Hiking the Zürich-Zugerland Panorama Trail – Stage 2 Albispass to Zug

The Zürich-Zugerland Panorama Trail (Trail 47) is a two stage trail from Zürich to Zug. The first stage included a hike up to the top of Uetliberg, the highest local point overlooking Zürich, followed by a hike along the Albis Ridge. The second stage continues along the Albis Ridge going past the Ablis Horn before heading down to Baar and on to Zug. The first half of the hike offers beautiful panorama views. While the second half is less dramatic, it is a very gentle, easy hike on very flat terrain. Lake Zug is gorgeous and the shore line walk makes for a pretty end to the hike.

Detail Summary
Where:Zürich (Triemli) to Albispass,
Canton Zürich, Switzerland
Train/Bus:Zürich HB -> Albispass – 40 min
Zug HB – >Zürich HB – 25 min
Note: Bus to Albispass only runs once an hour.
What:Zürich-Zugerland Panorama Trail – Stage 2
Skill:Medium – About 5 hrs 30 min
Length 21 km, Ascent 380 m, Descent 760 m

Additional Info

Getting There

The Zürich-Zugerland Panorama trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 2 starts at the Albispasshohe bus stop (across the street from the Albis Restaurant, the last point we passed before ending Stage 1.)

After getting off the bus, we found our trail marker and headed up the hill past a few buildings and then on to open trail.

The Trail – Along the Ridge

The first part of the trail continues along the Albis ridge. As we headed up the hill, there were gorgeous views looking down on lake Zurich.

The trail then heads into the forest. After about a 1.5 kilometers, we reached the Aussichtsturm Hochwacht (Panorama Viewing Tower).

The views from the top of the tower are definitely worth climbing the steps.

After leaving the tower, the trail continues along the ridge through the forest. While there isn’t a lot of elevation climb on this hike, the majority of it occurs over the next 2.5 kilometers as the trail dips and rises along with the ridge. After 1.5 kilometers, we passed the marker for the highest point on the trail (Burglen), where we got a lovely view of lake Türler which we had hiked around one frozen day earlier this year.

After a further kilometer, we reached the Albishorn. There is a restaurant here with a lovely view. Right now they only have take-away service.

Here, we were on familiar ground. For the next 1.5 kilometers or so, Trail 47 and the Wildnis Park Zürich – The Sihlwald Circular Trail join together. Just above the small village of Oberalbis is where these two trails split, with the Sihlwald Circular Trail turning left and heading down the other side of the ridge towards the Sihl river and our trail turning right, going through the village of Oberalbis and beginning the decent to Baar. There are several benches here, fire pits and a great view, so we decided to take a break and have lunch.

The Trail – The Descent to Baar

After lunch we began the descent into the town of Baar. The trail here is paved, heading down hill though fields, farms, and the small villages of Oberalbis, Husertal, and Erbertswil.

Shortly after leaving the town of Erbertswil we took a small detour (5 minutes) off the paved trail to walk up to the Kappeler Milchsuppestein. The Kappeler Milchsuppestein marks the spot where on June 10, 1529, Protestant forces from Zürich and Catholic forces from Zug met and instead of going to war, made and shared a big pot of Milchsuppe (milk soup). The Zug soldiers provided the milk, and the Zürich soldiers provided the bread. Imagine that – a soup good enough to stop a war. Hmm.. I should give it a try…

After leaving the Milchsuppestein, we returned to the paved path and continued on our way. Shortly after, the trail again became a dirt path and dipped into the forest following along a stream. When we exited the forest, we could see the town of Baar just ahead.

The Trail – Baar to Zug

From Baar to Zug, the trail lacks the dramatic views we saw earlier. For the most part, it follows alongside a river or small stream. There are plenty of trees for shade and the gurgling water helps drown out the sound of traffic coming from nearby roads. And, as the terrain here is very flat, this part of the trail was easy walking.

When we reached Zug, the trail runs along the shore of the town’s namesake lake. The views over the lake were absolutely gorgeous!

The area right near the end of the trail by the marina was particularly scenic.

Our legs were tired but, what fantastic views to end on! After one last soothing look across the lake, we made our way to the train station.

Getting Back

From the lake shore it is a short walk up through town to the main Zug train station. There are a several connections back to Zürich from Zug, so we didn’t need to wait long for a train. This was a fun, if long trail. Overall, very enjoyable.

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