A short Afternoon Walk from Schwyz to Brunnen in Central Switzerland.

Friday April 3, 2026 -- A beautiful day, but Urs had a lunch get-together with friends in the town of Schwyz, so I met him after his visit at 3 p.m. in the center of town, and together we did a rather short, 6-km afternoon walk to the train station in Brunnen, where we caught the 17:07 train back home (a 35-minute trip). 

This week the weather is finally warming up, and not being used to it, we were overdressed, and didn't feel like walking further than this 90-minute walk. But visibility was pretty good, and the mountain landscape here in this lovely area of the Schwyz and Uri Alps around the Vierwaldstättersee (here called Lake Uri) is always beautiful. Nevertheless, we are currently restricted in our hiking options as the big snowfall we received on March 26th is just not receding quickly enough! (The nights are still too cold). 

About half of the walk was along the Muota River, and if we would have been dressed slightly better, we would have followed the river right to where it empties into Lake Uri, and followed the lakeshore for a while, another stretch we haven't yet walked!

Heading toward Schwyz along Lake Zug in Immensee at 2:30 p.m. It is unbelievable that the snow is so low on Mt.Zug and Mt.Rossberg across the lake, where there was no snow for a long time in February and March. 

A view of the two beautiful Mt.Mythen peaks, as the train travels south from Arth Goldau to Schwyz. From the train station in Schwyz, you take a bus up into the town center. 

At 3 p.m. I met up with Urs at the town center in Schwyz. From here the Greater Mythen peak looms over the town. (Side note: The next day there was an article in the news that about an hour earlier, there was an avalanche on the other side of this peak, and two climbers were caught in it. One of them died. NEWS-ITEM) 

This is the government building of the city of Schwyz, which is the capital city of Canton Schwyz. 

This was a very short afternoon walk, almost 6 kilometers and not quite 90 minutes, starting in Schwyz at 3 p.m., and arriving at the train station in Brunnen at 16:50. The trip back home was only 35 minutes!

A pretty villa along the road we are walking. 

Heading down and away from the town. 

Now out in the open pastureland, we get a look at the Uri Alps, which are on the west side of Lake Uri. 

Directly south from us is the mountain called Fronalpstock, where the very popular Stoos Ridge Trail is located. This year it will be a long time before the trail will open!

And behind us the two Mythen peaks. 

Now out in the open pastureland, we get a look at the Uri Alps, which are on the west side of Lake Uri. 

It's farming country here at the valley bottom. 

Almost every walk in the lower areas features a cat sitting in a pasture!

Every once in a while a look behind us.

These fluff-balls are chickens!

We have now reached the banks of the Muota River, and our trail now leads over the railway bridge.  

Crossing the Muota River along the railway bridge passerelle. 

For the next 2½ kilometers, our trail follows the Muota River, with views of the Nidwalden and Uri Alps. 

Close-up view of Mt.Gitschen in the Uri Alps to the south. 

We then came to the outskirts of the city of Brunnen (called Ingenbohl), passing through an industrial district. 

There are always some fun details and works of art to be observed along each hike!

This wooden covered bridge called the Wyler-Brücke (which I recently crossed on a hike in March of 2025) has an interesting history. The original bridge was first covered in 1555. This one in its current state dates to 1716, although it was moved 15m upriver (in 1974) from its original location. It lies under heritage protection.

We walked across the bridge and back, for a view up the Muota River. This bridge originally stood 15 meters further down river. 

Finally, a bit of colour in the landscape!

Now heading eastward toward the train station, that pink building ahead of us. It is now 16:50 and we are going to catch the 17:07 train for the 35-minute trip back home. Behind the train station you can see the building of the former Ingenbohl Abbey (teacher's college for nuns, built in 1888), now a private girls' school. We visited those grounds on a hike in May 2024. It is called the Theresianum. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps (the dark pink line). These are all the hikes we have done in the region around Schwyz and Brunnen. On this day we could have continued walking along the Muota River to where it enters the lake, then along the lakeshore to the boat dock and then back to the train station (another 30-40 minutes), but we had had enough with the 90-minute afternoon walk, as we were dressed too warmly and it was quite hot!

View across Lake Küssnacht to Mt.Rigi at 17:35. The snow is unusually low still for this time of year. This is still from the large snow-fall we had on March 26th. 

Short Walk from Seewen to Brunnen at the foot of Mount Urmiberg in Canton Schwyz

Tuesday March 18, 2024 -- Taking advantage again of some nice weather but not wanting to go too far, I travelled just 40 minutes to the Schwyz train station (in Seewen) to walk along the base of Mt.Urmiberg to Brunnen (Ingenbohl), on what turns out to be called the "Brunner Panoramaweg", which it really was, a superb panorama. 

We've never walked here as it is just a short stretch (only five kilometers) on mostly paved roads, but ideal for this afternoon walk which I started at 1 p.m. (Currently the mornings are still quite cold, although the afternoon maximum was 17ºC). That way the later afternoon sun really lit up the two Mythen peaks, Mt. Fronalpstock and the Muota Valley to the east, plus some of the Uri Alps, although the air in that direction and to Lake Uri was somewhat hazy as I made the final descent toward Brunnen. 

Along the way I passed the typical farm buildings, little hamlets, and the first cows out in the pastures. There was only a small uphill section on a wide road next to the freeway, but then I found a view bench where I spent some time enjoying the sunshine. And in a little hamlet called Wylen, I discovered an ancient drawing well with a bucket and innovative technology for the 13th Century, and possibly the oldest stone-lined well in Canton Schwyz.

Side note: On February 2nd on our way to the Tessin by train, we saw a large house fire in exactly this region. As it turns out, I walked past that burned-out house on this walk. What a disaster. Two families lost their homes that day, but none of the nearby four houses were affected. 

One of my favourite views when the train leaves Arth-Goldau train station heading south toward Lake Uri. This is Lake Lauerz, and the two distinctive peaks are the Greater and Lesser Mythen mountains, backdrop of the town of Schwyz. 

It took only 40 minutes to travel to the train station in Schwyz (which is actually a community called Seewen). This view is just west of the train station, as I crossed under the freeway. The view of the Mythen mountains accompanied me on the 5-kilometer walk.

Heading up the road on the west side of the railway tracks, I came across this placard with an aerial photo of the town of Seewen from the 1920's and 1930's, which shows the changes in the past 100 years. With the begin of aviation in the early 20th Century, such aerial photos became popular. 

As I go higher, I can see more of the railway line below. There is a long cargo train just passing. 

There was a bench here from where I could look back along the road I had just cone up, and down to the community of Seewen. 

I started my walk at 1:45 in the afternoon (after traveling 40 minutes to Seewen), first ascending a wide road, before reaching the farms at the base of Mt.Urmiberg, and eventually catching the train back home from Brunnen shortly before 4 p.m. It was a short, 5-km walk, but I spent a long time sitting on a bench in the sunshine. 

The first part of my walk was up this road to a farm called Husmatt. The walk wasn't too bad (although it got quite warm on this uphill section!) because of the view of the Uri Alps to the south. 

Down below me is the Muota River Basin, framed by the popular Mt.Fronalpstock. 

After 30 minutes' walk from the train station I got to the Hüsmatt Farm, where I found a convenient bench with a view! I spent about half an hour here enjoying the sunshine (with breeze) and a fantastic view!

Husmatt farmhouse as seen from the bench. 

A sign next to the bench has been placed here by the Suter Family who owns this farm. They welcome people to use their bench but not to smoke here, and please to take your garbage with you!

Setting my camera up on the bench and trying to take a photo of myself with the Uri Alps in the background (Mt. Gitschen to the left). But I appear dark because of the backlighting. 

As I sat on the bench, I noticed a large bird of prey on a nearby tree. 

Close-up of what looks like a red kite, a common bird of prey we see on almost all our hikes in Central Switzerland. 

A look back at a barn being fixed up, as I leave the bench and continue on my walk southwards. 

Another view to the East to the two Mythen mountains and the town of Schwyz, capital city of Canton Schwyz 

One small section of soft footpath through the pastures!

First view of Lake Uri (part of Lake Luzern) on the descent toward the town of Brunnen. Unfortunately, the view of the Uri Alps is less clear than it was just a bit earlier.  

Down below I can now see the Muota River, which descends from the Muota Valley to enter Lake Uri at Brunnen. Many small farmhouses dot the valley bottom here, below Mt. Fronalpstock. 

Another old barn along the way

Each farm has a resident cat!

If cows are kept in barns, they have access to an outside area where they can enjoy fresh air and sunshine!

The path heads down to the next hamlet called Schränggigen

Originally I had planned to head down to the river from here, and continue next to the river to the train station in Brunnen, but at this point I decided to stay higher up, which turned out to be a good idea!

I decided to continue along the upper road here, to walk through a couple of farming hamlets before descending into the town of Brunnen. 

I noticed what looked like a burned-out house ahead, and realized this was the house fire we witnessed on our way through the region heading south by train on February 2nd of this year. It's amazing that none of the nearby houses were affected. 

(The photo of the burning house, which is what we witnessed that day on February 2nd as our train passed by below, is taken from the police website: www.polizei-schweiz.ch. Four people were injured and two families lost their homes). 

The trail signs here indicate I am now on a trail called "Brunner Panoramaweg", so I know I chose well! From here it's just another 30 minutes to the train station in Brunnen. 

First blossoms! This large wooden house was right next to the one that burned out. 

It's nice to see the cows out in the pastures again! In the background, it is interesting to see the north side of Mount Fronalpstock which I descended on another hike I did on my own back in October of last year (see photos HERE). There was no snow there at the time. 

Another barn, looking up the flank of Mt.Urmiberg, which is actually the east side of the Rigi range. 

More views of Mt.Gitschen and the Uri Alps to the south. The grass is wonderfully lush and green. 

Finally found a good place to set up the camera for another photo of myself with the wonderful backdrop of the two Mythen mountains!

The little self-serve "farm shops" come in all shapes and sizes! (I didn't buy anything. It's usually Urs who buys something in these little "shops")

Up ahead I saw the little chapel in Wylen which I knew I would pass by. 

Before reaching the chapel, I was surprised by this structure across from an apartment building: It turns out this is a well which was built in the 13th Century!

A sign next to the Wylen Well explains that according to legend, this was a meeting place of the Crusaders in the 11th to 13th Centuries, and that this well was first mentioned in the 13th Century! It is assumed this is the oldest such stone-lined well in Canton Schwyz. The technology of the lever beam is unusual in Switzerland. 

A fun sculpture of a cow made with horseshoes!

Next stop is the little chapel in Wylen, built in 1595. 

The interior of the chapel has several ceiling paintings done in approx 1770 by an artist named Josef Franz Weber (no additional information on the artist). The chapel was fully restored in 1998, whereas several older houses in this hamlet were demolished between 1980 and 1995. 

On the last stretch down to the Muota river now.... Forsythias are blooming, and the palm trees indicate generally mild temperatures here! 

Trees are starting to blossom, and the daffodils are glowing!

Across the town of Brunnen looms a huge structure below Mt. Fronalpstock. This is called the Ingenbohl Abbey, originally built in 1888 (a teacher's college for nuns) but is now a private highschool. We passed through the grounds of this building in May 2024 on a hike we did along the St.James trail at the time (photos HERE). 

This lovely wooden bridge which crosses the Muota River is called the Wilerbrugg, and was built in 1716. It was originally located 15 meters downstream from here, and was moved here in 1974. The community here is actually called Ingenbohl. 

View up-river along the Muota River from the wooden covered bridge. 

Information panel on the east side of the Wyler Bridge. 

A 10-minute walk from the Wyler Bridge through Ingenbohl, and I reach the Brunnen train station at 15:50, just in time for the 15:55 train to Arth Goldau. With all connections and bus, I was home by 4:45 p.m.!

What my five-kilometer walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps, at the foot of Mount Urmiberg. 

Earlier in the day I was monitoring the webcams in this region, and this webcam which shows the base of Mt.Urmiberg shows that the weather is looking good. So that's why I went here for my walk!

A now-familiar view just before the train station in Arth-Goldau. 

Location of Schwyz/Brunnen within Switzerland. 

This beautiful region around Lake Uri is so close to where we live, where we have loads of opportunities for wonderful hiking. It is also the heart of the Confederacy, where the three original cantons of Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden signed the documents to create the Confederacy in 1291.