Pfannenstiel Panorama Trail above Lake Zurich's Gold Coast

Wednesday September 23, 2026 -- After 10 days of visits by friends and lots of riding trains with them, we don't want to do a lot of train traveling right now! But on this beautiful day we still wanted to do an excursion, just not going too far.

We don't often walk the trails above Lake Zurich, although the views there can be quite pretty, and on days with great visibility, you can even get a panorama view of the Alps. In fact, there is a special themed trail called the "Zurichsee Rundweg" (Trail around Lake Zurich), of which we have done a few sections on the south and west sides of the lake, but sadly very little on the north/east side.

As the fall weather is now getting less hot (although afternoons are still warm), we can attempt some lower elevation walks, and so we started in the town of "Uetikon am See" right on the lake about halfway down what is called the "Gold Coast", hiked up through a small ravine to the panorama trail, and enjoyed an easy walk northward to the ruins of the Friedberg fortress, from where we descended back to lake level at Meilen through another little ravine called the Dorfbachtobel, one we had descended once before on an early spring hike from the Pfannenstiel lookout tower in April 2018. 

We knew this would be a very short hike (only 9 km) so instead of going straight home from there, we stopped in Zurich at the Zurichhorn park to watch the Tinguely Sculpture called HEUREKA in motion, something we have talked about seeing for years. It runs three times per day in summer and the 3 p.m. run fit into our schedule... but with our luck, when we got there, it was out of order. Furthermore, it would have been a nice afternoon for a short boat ride on the lake, but due to the low water levels, the boats were not running...

PART I:  9-km Walk on the Pfannenstil Panorama Trail

Having left home at 8:15 and traveling via Zurich, we were headed south along the east side of Lake Zurich by 9:45, with views of the Albis Range on the west side of the lake. This side is nicknamed the "Gold Coast" of Lake Zurich because it receives lots of sunshine and is ideal for growing grapes. 

Our day's hike starts in the town of Uetikon (between Männedorf and Meilen) at 10 a.m., with, of course, a visit to the town's church, followed by an uphill walk through a small gorge. 

Even along a "megalopolis" like the sunny "Goldcoast" on this side of the lake, there are many quaint and old buildings to admire. 

Heading up an alley toward the church and the main part of the town of Uetikon. 

The church looms above us as we head up the alley. 

Half-way up the alley is a view bench where we sat for a couple of minutes, enjoying the first of many views we had of Lake Zurich this day. 

Evangelical Church in Uetikon

Details of the little Evangelical church in Uetikon which was built in 1681/1682 (The Catholic church is in Meilen). 

Cute little shop on the main road in Uetikon. 

By 10:30 we were headed up into the first little gorge. It was not a very strenuous ascent to the panorama trail. 

Such a lovely idyllic setting here in the little gorge. There are even benches where you can spend a cool break on a hot summer day. 

Cute little bridge which we had to cross to get out of the gorge for a small stretch, and then back into the gorge, where we walked along a cool forest trail for another 30 minutes along the stream called Haslibach, including a 10-minute break on a bench in the shade.  

By 11:10 we had joined the themed trail no.84: "Zurichsee Rundweg" (A trail that follows the entire circumference of Lake Zurich, of which we have done several sections on the west side of the lake). This is also part of another themed trail called the "Panoramaweg Pfannenstiel" because we are walking along a low mountain called Pfannenstiel. We are headed in the direction of Brand. 

Emerging now into the semi-agricultural area above the lakeside towns. 

And now we get the first of many nice views of the lake and the mountains further to the southwest, including Mt.Rigi, which dominates the landscape in the whole Zurich/Luzern area!

A close-up look at a couple of peaks we could just make out past the profile of Mt.Rigi, and we were surprised to see that those are the peaks of the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio which are very far away in the Bernese Alps!

It wasn't the best day for clear views of the Alps, but nevertheless, you can make out the Glarus Alps quite nicely on the south side of the lake! (Back in April 2018 when we did a hike here on the Pfannenstiel mountain to the look-out tower, we had much clearer views of the Alps. Those photos are HERE). 

After crossing another small forested section, we emerged into an upper plateau at these lovely buidings, which are actually a psychiatric clinic! (A private klinik called Hohenegg).  

As it was now 12:15, we found ourselves the perfect view bench in the shade, as the day was definitely getting warm!

Down below and slightly to the north we see the church tower of the town of Meilen, where we are going to end our hike. Across the lake is the city of Horgen. 

We were able to observe the auto ferries which connect Meilen to Horgen in 10-minute runs! An ideal way to cross the lake instead of driving via Zurich to the north or Rapperswil to the south, as this is about the center of the lake!

Time to continue along the panorama trail!

This is a special fountain called the Unot fountain. Since January 1912 there is a 28-km pipe which brings natural spring water from the Goldinger spring in the Goldingener Valley (Atzmännig) to here without the use of pumps. Naturally I filled up my bottle with this wonderful water!

Details about this interesting and unique fountain, and the transport of the water from the Goldinger springs, which emit water at 3500-3800 liters per minute, which then eventually get distributed to five communities here on the lake. 

Next to the well is a bench with a "book-box", the second one we had seen on this walk (when we took a break in the first little ravine). You can sit on the bench, enjoy the view, and read books all day! (I cannot recall exactly, but you might also be able to "take a book, leave a book" as one often sees here in the former telephone cabins.)

By 12:50 we had reached the hamlet called "Burg", next to the ruins of the former Friedberg Fortress. We had been in this village before in April 2018 when we walked down to Meilen from the Pfannenstiel look-out tower. 

Lovely houses in the small hamlet called Burg

Lovely houses in the hamlet called Burg

A quick detour to the grounds of the Friedberg Fortress ruins, which we also visited in April 2018. There is not a lot left, just a perimeter wall about one meter high. 

An information panel gives some history of the fortress and what it might have looked like. It seems to have its origins in the 13th Century, and first mentioned in documents of 1306 as a residence of various important people till 1354. By the mid 15th Century it could no longer be used as a residence, and is no longer mentioned in documentation. In 1902 the ruins were excavated. 

And now the final stretch down toward the railway line, about 20 minutes through the Dorfbach gorge. This is the lower portion of the gorge which we did not walk through on the April 2018 hike (we did the upper portion), but it is definitely more attractive than at the time. In particular, HERE is a photo from that blog album to compare.

We passed over a few such bridges and a couple of ponds. 

Very pretty at this time of year. 

Our 9-km, 2½-hour walk along the Lake Zurich "Gold Coast", starting in Uetikon at 10 a.m., and reaching Meilen at 13:25. (Due to not properly preparing ourselves for the short trip to Zurichhorn, we just missed the 13:33 train which we could easily have reached, and had to sit on a bench at the cemetery for about 25 minutes to catch the next train at 14:03). 

PART II: Tinguely Sculpture "Heureka" at the Zurichhorn Park on Lake Zurich

Catching the 14:03 train in Meilen for the 10-minute ride to Stadelhofen and then a tram back in the direction we had just come from, plus about a 10-minute walk, we reached the lakeside park at Zurichhorn at 14:30, with a specific plan to watch the Tinguely sculpture in action at 3 p.m. 

This is the Zurich Horn boat dock. But due to the severe heat waves we had this summer, the water level is too low for the ships to run at this time. Which is a shame, as we might have liked to have a short boat trip.

This lovely sculpture is called "HEUREKA", and the first "Goalless Motion Machine" by the famous Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, born in Fribourg. (His maybe most famous piece is the Tinguely Fountain in Basel, which I had visited in March 2019 (Photos HERE including a video). I had been here in this park once before to view this sculpture, but it was in winter (November 2022) and the sculpture is not "in motion" in winter. 

It wasn't yet 3 p.m., when we were expecting a show of the sculpture in motion (we had double-checked on the website before coming here). So we walked around it admiring it for a while, and keeping our eye on that empty bench in the shade there!

A confirmation on this placard that there are displays of the HEUREKA sculpture in motion three times per day for 8 minutes! The 3 p.m. timing worked perfectly for our excursion of the day, and we were really looking forward to the display. (Additional information: This was Tinguely's first such sculpture, created for the "Swiss National Exhibition" in Lausanne in 1964, which by the way I attended with my parents as a toddler..... ). 

....and what a disappointment to find out that "due to a technical defect, the artwork does not currently run, and they are trying to fix it as soon as possible!"

We did wait until 3 p.m. in the hopes that the sign was old and forgot to be removed, but no luck. Urs is checking the schedules for the next connection back home. (Side note: We also visited his moving sculpture in the fountain in Fribourg, where he was born. Photo HERE). 

A final look south to the Glarus Alps. On a clear day the views are fantastic, with the lake at the front and the snow-covered peaks (well... not in summer) in the background. (Compare this same photo with my November 2022 visit to the Zurichhorn Park --> HERE). 

A short bus ride from Zurich Horn to Tiefenbrunnen train station for the 15:15 train via Stadelhofen and Zurich for the 90-minute trip back home. (Home by 5 p.m.)

What our 9-km walk above Lake Zurich looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting in Uetikon, joining the panorama trail, and descending to Meilen. 

These are the hikes we have done in the lower Lake Zurich region. Tina Turner lived here on the "Gold Coast" (the eastern side of the lake) in Küsnacht, since 1998 till her passing in May 2023.