Seebodenalp to Küssnacht on the Northwest Side of Mt.Rigi

Wednesday June 17, 2026 -- Urs had to work all week so no Wednesday hike together, but I still wanted to get out for a little walk. The day started out cloudy with forecast of clearing for later, so I waited till it looked like it was all going to be lovely, and headed off on the spur of the moment.

Very close to my house is the cable-car from Küssnacht up to Seebodenalp, a large alpine plateau on the north side of Mount Rigi. In just a few minutes I had boarded the cable-car, and then, from the top, walked back down, just a 90-minute walk. (For a long time I had wanted to hike UP to Seebodenalp, but it's over 500 meters of altitude gain, and at the moment just too hot to do this hike).

The trail I took is part of Regional Trail no.63: "Schwyzer Höhenweg", a section that I had not walked yet. On the way down I discovered a fabulous rope park run by the Alpenhof Farm (a popular restaurant with loads of things for children to do), and after that made my way to the ruins of the Gesslerburg (Gessler Fortress) where I hadn't been since 2014. The sky became overcast and the air turned muggy, so I was glad to have some shade at the old mill pond for a break, and after that did some shopping and headed back home. An easy outing and not a lot of time spent on trains and buses!

Just a couple of minutes' walk from my house in Küssnacht is the cable-car station to Seebodenalp, a high plateau on the north side of Mt. Rigi. 

View of the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern, and Mt.Rigi in the background. On days with clear visibility, you can even see the Bernese Alps at the far back. 

Down below is the farm called Alpenhof, very popular with families as there are loads of activities for children (trampolines, slides, etc.) and a large outdoor terrace as well as an indoor restaurant. In the back is the town of Küssnacht, which lies at the north end of the Küssnacht arm of Lake Lucerne. 

More views as the cable-car heads further up. 

Passing over a section of forest where I later walked through, then passed via the Alpenhof farm and to the Gesslerburg ruins on the right. At the arrow is a very large rope park which I discovered on my way down. 

A look across the Seebodenalp plateau to the northwest flank of Mt.Rigi, with the communication tower visible at Rigi Kulm. The last time we took the Seebodenalp cable car to start on a hike here was in June 2022, when we walked around the north side of the mountain to Arth on Lake Zug.

There seems to be a very interesting marble run up here, entertainment for the kids. Marble runs have become somewhat of a popular feature in many mountain regions. 

There is also a chapel near the cable-car station, and this is the first time I have had a look inside. At 10:45 I was ready to start my walk down to the town of Küssnacht, a 90-minute walk from here. 

It was a 90-minute and 615-meter descent to Küssnacht from Seebodenalp, via the ruins of Gesslerburg fortress. I did a bit of shopping then caught the bus to the main square, from where I then walked via the lakeshore trail back home.

Good thing that a nice part of the descent was through the forest, as we are currently having a heat wave, so the shade is welcome!

A long series of steps takes you down through the forest. 

First glimpse now again of the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern. It is already much hazier than when I came up with the cable car, and the air is starting to feel muggy. 

With my luck, the farmers just started with their leaf (or grass) blowers as I reached them here on the trail! (This happens a lot to me). 

With this hot weather, it is a perfect time for the farmers to cut the grass on the mountains slopes and leave it to dry into hay. 

Perfect weather for drying the grass. This machine is tumbling the grass so it dries on the other side. 

To the northeast I get a glimpse of Lake Zug. 

As much of the mountain slopes as possible is harvested for hay. 

From here the trail heads back into a nice cool forested section. 

After another cool section through the forest, I came upon this structure. It seems to be the entrance to a very intricate rope park. 

A map shows the extent of the rope park / enclosure with all the activities that can be done here. 

I walked along the fence trying to get a peek into the enclosure, and got a couple of glimpses of ladders, platforms and ropes. It look like fun, but is quite expensive to do. (45 Fr. for adults, 32 Fr. for children). 

Near the Rope Park is a nice view bench, and I took a little break here.... to try to take a self-time photo with this background!

My attempts at self-time photos usually show me running to or from the camera!

Enjoying the view and watching the Seebodenalp cable-car head up the mountain again. 

Beautiful view, although it could have been better! This is Mt.Pilatus, the main mountain of the city of Luzern, which is around the promontory on the right. 

Barely visible at the back are the Bernese Alps, which you can see really well on a clear day. 

Continuing on down now, the trail passes through the grounds of the Alpenhof Farm, which you see from the cable-car. 

One of the Rope Park activities starts and/or ends here with a climbing wall. There are all kinds of activities here for children, including trampolines and small animals. It is a very popular place for families. We have also been here to eat several times. Most recently we stopped here for refreshments on a hike we did down to Küssnacht from all the way up at Rigi Staffel, in July 2025. 

Lovely large trees. 

The next part of the trail passes via the ruins of the Gessler Fortress (Gesslerburg), i.e. the trail goes around the east side of this hill, but I took a shortcut thinking I could get there faster. But I had to go down and up a couple of steep slopes navigating stinging nettles to get there, so probably not faster. 

View down to the town of Küssnacht from the hill across from the ruins. 

Information about the fortress. Apparently not a lot is known about its grounding, but it seems it was already in existence in the 9th Century. As is often the case, after the building fell into disrepair over the centuries, the stones from the building were carted away by locals to use in other buildings, such as the parish church (in the 18th Century). The fortress became famous in Schiller's story of William Tell in the early 16th Century, where the nemesis Gessler alledgedly lived or used it as a dungeon. 

The last time I was here was in 2014 on a hike we did from Greppen to Immensee on a trail called the "Rigi Lehnenweg" 

You can walk along the walls on a fenced-in section and get views of the various walls and sections of the old ruins. 

Close-up view of the church in Küssnacht from the walls of the Gesslerburg ruins. 

Coming down off the hill where the ruins are, you come across the old mill. i.e. this is called the "Knochenstampfi", i.e. "Bone crusher", built in 1877 and where bones were ground into meal, which was a highly sought-after fertilizer product. The built-in saw and pounding-blocks were operated via water brought in through the channel. 

A lovely and cool place for a break. There was a family grill-spot here with wood and benches, where I sat for a while. 

Continuing on into the outskirts of town, I passed this very nicely laid-out garden!

Such pretty flowers!

Past this old building is the main road through town, where I took a detour to buy some groceries. 

These are all the hikes we have done around Mount Rigi and Küssnacht. The descent I did this day was parallel to the cable-car line from Seebodenalp to Küssnacht, the pink line at the arrow. 

The pretty road from the main traffic circle down to the lakeshore in Küssnacht. 

Along this short road from the main traffic circle are several restaurants, bakeries, outside sitting areas, the large church, a museum... the only drawback is that cars can drive down here to park at the large lot next to the lake access. 

A look at the city hall building from in front of the church. 

City hall building. It's all so pretty with large gardens, etc. 

Blossoming Cherry Trees between Oberwil and Walchwil on Lake Zug

Wednesday April 8, 2026 -- After waiting so long for an opportunity to do a Cherry Blossom Hike, and for some reason thinking it wasn't so far along yet (due to the cold nights and still snow), all of a sudden the trees were in full bloom!

I had seen this on Monday's train ride along Lake Zug, and so chose this beautiful sunny and warm day to walk a section of the Lake Zug Cherry Trail, which is actually a 19-km trail on the East side of Lake Zug, from the city of Zug to the cherry orchards of Arth. On this day I chose the short stretch (7 km) between Oberwil and Walchwil, mainly to have a closer look at the blossoming trees I had seen from the train a couple of days earlier.

(Instead of traveling to Basel-Land, which is renowned for its cherry orchards, we tend to forget that the region around Zug and Küssnacht is replete with cherries as well, which are mostly used to make the famous Zuger Kirsch (Cherry Brandy) used in the patented Zuger Kirsch Torte.)

Even though the first three kilometers were mostly uphill through the forest (still morning shade so cool) on a wide forestry road, I still got several views of lovely blossoming trees along the road below and in a couple of clearings. Unfortunately I made an error and descended earlier than originally planned, so I missed some of the farms higher on the hillside, and also had to walk 500 meters more along the main road than originally planned. 

But the beautiful cherry-tree alley in Walchwil made it worth the errors and trouble.... 

This day I started my excursion in Küssnacht, and took the train to Goldau along Lake Zug. Across the lake is Mount Zug (Zugerberg), and the trail I am walking is first through the forested section, and then along the lakeshore below the clearing. 

From Goldau I have to take the train to Zug and a bus from there to the start of my walk in Oberwil. This view is the pastoral landscape of Arth at the foot of Mt.Rigi, a region also known for its cherry trees and manufacture of Cherry Brandy (Kirsch). 

View from the bus along Lake Zug as it makes its way to Oberwil. 

I started my walk at the Psychiatric Clinic in Oberwil at 10:50. From here it's about a 2-hour walk to the train station in Wattwil, which is where I am ending my hike. 

Starting at 10:50 in Oberwil, I made it to the train station in Walchwil at 1:15 p.m. Getting back to Küssnacht takes only 20 minutes, but there is a 20-minute transfer time in Arth-Goldau train station. 

Even though it is now past 11 a.m., I am heading south on the west flank of Mt.Zug (Zugerberg) and there is still quite a bit of shade here!

There are actually a lot of nice forest trails and paths all over Mt. Zugerberg. You also often pass little waterfalls like this one!

The sun is just reaching the tops of the trees in the forest here.... 

....and also lighting up some of the trees along the lakeshore below. 

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Pretty close to the railway line now, 

I watch the 11:00 Eurocity Train heading south toward Milano from Zug

From various places in the city of Zug you can get a view of the Bernese Alps. I was not expecting to see them on this path! In the center you can recognize the distinctive peaks of Mt. Mönch (the white one) and the north face of Mt.Eiger (black pyramid). 

Directly to the west at the back is Mt.Pilatus, which is the main mountain of Lucerne. The landscape here is now characterized by the blossoming cherry trees, especially the high-growth ones. (The road I am walking on is now descending closer to lake level). 

Close-up view of the railway line and a property along the lake with lots of blossoming trees. 

I then came to a clearing with a farm, where the cows are now finally out in the pastures, a sight we like to see on our hikes. 

View to the northwest across Lake Zug. (The town of Zug is hidden by the trees on the right side of this photo). 

After walking for about 45 minutes (a lot of it uphill!) I found a convenient bench for my picnic lunch and a 20-minute break. 

Continuing on now on my way through the forested section, the uphill part is finished and it's much sunnier now!

Finally I reach a smaller footpath, which leads down to a clearing. (Someone has stopped right in the middle of the path to have his picnic lunch!)

Now I am high enough for a lovely view over Lake Zug. 

Gorgeous blossoming high-growth trees at a small mountain farm building, with a great view of Mt.Pilatus. 

A small farm building with some nice blossoming trees up here. 

Enjoying my walk along the flanks of Mt. Zugerberg. There are also wild cherry trees in the forests here. 

A little bridge across a small ravine through which flows a stream called the Lothenbach. It is right after this bridge where I got totally confused and descended along the wrong trail. 

Here I am descending the wrong path toward the lakeshore road. (For some reason I was having a very confusing day!) The fact that I realized there was no building on my map on the trail I was SUPPOSED to take should have been an indication to go back up the way I came and study my map better!

As this trail I took really only just ended in a mountain pasture, I had to scramble my way down into the gully to get to the tunnel under the railway tracks. It was only at this point I realized I had taken the wrong trail. Still, I was lucky I could even cross the railway tracks to the road, without having to go all the way back up the hill. Across the lake is Mt.Rigi.

I now had to walk 500 meters more than the 300 meters I had planned to walk along the busy lakeshore road. But it went quickly. And this house where cars pass underneath all day, is kind of an interesting construction!

Even though it's a busy road, it's nice to walk along the lakeshore. (Up ahead is Mt.Rossberg). 

Below the retaining wall, I watched some very large trout slowly swimming in the lake. 

Now I've left the road again and heading up to walk next to the railway tracks. 

Walking next to the railway line with a view down to the main road. 

Even though I regretted missing the farmsteads higher up, this was ultimately the path I had originally planned to take. 

Back down to the main road again!

Now I'm getting closer to Walchwil and all the blossoming trees we have seen from the train window as we often pass along this stretch!

Down on the main road is an old stone bridge. It is called the "Sagentobelbrücke" because it is built over the Sagenbach stream. It dates back to 1828. 

And up the hill yet again!

This is the alley of cherry trees I have ultimately come to see this day. I'm so glad I actually caught one of the last nice days to do this. 

Some nice trees down by the lakeshore. 

A nice look across the lake directly to the west, to the town of Immensee. (Küssnacht is just a couple of kilometers beyond that). 

Reaching the outskirts of Walchwil. 

Up ahead I can see the church steeple in Walchwil (the train station is just a bit beyond that). 

Beautiful!

This worked out well!

Typical farmhouse of this region of Central Switzerland. Just next to this house is the railway line. 

Higher up past the railway line is a row of newer houses. The trees are fabulous!

Something you might see in a region with lots of tourists, but no tourists here! (Had Urs been with me, I would have had him photograph me in the dirndl...)

I had enough time still to look inside the parish church before catching the 13:22 train back to Arth-Goldau. 

A look back at the church in Walchwil. This is actually the third church at this spot. The original Gothic church from 1483 was replaced by an early-Baroque church in 1666, and then ultimately replaced by this newer one from 1838.

What my 7-km walk looks like on Google Satellite maps. Starting in Oberwil near Zug at 10:50, I caught the 13:22 train in Walchwil. I descended too early next to the Lothenbach Ravine, and missed walking via the mountain farms on the hillside above where I followed the lakeshore road. 

Description of the Zug-Goldau Cherry Trail. Cherries have been harvested here for over 500 years, and the Zuger and Rigi Kirsch (Cherry Brandy) which have been produced for over 200 years are sought after far outside the borders of Cantons Zug and Schwyz. 

From Walchwil it's a 40-minute trip back to Küssnacht, whereby there is a connection time of 20 minutes in Goldau (A chance to buy something for dinner at the train station Co-op.) Once again, Mt.Rigi on the other side of the lake as the train heads south. 

Another beautiful tree as the train now heads toward Küssnacht via Immensee. 

A close-up look at the farms on the hillside between Walchwil (off photo on the right) and the forest I walked through. That's what I missed by descending too quickly to the main road!

Back in Küssnacht I walked through the town instead of taking the bus, as I wanted to photograph a magnolia tree I had seen earlier that day. 

Further up the hill on the north flank of Mt. Rigi, the cherry trees are now in full bloom. When did this happen and we didn't notice?????

There's the beautiful magnolia tree I had spotted earlier in the day!

Huge magnolia blooms. 

On the opposite side of the alleyway is the Baer Camembert factory, with this painting on the outside wall!

This old building on the Bahnhofstrasse (Weinhalle) is apparently set to be torn down and replaced with yet another large multi-family apartment building and business space. (The current building no longer meets required standards. Most recenty until 2024, it was a restaurant and pizzeria). 

A side alley off the main road and headed to the town square. 

Looking up the main line of shops and restaurants from the Lakeside Plaza. It is unfortunate that this is not a "pedestrian only" road. (There is a parking lot at the lake which is reached via this road). 

These are all the hikes we have done around the southern end of Lake Zug.