Appenzell Culture Trail from Herisau to Niederteufen

Saturday August 29, 2026 -- A short while ago (in fact, in early March of this year), we became aware of an interesting themed trail in eastern Switzerland called the "Appenzell Culture Trail". We really enjoyed the section we did at the time, ending in the town of Herisau (see photos HERE), and so it was Urs' desire to do another 10-km stretch of this themed trail again, starting, this time, in Herisau, and continuing eastward.

We didn't feel like walking through the town of Herisau, as we had been there once to watch the New Year's "Chlausen" tradition (photos HERE), and so we took a bus to the end of the line on the eastern outskirts of Herisau, and simply followed the themed trail for about 10 kilometers, to a convenient bus stop along the way. Sites of note along the way were a wooden covered bridge over the Urnäsch River and the quaint towns of Hundwil and Stein with their lovely decorated house facades. We descended into two ravines, also crossing the Sitter River, and at the end passed by a penitentiary with a large warning sign that "hikers are not to make contact with the inmates!"

For me it wasn't the best hike, as for the first four kilometers (i.e. about an hour), the section of our trail was within hearing distance of a farmer who was sawing wood, and I had to wear my ear plugs.... The little heifers were cute, though. And the painted houses really very pretty. 

A nice thing about our choice to start in Herisau today, is that it is only a two-hour trip from home, passing by way of the land bridge over Lake Zurich between Pfäffikon and Rapperswil on the direct "golden" train. Here we pass the boardwalk on Lake Obersee at Rapperswil, which we walked across recently in May of this year. 

At 9:10 in the morning, traveling along the upper part of Lake Zurich called the "Obersee", with a view south into the Schwyzer Alps. 

On the way to Herisau through the Toggenburg landscape. 

From Herisau we took a bus through the town to the outskirts. Here we are passing by the government buildings. (Technically, to continue on the Themed Trail "Kulturpfad Appenzell" we should at least have started near the church in the town center, but we didn't feel like walking those extra 30 minutes through the residential area. In retrospect, we did miss a nice view over the city, though). 

Just before the end of the bus line, we get this nice view over the Appenzell Landscape to the south. 

At 10:05 we were at the end of the bus line at the outskirts of the city of Herisau, to start on the Regional Trail no.22: "Kulturpfad Appenzell", i.e. "Culture Trail Appenzell". We are headed to Hundwil via Churzenberg.

Starting on the outskirts of Herisau, we walked about 10 km to the nearest bus stop along the route after three hours of walking, which is all that we wanted to do this day. We started at just after 10 a.m., and got to the bus stop at 14:20. 

A description of what to expect on this section of the "Appenzell Culture Trail". We only made it as far as the Sittertobel Ravine, as it would have been too long to walk all the way to Teufen. We will continue on that stretch next time. 

Near the start of our hike on the outskirts of Herisau. There were very many pretty houses such as this one to admire. 

We often run across structures such as this one. They are called "Insect Hotels" and in this particular one, there are apparently 1200 holes for various insects, especially bees and butterflies, as well as a proper supply of water... 

To the north we can see all the way to Lake Constance, i.e. the Bodensee. 

And from the site called Churzenberg, we get the first views of Mt.Säntis to the south. (Although we had lots of sunshine here, the clouds moved in quickly over the peaks). 

The beautiful house at Churzenberg. They are the ones with the great views toward Mt.Säntis!

Heading down now into the first of two ravines that we crossed this day. (This is where the Urnäsch River flows). It was at this farm where someone was using a whining band-saw, which we then heard for about an hour of our hike, as we came out of the ravine again straight ahead at the town of Hundwil, and the sound carried everywhere. 

Following Themed Trail no.22 to the "Alte Tobelbrücke" ("Old Bridge in the Ravine") and then the town of Hundwil, which used to be the district capital, and where they still held public voting till 1997. 

Close-up view of the village of Hundwil on the other side of the Urnäsch River (Ravine). 

Being watched (and somewhat critically) by the cows in a meadow that we had to pass through!

At 11:10 (an hour after starting on our walk) we were at the old covered wooden bridge over the Urnäsch River. 

Urnäsch River in the Hundwiler Tobel (Tobel = small ravine). 

After a steep ascent back out of the ravine, we now approach the town of Hundwil. 

Heading toward the town of Hundwil. 

We reached the main street in Hundwil at 11:36. All the houses here were so very pretty, so typical of this region. 

First a look into the town's church, and after that we took a lunch break on the benches underneath the trees on the right. 

Details of the Evangelical Church in Hundwil. The heart of the building is Romanesque from the 13th Century, but was rebuilt in Gothic style in the late Middle Ages, and finally received its current look in 1750, with a new tower in 1894. 

Now we head north down the main street in Hundwil. 

Of course, a quick detour into the local bakery! They were selling local specialties here, in particular the very ornate spice cakes called "Appenzeller Biber". 

This one is the Hotel Krone. 

A view back toward the church as we head down and away from the main road. 

The trail passed up through a fenced pasture with a view of the church tower behind us and.... 

....and a small herd of very curious little heifers..... 

....who followed us right back to the main road and seemed to cry when they were left behind!

Up a final steep hill with a rest on a bench beneath some tall linden trees, and a view to the next town we are headed to: Stein in Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. (There are other towns named "Stein" in Switzerland). 

We then reached the heart of the town of Stein at 13:10. (We bypassed the main road, where we unfortunately missed seeing the Appenzell Folklore Museum and Cheese Dairy). 

More very attractive houses. 

A small park with a lovely fountain and comfortable shade!

Very pretty main square in Stein, with the Evangelical church in the background, our next stop! (The church was built in 1749).

Such a beautiful organ, and rather unusual to see it at the front behind the altar instead of in the balcony above the entrance door. 

The back side of the church where one would expect the organ to be! 

Other details of the church in Stein. 

Next to the church

On the other side of the church square

A final look at the church in Stein as we head down hill now toward the second ravine.

An old Appenzell-style house. 

This view is to the other prominent peak here called Hoher Kasten (on the right) where there is a revolving restaurant, and where you can start on some very nice crest hikes. On the far side of that range is the border with Austria, where the Rhine River heads into Lake Constance. 

After a nice downhill section through the forest, we reach the next river, called the Sitter. It was an interesting short stretch that we walked here.

We also had to cross a couple of bridges, once here over the Sitter river, and once over the nearby side stream. 

Crossing the side stream on another interesting bridge. 

We then had a bit of an uphill stretch through the forest along a series of wooden stairs. 

We were surprised as we came out of the ravine to be headed to what certainly looked like a prison of some kind (which it was), right in the middle of the loveliest landscape! It is called the Gmünden Strafanstalt, established in 1884. The sign warns hikers to walk by quickly without interacting with the inmates. We didn't see inmates, just three guards at the front door, and the most gorgeous vegetable garden behind the fence.

We got to the bus stop at the Schwanen Restaurant near the prison at 14:22, in good time for the 14:37 bus, which was quite a bit late anyway due to some event....(probably cows on the road). 

There was this alpaca farm near the bus stop, so I interacted with the animals for a while!

The 14:37 bus was only three minutes late, but on the way back to the train station in Herisau, we ran into backed-up traffic (possibly also due to cows on the road), but even with a delay of 10 minutes, we still managed to catch our connecting train in Herisau. It was a 2½-hour trip back home. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting in Herisau-Rohren at just after 10 a.m., and getting to the Schwanen-Niederteufen bus stop (Gmünden) at 2:25 p.m. 

Heading back now by bus to Stein and Hundwil (the towns which he had passed through), we catch a glimpse of the Gmünden prison facilities where we had just walked by. 

Passing through Stein along the main road, I noticed this museum which is the Appenzell Folklore Museum, and there is apparently also a cheese dairy here (and another of those red frames from the "Grand Tour of Switzerland" which I like to collect photos of). We didn't know about this as we approached the church square from a different direction. As it turns out, the museum was open right at the time we were here!

Driving through the pretty village of Hundwil again! (Past the fountain and bakery!)

Main street in Herisau on the way to the train station. 

These are the hikes we have done in the region of Herisau and Teufen, but this is the first time in between the two! Next time we will start at the bus stop near the prison again, and continue past Teufen to Trogen, along the Appenzell Culture Trail. 

Location of Herisau within Switzerland.