A Section of the Lake Zurich Circular Trail from Sihlwald to Adliswil

Monday April 6, 2026 -- After two trips to the region around the city of Bern, and two 10-km walks or more, we just really didn't want to travel far or walk a long way on this fourth Easter Weekend day. So we just sort of settled for a riverside walk along the Sihl River between Zug and Zurich, starting in Sihlwald where we had ended another section of walking along the Sihl River (photos HERE) and walking just two hours to a convenient train station in Adliswil. This also adds another piece to my hopes of walking the entire "Lake Zurich Circular Trail" (Zürichsee Rundweg), a total 130-km themed trail all around the lake. 

[The Sihl is a 69-kilometer long river which flows out of Lake Sihlsee near Einsiedeln, with its source in the Schwyzer Alps, and flows into the Limmat River at the city of Zurich, after first passing THROUGH the Zurich train station (They built the railway lines above and below the river there, instead of diverting the river).] 

As far as riverside walks go, it wasn't really charming, as you start heading into industrial districts. And the narrow "unofficial" path I had wanted to walk was off-limits due to construction. Also, we walked quite a bit on the shady side, so it was a bit cool. The best part of the excursion was the getting there, as we rode a very small van bus over the mountain from Horgen on Lake Zurich, zipping along very narrow forest trails, and discovering an upper plateau we didn't know about.

The main reason for this walk near Zurich was to head into the city afterwards, which we don't often do. We had heard that over Easter, the Evangelical church decorates several of the fountains with colourful roses, and we thought it might be worth going to have a look. Photos to come later.

Heading north away from Zug at 10 a.m. and a look back to the beautiful Bernese Alps, and I am already regretting the decision to do a riverside walk in a valley without a view! So many other places we could have gone on this beautiful day... oh well. 

In Horgen Oberdorf we left the train station with a view of Lake Zurich. First I thought this was our bus, but afterwards, a much smaller van showed up!

This is our transport to get over the hill to Sihlwald! There were already quite a few people who had boarded before us. The seats had very little leg room! 

An interesting ride on a narrow road mostly through forest on both sides, but in between there was this high-plateau with lots of farmland. (Horgenberg?). We never knew about this! You can even see the snow-covered Alps from here. 

The bus dropped us off at the Sihlwald train station, which is an end-station for the small railway line from Zurich to the north. We caught the train here once when we walked a section of the Sihl River to the south of here. (March 2019, a similar stretch to what we are doing this day, but less industry). 

Further downstream is a wooden bridge, but it is closed due to damage. So we had to walk south again (upstream) and cross this bridge, which is the one we crossed with the little van as it came down that hillside on the left. 

Across from the bridge is this cute little building, which is (or used to be) the forester's home. 

This was a short walk for us, just 7½ kilometers along the Sihl River between Sihlwald (at 10:30) and Adliswil (15:15). But I usually don't walk more than two hours on riverside walks. After reaching Adliswil, we took the train for 15 minutes into the city of Zurich and walked another 3½ kilometers there. 

Crossing the Sihl River and looking upstream. 

Now we head north (downstream) on a partly shaded trail on the right side of the river. This is the wooden bridge which would have been more convenient for us to cross, but it is currently off-limits due to damage. 

The Sihl is a 69-kilometer long river which flows out of Lake Sihlsee near Einsiedeln, with its source in the Schwyzer Alps, and flows into the Limmat River at the city of Zurich, after first passing THROUGH the Zurich train station (They built the railway lines above and below the river there, instead of diverting the river). 

Quite a lot of shade still on this side of the river, so it was a bit cool. 

There were quite a few people on this trail as well, several families with little kids riding tiny bikes! This little guy was an expert with his pedal bike! (Others rode bikes with no pedals and had to push with their feet, it looked very uncomfortable!)

Signs of spring with the blossoming trees were a welcome sight. 

We then arrived at a town called Gattikon, where the train crosses this bridge and continues along the left side of the river. But according to my map, that section of trail was closed due to construction and rerouted on the main road. But on this side is a small path which I was hoping to follow, so we headed down those stairs....

...and then discovered that the trail on this side of the river was unfortunately blocked off as well. So we had no choice but to follow the main road for the one kilometer detour. 

We are following Regional Trail no.84: "Zurichsee Rundweg" (i.e. a themed trail all around the lake). We have come 45 minutes (or more) from the train station in Sihlwald, and still have about an hour to walk to the train station in Adliswil. This part of the riverside trail is also called "Sihl Erlebnis Weg", or "Sihl River Adventure Trail".

This is an industrial building, but nice to see blossoming trees being trained up the side of the building!

We are always delighted to see herons close by!

Following the "Sihl River Adventure Trail"!!!

We passed two artificial ponds on the other side of the trail. These have been created to provide an environment for the endangered "midwife toad". ("Midwife toads are called midwives because the male helps the female in giving birth")

I did see a frog (and lots of tadpoles), but this one is not a "Midwife toad", but rather a "Marsh Frog", which is Europe's largest frog.

At 12:30 we found a convenient bench for our picnic lunch, with just enough shade, so not too hot!

Getting closer to the end of our relatively short walk!

Looking back up the river. 

Not our bridge to cross yet!

So glad that spring is finally here!

We also often see Cormorants, lovely large birds, but they have become a nuisance. There are too many, and they eat too many fish in the rivers and the lakes!

Up ahead now is the final bridge on our planned tour, the one we will cross to the railway station in Adliswil. 

The bridge across the Sihl River in Adliswil.

View south up the Sihl River. There's a church on a little hill which might be worth a visit some time!

At 13:08 we reached the train station in Adliswil. From here we caught the 13:15 train for the 16-minute ride into Zurich, for the second part of this outing. 

This is what our hike looks like on Google Satellite maps. Starting in Sihlwald at about 10:30, we caught the train in Adliswil at 1:15 p.m. This was a fairly short 7½-kilometer walk, but afterwards we walked another 3½ kilometers around the city of Zurich, so 11 kilometers in all!

After spending about an hour and a half walking around Zurich, we were back on our way home at just after 3 p.m. This is the view south along lake Zurich, with more great views of the mountains. 

As the train heads south along Lake Zug, I am surprised that the cherry trees are already in full bloom here!

So many blossoming trees along Lake Zug (this is near Walchwil). I have decided to come back here in the next couple of days to do a walk along the Cherry Trail here!