Sägel Moor Landscape and the Effects of the 1806 Rossberg Landslide

Friday March 13, 2026 -- For a change, Urs had Friday off instead of Wednesday, and we were very lucky that it was the most beautiful day of the week, the Sahara Dust is gone so visibility into the mountains was lovely, and the upcoming forecast for the weekend is suddenly back down to freezing temperatures again and snow, even to the lower elevations.

We didn't feel like traveling far on this day, so we headed just 45 minutes south to the lovely open plateau of Canton Schwyz between the Mythen mountains and Mt.Rigi, and managed a very pretty and fairly easy 12-km walk starting slightly uphill in the village of Steinerberg at the foot of Mt.Rossberg (where the worst landslide in "recent" Swiss history happened in 1806), walking via farms and streams, along the railway line, through forests and into the large Sägel moorlands north of Lake Lauerz. 

For a change, there were no churches to visit on this three-hour hike, just lots of nature, little lakes, and storks, unusual for this region. 

Before heading home, we visited Urs' Aunt for cake and coffee, as she lives near the train station in Arth-Goldau.

Lovely view of the Bernese Alps from the train station in Küssnacht am Rigi (Zoomed View). The day has dawned beautiful with great visibility!

Heading by train from Küssnacht to Goldau, with the distinctive peaks of the two Mythen Mountains. 

From Goldau a short train ride to the village of Steinerberg, where we are starting our hike. This view to the west is where we later walked along the railway line below, then crossed under the highway to the moor landscape on the left. 

View down to Lake Lauerz, and the snow-capped mountains of the Muotathal

This was a 12-km walk, meandering first through the farms and forests between Steinerberg and the railway line, then walking through the Sägel moorlands to Lauerz and Goldau. We started at 10 a.m., and got back to Goldau at 2:30 p.m. 

PART I: Farmland and Railway Line from Steinerberg to the Highway. 

Heading off on our walk, we come across this large house with a blossoming tree! That is more than likely an apricot tree. 

The bees are busy in the apricot blossoms. What a shame that the weather forecast has snow and freezing temperatures for the next day!

Heading south with a nice view of the wide open valley basin between the Mythen mountains in the east, and the foot of the Rigi Range in the west. This is Canton Schwyz. 

Perfect day for a walk in the farmland. 

We had a nice variety of trails. 

It was unusual to see two commercial planes flying so close to each other. 

These green pastures are a real treat. 

Some typical farms

Some typical farm buildings

After about 45 minutes we reach the compound called Weidli, a school for children with learning issues. The building looks like it used to be a church, but it is not open to the public. We found this out a year ago (April 1, 2025) when we ended a similar hike at the foot of Mt.Rossberg, near here at the Steinen train station. 

Past the houses in Rüti (on the outskirts of Steinen) we get a first view of Mt. Rigi, aka Rigi Kulm. 

Now our walk continues for quite a while next to the railway line, where a train passed us every few minutes (cargo and passenger trains in both directions). This is the important N/S Gotthard line. 

11 a.m. snack break on a convenient bench next to the railway line. We sat here for 20 minutes, and at least 7 trains passed us. That's one every three minutes.... 

VIDEO 1

Passenger train heading south to Bellinzona

VIDEO 2

Passenger train heading north from Bellinzona!

Another very nice barn. Soon there will be cows in all these pastures!

Continuing on our walk now next to the railway line, with still more trains passing us. 

A long cargo train passes us

VIDEO:

A cargo train heading north, possibly from Italy to Germany

Now we can see the lake below (Lake Lauerz, i.e. Lauerzersee) where we are headed next, into the marsh and moor area north of the lake (the brown landscape). These moorlands are a landscape of national significance. 

As this region at the foot of Mt.Rossberg was the site of one of Switzerland's worst landslides (actually, the mountain came down three times since prehistoric era), there are many huge boulders scattered around the landscape. I can't imagine how this one managed to land like this! Also, imagine the noise.... 

A nice variety of trails along the way.

VIDEO:

Another very long passenger train passes below us 

as we look down at the moor landscape where we are going to next.

A close-up view of the summit of Mt.Rigi, a.k.a Rigi Kulm. 

Above us now we can see the top of Mt.Rossberg, and the scar of the landslide. 

What a pleasant surprise to find a few bundles of happy-looking daffodils in the middle of a clearing (no houses nearby!)

We then got to the underpass of the railway line, and it was good timing as a train was just passing by. Boy does Urs look small compared to the size of the train above him!

VIDEO:

The train passes overhead....

While waiting for the train, we observed three large storks flying low overhead. This is an unusual sight for this region. It is not really known for storks, although the nearby marshlands might be attractive to them. 

The underpass.... 

This farm is called "Schlössli", which means "Little Castle". I was expected something quite different. In any case, there were sheep in the little carport-like shed. 

Now we have to find the underpass of the highway. On the other side are the Sägel marshlands. 

PART II:  Sägel Moor, Lake Lauerz, Goldseeli and Goldau

View of the two Mythen Mountains as we cross the moorlands heading to the lake. In winter, they mow all the grasses here.... 

A blue heron flies over the marshlands. 

To the west is the village of Lauerz, where we will head after first finding a good place for our picnic lunch. 

As it is now 12:30 and time for lunch, we were hoping to find a lakeside bench with a view of the lake, but the best we could do was a small inlet with some boats and a picnic table almost hidden in the reeds! (A swan did come to visit us, and we heard the coots). 

Lunch time on a little picnic table near the lake (Lauerz). 

Heading back toward the village of Lauerz now, we can see to the east the little village of Steinerberg where we started on this hike (at the arrow). The summit of Mt.Rossberg which is marked with the red circle is where the 1806 landslide happened. 36 million cubic meters of rock thundered into the valley. The tidal wave in Lake Lauerz was 20 meters high. The debris field was 30 meters thick. 457 people lost their lives in Goldau.

From here at the little church in Lauerz, we headed north again. We didn't bother going into the little church this time, as I had visited it recently on a hike I did down Mt.Rigi in photos  September 2025 (photo of church interior HERE). 

The last stretch now to Goldseeli and Goldau, another hour to the end of our hike. 

View back to Lake Lauerz and the Mythen peaks. 

These sheep are called "Braunköpfige Fleischschafe" (Translated = "Brown-headed meat sheep) and are some of the heaviest of Swiss sheep breeds. We see a lot of sheep out in the pastures now. 

Heading along the Chlausenbach stream toward the northern end of the Sägel moorlands. 

This last section before the city of Goldau was a real treat, with small paths and lots of little ponds. 

Lots of small ponds in this moorland

A boardwalk across the ponds so you can do some birdwatching.

The great blue heron is the bird we mostly see around water here. 

We then reached the beautiful little lake called Goldseeli, hidden in the dense forest just south of the railway station in Goldau (25 minutes' walk). There is a path all around the lake, so we walked around it. 

The charming little lake called Goldseeli

Another spectacular boulder which would have dropped down here from the 1806 landslide. It is amazing that the forest has grown so much in 200 years, as this all would have been buried in boulders. 

The little lake is a haven for all kinds of birds and amphibians. We did see one frog in the water near the bridge, but it's a bit early for all the wildlife. 

Many streams meander through this landscape. 

Along the way you get information about the 1806 landslide. The former village of Goldau got buried under 10-35 meters of rock and debris. 457 people lost their lives (and many more animals). This was the third such landslide here, but this one came on suddenly. 

What our 12-km hike looks like on Google Satellite maps, starting in Steinerberg, walking to Lauerz and then to Goldau. 

All the hikes we have done around the region of Lake Zug and Lake Lauerz

A stop at the bakery for pastries for coffee at Frieda's house. Also, Urs always stops here for cheese/onion "quiche" (yeast bread) for his next two dinners!

View back to the Mythen Mountains on the train trip back to Küssnacht. 

And this is what the region looked like two days later after the heavy snow-fall late Saturday evening and through the night to Sunday! (Webcam Screenshot).