If weather permits, we will do a hike of about 4 hours on the mountain Rigi, also known as the "Queen of the Mountains."

We will go from Zurich by train, bus, and cable car to "Seebodenalp" (1027m; click here for a map), which is halfway up the mountain Rigi, close to Lucerne, in the central part of Switzerland. From there we will hike for about 4 hours. One hour is fairly steep uphill (leading to a viewpoint on 1464m), the last 30 minutes are fairly steep downhill; the rest is flat. We plan to finish on the alp "Hinterbergen" (1113m), There are spectacular views on the (geometrically complicated) lake Lucerne ("Vierwaldstaettersee"), and you will see a lot of cows! The websites of the starting and finishing points are

The hike trail mainly consists of solid dirt roads; hiking boots are not necessary. Walking or trekking shoes are perfect; see, e.g., the pictures on

Some short parts of the trail may be a bit muddy or dirty (cows!).

The proposed way to return is descent by a little cable car to Vitznau, and from there by bus and train to Zurich. The total cost of transportation is around 70 CHF (with Halbtax: around 40 CHF).

Alternatively, one could return by boat to Lucerne and from there by train to Zurich, but this takes more time and is more costly. There is also the possibility to return early, from Rigi Kaltbad, by cogwheel train or cable car to Vitznau or Weggis, respectively.

Some further details on the hike are given on wanderung.txt (in German).

There are many (somewhat expensive) restaurants on the way, but at the highlight of our hike, the viewpoint "Känzeli", there is none; so you may want to bring a sandwhich or two.

Time Schedule:

Return trip:

Alternative 1:

Alternative 2:

Alternative 3:

Alternative 4 (CHF 55.40):