Rhine River Walk from Pratteln to Rheinfelden near Basel

Wednesday January 21, 2026 -- After a few nice and cold days in early January, our region is blanketed with thick, cold fog again, so what to do on our days off?

In the northwest part of the country in the Basel Region and north of the Hauenstein Tunnel there is usually less fog than in the Central Plateau, and on the weekend (Sunday) the weather forecast was for sunshine there, so we headed out that way to walk a section of the ViaRhenana trail along the Rhine River.... but unfortunately it also ended up foggy there. We waited a while at the Basel train station and had a light lunch, but the fog did not lift (and it was very cold) so we headed back home again. We don't often have to give up on our hiking plans, but I really cannot chose to walk in the fog.

So on this Wednesday we tried again. Webcams early morning showed clear weather and this time it held. So we did manage the planned 10-km stretch along the Rhine River from Pratteln to Rheinfelden, which turned out to be a 12.5-km walk with walks through the towns of Kaiseraugst and Rheinfelden, plus the 25-minute walk from Pratteln train station to the River (neither of us checked to see that we could have taken the bus there!). 

Along this stretch (where the river forms the border with Germany) are many fishermen's cabins, the interesting power plant at Augst where you can cross into Germany, and the Roman Baths in Kaiseraugst. (We did not make an additional detour to the Roman Ruins at Augusta Raurica, as we had been there in October 2013). Mostly we wanted to discover the alleys in Rheinfelden, but by the time we got there at 3 p.m. there was already a lot of shadow in the town, and we gave up early, catching the 15:48 train back home. But we can come back again, as this is only a 2-hour trip from home!

From the Pratteln train station, where we started at 11:15, we walked northwards for 25 minutes to the Rhine River through industry. Nothing much to see, although this facility (provides district heating with renewable resources) looks attractive. Neither of us thought to check that we could have taken a bus to the starting point of our hike!

At 11:40 we joined the ViaRhenana Trail (no.60) for the section we wanted to walk to Rheinfelden, just over two hours from here, apparently. (We took longer with detours). In the other direction toward Basel, the rest of this section of the themed trail is 2½ hours.  

Description of this stage of the total 195-km trail along the Rhine River from Kreuzlingen on Lake Constance to Basel. We did half of this stage, starting in Pratteln and ending in Rheinfelden. 

For us this was a total of 12½ kilometers, starting at Pratteln train station (a two-hour trip from home) at about 11:15, walking 1½ kilometers to the riverside, then about 10 km to Rheinfelden, where we walked through the town and caught the 15:48 train back home. Note that here, the Rhine River forms the border with Germany to the north. 

PART I: Fishermen's Huts along the Rhine River, to Kaiseraugst 

The next 35 minutes of the walk along the ViaRhenana Trail to the power plant at Augst were unfortunately in the shadow of the small elevation to our south. We had not considered that the sun was still too low at this time of year. And it was rather cold, as once in a while an icy wind was blowing. It was very interesting, though, to learn about all the fishermen's huts on this stretch of the trail, all the way into the city of Basel in the other direction as well.  

Heading down to the lakeside trail, we spotted the first of several fishermen's huts. It was a bit of a shock to realize we will be walking in the shadow of the low hill to our right (south). 

At least we had the narrow, comfortable paths which we prefer to paved roads. 

These are a few of the privately-owned fishermen's huts along this section of the Rhine River between the power plant at Augst and Birsfelden near Basel. Information along the way describes how fishing was (and still is) done here. Fishing was an important occupation during medieval times, and Kaiser Maximilian I gave the villages the right to fish here.  

A map shows the location of the many traditional "Fishing Gallows" along this stretch of the river (we are walking along the section with the yellow dots). 

The trail was nice and the huts were interesting, even though it was kind of cold. (But no fog!)

After 25 minutes of walking we finally see the turbines of the power plant at Augst, and a hint of sunshine ahead, finally!!!!

At the site of the power plant, cormorants are enjoying the sunshine, lucky them!

We finally reached the sunshine at the level of the Augst power plant at 12:10. There is a bridge across the two sections of the river here which pedestrians and cyclists can cross into Germany. (The power plant itself is on the Swiss side, and the turbines are half-half). We crossed the sluice bridge to the large building to see if we could find a place in the sunshine to have lunch, but the park area there was off limits. 

From here we have another 20 minutes to our next stop at Kaiseraugst, and still 1 hr. 50 to Rheinfelden, which doesn't seem right because 30 minutes ago when we started, the sign read "2 hours 10".

Continuing on but nearby we saw this cool bird strutting along. It is called a Common Moorhen and although not a rare bird, it is a rare sighting, as they are apparently shy and hide in the thickets at the edge of ponds, but are more readily observed in winter! They do show their white undertail feathers when strutting!

It was at this junction of the Ergolz River tributary to the Rhine River where we saw the Moorhen and found a nice bench for our picnic lunch, before continuing our walk over that bridge. The little boat here is a "learning" vehicle. It was fun to watch. 

This is where we had our picnic lunch at 12:30 where the Ergolz River enters the Rhine River. Those ducks were hilarious. They were far off in the bay with the boats, but knew that there might be crumbs to be had here, so a whole group lazily swam up and one after another hopped out of the river and made their way up to us. No luck for them, though, as you are not supposed to feed the riverbirds. 

Those ducks somehow knew that we had sandwiches, as they made their way from the boat docks into the river here where we were sitting!

Just around the corner on the other side of the bridge is a campground with a pool and the option to swim in the Rhine River, "at your own risk". I was particularly impressed by the trees whose branches have been all cut back. I've never seen this before!

You can swim here in the Rhine River, at your own risk. On the other side is Germany. 

PART II: Kaiseraugst and the 3rd Century Roman Baths... then to Rheinfelden

As the riverside trail reaches the community of Kaiseraugst, you enter directly into the "open museum" of the ruins of the ancient Roman Baths, built in the year 260 A.D., and even older than the rest of the ancient Roman Ruins at Augusta Raurica (Temples, Theaters and Amphitheaters further south), once a thriving Roman colony. We quickly walked through the ruins and then visited the town, but did not go to see the other ruins, as we had been there before in October 2013.

Walking along the riverside trail, you come right upon the entrance to the Ancient Roman Baths / "Rheinthermen" (an excavation now underground) in Kaiseraugst, so we popped in to have another look, although we had already been here on our October 2013 visit to the ancient Roman Colony of Augusta Raurica.

This diagram shows what the walled city might have looked like in the 3rd Century BC, with the Roman Baths highlighted on the left. The Temples and Amphitheaters were further to the south, a 20-minute walk from here, a detour we did not make this day. 

We had a quick walk through the ruins of the Roman Bath (free access). We didn't spend a long time, as there is a recording playing of what it might have sounded like at the time with people bathing and talking, and that is too noisy for me. The information panel indicates that this might have been the area where the air was heated below the level of the actual baths. 

Hahaha, no way are we removing our clothes and shoes! 

After emerging from the underground ruins, we see the bell-tower of what we thought was the "Frühe Kirche" or "Early Church", and with great excitement we headed there in the hopes of seeing the inside... but the building was unfortunately locked. Note the stork's nest on the roof! We saw three such nests here in the village. 

Carnival is coming soon (last week in February in Basel) and the surrounding villages are already starting with decorations!

Urs is waiting for me on main street Kaiseraugst as I make a detour to see the witch. (There is another stork's nest on the roof of that house in the back). 

Also here a superb sample of a stork's nest!

It turns out this is the town church of St.Gallus, and below this church are excavations of the earlier church called "Frühe Kirche", some of the oldest religious buildings in Switzerland (4th and 5th Centuries) which we did access for a moment later when we returned to the river trail. But we really wanted to see the inside of this building, with a Baroque interior from the mid 18th Century and the 14th Century bell tower, but the doors were locked.  

Walking through the streets of Kaiseraugst before returning to the riverside trail. 

We were surprised to see that we STILL had 1 hour and 30 minutes to walk to Rheinfelden!! It's now 1:20 p.m., so we are expecting to reach Rheinfelden at 3 p.m., a little later than planned. 

Now the trail heads up away from the river through some forested sections and ultimately along a longer stretch of paved road. I don't know what "Therapeutic Stretch" here might mean: Perhaps a "steeper" incline?

As we had already been walking now for 2½ hours with only a short lunch break, and I can usually only manage 2 hours on a riverside walk, we found a convenient view spot here with benches (1:45 p.m.) for a longer break to regain energy for the last one-hour stretch to Rheinfelden. From here we can see the bridge at Rheinfelden, which you can also cross to the German side of the river.  

A nice stretch through the forest before having to walk along the paved road. Like in the Ticino, it's a nice time to do such a river walk, as the trees are bare of leaves and you can see more of the actual river than in summer!

Across the river we see the first houses of the outskirts of the German part of Rheinfelden, called Warmbach. (The city of Rheinfelden is quite large, and is split by the Rhine River, although the older part of the city is on the Swiss side). 

A cool riverboat called the "Froschkönig" ("Frog Prince") is parked here, and you can charter this for riverboat rides. 

On this stretch of river is what is called a "Lido", a swimming area with pools and slides and diving boards, for which you have to pay an entrance fee. In winter the trail here is accessible, but in summer there are locked gates on either side and you have to make a detour via the vehicle road (middle of May to middle of September). In winter they also have an ice rink set up here (with loud music, so we hurried on past). 

A nice view of the bridge across the Rhine River, which joins the two parts of the city of Rheinfelden. The old part of the town is on the Swiss side on the right. You can see the tower of the city hall on the right.

A park (peninsula) accessible from the bridge, but we did not detour there. 

View of the bridge from the Swiss side, from where you can walk into the German part of the city, which is more modern and has lots of shopping malls etc. 

PART III: The town of Rheinfelden

We finally reached the town of Rheinfelden just before 3 p.m. (as expected) and spent the next 30 minutes walking up and down the pedestrian alleys, visiting the City Hall, passing via one of the city gates, admiring the very thick original city walls, discovering the Glockenspiel which we heard as we entered here, visiting an old church which was unfortunately also locked, and then the newer Baroque church before heading to the train station for the 15:48 train. We had wanted to see more of the town (the other gates) but didn't want to wait for the next train 30 minutes later, as the sun was soon going down. Another time then, in summer, to continue our Rhine River walk from here! 

Main street in Rheinfelden, parallel to the river. The tower up ahead is from the city hall building. 

A beautiful building, which is called the Feldschlösschen Restaurant (Although this is now a Lebanese Restaurant). The famous Feldschlösschen brewery is not far from here. 

The shops are getting you ready for Carnival! Those masks are typical of what you see at the Basel Fasnacht Carnival, which is unique and slightly different than other Swiss Carnivals, and also the largest Carnival in Switzerland. (Takes place this year from 23rd to 25th of February). 

The Rheinfelden City Hall building. The original buildings date back to the 14th Century, but were largely damaged in fires of 1531, then rebuilt in Baroque style in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The tower is seven storeys high!

The front of the Rheinfelden City Hall building. We had a quick look into the inside courtyard

Inside the courtyard is a large painting of the Morgarten Battle of November 15, 1315. 

Other cool details in the courtyard, like the sundial, and especially the sandstone sculptures which adorn the main entrance to the city hall offices! The round table displays the coats of arms of the medieval Zähringer Dynasty (11th to 12th Centuries), which include the German town of Freiburg im Breisgau, as well as the Swiss Towns of Villigen, Neuenburg, Bern, Thun, Murten, Freiburg and Rheinfelden. 

Another beautifully-painted building. This is called Brasserie Salmen, and a date inscribed just below the roof overhang reads 1799.

We then headed through a side alley archway back to the river to visit this building, the "Johanniterkapelle", which also was locked! (Boohoo... on the sign it says we need to ask for the key at the City Hall during opening hours! If only we had known before...). The building is Late Gothic from 1456/57 with frescoes from about 1500! 

Behind the Johanniter church is a look-out point where you can again see the river, and this 15th Century tower called the Messerturm, a three-sided tower which once formed the corner of the city wall. The tower was only accessible from the ramparts six meters above the ground. 

We then walked to the eastern-most gate called the "Copper Gate" or "Storknest Tower". 

The city walls were more than likely built at the end of the 12th Century by the last of the Zähringer Dynasty. The wall was 730 meters long with an unusual thickness of 1,8-2,2 meters, and 13-15 meters high. There were originally four gates in the city wall, but only two are left.

Entering back into the city via the 12th-Century Copper Gate!!!!

The tower on the Copper Gate was also nicknamed the "Storknest Tower". It was built around 1360 after the wall and gates were erected at the end of the 12th Century. The gate was barricaded in 1640 after the 30-year war, and then only opened again 1836/1837 to give access to the cemetery. 

Back in the town we headed toward that cool "three-sided" building where we discovered was hanging the Glockenspiel which we had heard when we first reached the old town at 3 p.m.!

A sign on the little window below indicates that the Glockenspiel (Carillon) plays at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. So we know what time to get back here next time (and also when the City Hall is open so we can access the Johanniter Chapel!)

The lovely cobblestone side alleys in the old town of Rheinfelden. 

On the way to the train station we had to pass the main town church (St.Martin's), and as it was now 3:30 p.m., we had enough time to pop inside before catching the 15:48 train. (But not enough time to view the other remaining city gate in the southeastern part of the town). 

Information at the church entrance: The history of St.Martin's church goes back 1000 years. The first church here was built in 1030, and the current church and tower in this form is Gothic Style from 1400. But there have been many expansions and updates since then, and the interior is Late Baroque from about 1770. The building is now under Canton and Federal Monument Protection. 

Beautiful Baroque Interior. This is one of the few times we have run into barricades inside the church, not allowing you past a certain point toward the altars.

Back part of the church with the lovely organ. 

At the train station, at the south side of the railway lines is a cute little station which belongs to the Feldschlösschen Brewery, from where they do charter trips to the Brewery only one kilometer away!

The advertising reads: "Welcome to the most popular castle in Switzerland" (i.e. Feldschlösschen translates to "Field Castle"). This is a photo of the Feldschlösschen Brewery 

This is what our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps (red line), starting at the train station in Pratteln, and walking eastward along the river to Rheinfelden. The yellow line is the October 2013 trip we did to Kaiseraugst, where we also walked to the ruins of the temples and the theater at the former Roman Colony called Augusta Raurica. 

Location of Rheinfelden within Switzerland, in the far northwest corner near Basel.