Idyllic Hike to Mt. Hörnli in the Tössbergland near Steg

Saturday July 25, 2026 -- The weather forecast for the weekend was for possible thunderstorms in many parts of the country, with cloud cover starting already at 9 a.m. The best prognosis was for eastern Switzerland around the Zurich Oberland and Toggenburg regions, which suited us well as we could not afford to travel a long distance. i.e. we needed to start our planned outing early in order to be done before the thunderstorms expected in that region at about noon.

The very eastern region of the Zurich Oberland (also known as the Tössbergland because of the Töss River) is a lovely area for hiking with lots of rolling hills, valleys, waterfalls, meadows, cows and more. Plus, from the top of many of these smaller mountains, you get some fantastic panorama views.

In October 2020, we did a hike to the highest peak in Canton Zurich, called the Schnebelhorn, having started at a small pass called Hulftegg. This time we wanted to start at the same pass but heading north, with the main goal a peak called Hörnli, where there is a mountain restaurant with a view! And what a view! 360-degrees from Lake Constance to Mt.Säntis, the Glarus Alps, the Bernese Alps, the Central Alps and back to the city of Zurich (no view of Lake Zurich, though). Unfortunately, the prognosed cloud cover started early over the Alps, so we'll have to return here on a clear day.

The hike then continues down the mountain to the train station at Steg in the Töss Valley. It was a short hike of only 2½ hours, and having started at 8 a.m., we were back on the train home by noon!

Leaving home once again at about 6:15 to get a very early start before the heat of the day, we were already traveling down the Jona/Fischenthal Valley by 7:45 a.m., enjoying the morning light here in these rolling hills in the eastern region of the Zürcher Oberland. At this point, we have great visibility of the Alps, as the clouds have not moved in yet.

After less than two hours, we arrive in Steg at 8:00, and board the bus for the 10-minute ride to the Hulftegg Pass, where we are going to start our hike.

The Gasthaus Hulftegg at the pass is a popular stopping point for motorcyclists. Here we are actually in Canton St.Gallen, in the Toggenburg Region, as the bus had crossed the border from Canton Zurich on the road from Steg to here.

It's now 8:15 as we prepare to head out on our walk. The first part of our walk takes us along both the Regional Trails no.69: "Züri Oberland Höhenweg" and no.48: "Toggenburger Höhenweg " ("Höhenweg" = "High Trail" and usually includes many panorama views!). This is the same themed trail we took in October 2020 when we hiked to Mt.Schnebelhorn, the highest peak in Canton Zurich. Today we are headed to "Hörnli", just over an hour from here.

Across from the Hulftegg Gasthaus was a huge parking lot for the many motorcycles that pass through here, plus this interesting sculpture reflecting the popularity of the pass for motorcycles!

Heading off on our hike at 8:15 a.m.

This was a fairly short hike for us, not quite 8 km and only 2½ hours, but it fit in perfectly with our plan to not travel far (2 hours) and be done before noon when thunderstorms were expected. We started at Hulftegg Pass at 8:15, and got back down to Steg at just before noon, after taking a break at the Hörnli Gasthaus.

The view to the east across the Toggenburg region of St. Gallen. Early in the morning, the air is always hazy toward the east.

Trying to get a clearer and close-up view of the mountains to the southwest. This little hill with a single barn at the top has the fun name of "Johannenbööl".

Toggenburg landscape directly to the south. You can just make out the summit of Mt.Tödi, the main mountain at the back of the Linth Valley in the Glarus Alps.

Close-up view of Mt.Tödi in the Glarus Alps to the south (very distinctive due to its flat snow cap). Just three days earlier we had done a hike very close to the back of the Linth Valley, in Braunwald, where we got good views of this peak. (Photos HERE).

And to the north, we can just see a bit of Lake Constance (Bodensee).

After 20 minutes on a comfortable dirt road, we get the first glimpse of the summit called Hörnli, which is our main goal of the day.

Up ahead a line of cows is headed somewhere. We can't tell if they are going on their own, or if they are being led to another pasture by the farmer.

8:50 and it's already time for a snack break in the shade! (And mainly to change into shorts, as the day is already starting to warm up).

Still heading north parallel to the Canton Border, currently still in Canton St.Gallen. Up ahead is a farm with cows grazing in the pastures, where we had seen the other cows head west.

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We caught up to the cows that had been heading west earlier.

Enjoying the sounds of cowbells that belong to this countryside.

Another view south to the little Johannenbööl hill, and the snow-covered summit of Mt.Tödi.

Mt.Hörnli ahead of us. You can just see the communication tower at the top.

View to the north.

At 9:15 we reached the junction where the borders of three different Cantons meet: Zurich to the west and south, St.Gallen to the east, and Thurgau to the north. It is called "Dreiländerstein", a stone monument demarking the exact point where they meet. Here we are now continuing south along the National Trail no.4: "Via Jakobi", i.e. the St.James Pilgrim Trail. We have come 45 minutes from Hulftegg, and have another 25 minutes to the Hörnli Summit.

This is the "Dreiländerstein", i.e. the "Three Canton Stone". From this side, SG = St.Gallen, TG = Thurgau, and on the far side were the initials ZH = Zurich. The three Cantons meet here!

The rest of the way was uphill through the forest (nice and cool) with many such steps along the trail. We have now crossed into the Zurich Oberland Region.

By 9:40 we had reached the Gasthaus Hörnli, where they have a "self-serve" window, i.e. you order your food there and then pick it up when it is ready. Urs decided he felt like a cheese/sausage salad as a mid-morning snack (besides our traditional Panaché).

Berggasthuas Hörnli. While Urs waited for his order, I headed to the other side of the building, to check out the view.

On the lower side of the building was a large view terrace, so we decided to sit here! It was actually rather "cold" here! But the view was superb.

This is the view from the terrace on the bottom side of the Berggasthaus Hörnli. Down below is the valley where we rode by train to get to Steg, and where we are going to walk down to. The larger village is called Fischenthal. And at the far back you can just make out the entire stretch of Alps from the Glarus to the Bernese Alps. But the clouds are already moving in there, so the view is not as clear as it might be on, for example, a crisp autumn day!

Enjoying a mid-morning "Käse-Wurst Salat" (Cheese-Sausage Salad) with a view!

By 10:20 we are now on our way down the mountain, following the St.James trail to Steg, where we are taking the train back again the same route we have come.

A look back at the Hörnli Gasthaus from the view-point up on the hill.

There is the communication tower we had seen at the top of the hill on our way here from Hulftegg Pass.

To the east we see the summit of Mt.Säntis, although it is very hazy.

Down below to the northeast is the city of Bauma, and on the far right at the back we see all the way to the city of Zurich, although you cannot see Lake Zurich from here.

Part of the St.James Trail follows a winding road down the hillside, where we will later pass by that farm below, called Tanzplatz.

Down at the Tanzplatz farm they were just unloading a trailer of massive straw bales!

10:45 at Tanzplatz. From here we could have taken a shortcut, but we wanted to complete the walk to Steg along Trail no.4: "Via Jakobi". The train we want to catch at Steg leaves at 11:54, so this is just the right amount of time to get there.

This cool rooster was very proud of himself, crowing away at mid-day!

Another close-up view toward the snow-covered Bernese Alps past the Bachtel look-out tower. Unfortunately you can barely see the mountains!

Now we leave the road for the final section along pasture and forest trails. In the back on the right you can see the communication tower up on the Hörnli summit.