the tables had reserved signs on them! We were told that the place gets busy all afternoon, and so the tables are kept reserved. But they found a place for us next to the lakeside. We could only order something to drink, as food and dessert weren't served till 11:30, and we didn't want to stay that long. Which was OK, because it was very expensive!

This was the view approximately, from our table

Indeed, many boats showed up while we spent 30 minutes here! It is a nice place for people spending the day on the lake. The lady who served us said she also had to come by boat from Ennetbürgen around the corner to work here.

After about 30 minutes relaxing at the lakeside patio at the Obermatt Restaurant, we got back to the Untermatt pastures at 11:45.

This view shows how steep the cliffs are on the north side of Mt.Bürgenstock. From here we are walking for just over an hour on the lower trail through the forested section below the cliffs.

From Undermatt, it was a 20-minute detour to the Obermatt restaurant (plus 30 minutes rest there), and now it should be about another hour to walk on the forest trail to the station of the Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock funicular.

A small farm here with a few cows. I wonder if they live here all year round, or if they get transported here by boat for the summer? I cannot imagine that they would have to walk any of the trails we walked this day.

A sign warns us that there might be rocks falling from the cliffs!

For a whole hour we walked along a nice footpath through the cool forest. Not always easy, as we had to watch out on some steep sections. This entire section was in Canton Luzern.

We didn't actually see the lake along this trail, but on a hot day like today, it was a nice walk in the forest.

Some pretty spectacular roots!

Near the end of our hike, the trail ended up near lake level, and we could see across the lake to the Hertenstein promontory. There is a steamship currently headed down the lake from Luzern.

From the lakeshore we see the Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock boat dock, where we are going to board a ship to Luzern.

We got to the boat dock at shortly before 1 p.m. The next boat to Luzern was at about 1:30 p.m., so I made my way to the bench in the shade under the willow tree to eat my sandwich and do some reading....

....whereas Urs found there was a museum at the Boat/Funicular station, so he spent some time here, reading about the history of Swiss Funiculars!

The current Bürgenstock funicular makes several short trips from the lakeside to the resort buildings at the top of the mountain. It's an expensive ride, costs 25 Fr. for the short (11-minute) ride! Built in 1888, this was the first electric funicular in Switzerland.

Next to the funicular station is this park-like property with the title "Chateau au Lac", which means "Castle on the Lake", but it looks like it is a private property.

From here at lakeside we can see up to the Hammetschwand elevator, which we passed on our walk along the cliff trail. This is the highest outdoor lift in Europe.

Our boat docks at 1:30 p.m. for the 30-minute trip back to Luzern.

A look at the Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock boat and funicular station as the ship leaves the dock on its way to Luzern.

Another look at the Bürgenstock funicular line in Kehrsiten on the north side of Mt.Bürgenstock.

North side of Mt.Bürgenstock, where we first walked near the top along the cliff walk, then descended to lake level on the left, and walked back to the funicular/boat station at Kehrsiten on the forest trail about 40-70 meters above lake level.

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

You can just make out the location of the Obermatt Gasthaus on the east side of the Bürgenstock range.

Here the boat passes the Meggenhorn castle and the little boat dock at the lake. We visited the castle grounds and descended to the little boat dock on a hike we did along that lakeshore in January of 2025 (photos HERE).

I don't know.... I thought it was a pretty close call with this sailboat which decided to cross the path of our ship. In the background is the city of Luzern.

Of course you can see Mt.Rigi from everywhere on this lake!

Shoreline of the city of Luzern.

As we approach Luzern, we can see the towers of the old city walls, and the large Gütsch Castle on the hill, as well as the Chapel Bridge (covered wooden bridge) on the left.