Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 26 Osco to Anzonico

Stage 26 of the Trans Swiss trail is 12 km long with 600 m ascent and 740 m descent and goes from Osco to Anzonico. This stage, like stage 25, is part of the Alta Strada trail (“high street” in Italian) and it wends its way high up on the valley side passing through forests and small mountain towns. The views, unsurprisingly, were terrific, and there were also some lovely little surprises along the way – a couple of pretty waterfalls, churches perched high on cliffs, and charming towns with adorable houses.

Detail Summary

Where:	Osco to Anzonico Canton Ticino, Switzerland
Train/Bus:	Zürich HB -> Osco, Paese – 2 hr 57 min Anzonico, Paese -> Zürich HB – 2 hr 59 min
What:	Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico Red and white trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2
Skill:	Medium – About 4 hrs Length 12 km, Ascent 600 m, Descent 740 m

Additional Information

Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico
Trail Map

Photo Stories for All Stages

Stage 1 – Porrentruy to St-Ursanne
Stage 2 – St-Ursanne to Soubey
Stage 3 – Soubey to Saignelégier
Stage 4 – Saignelégier to St-Imier
Stage 5 – St-Imier to Chézard-St-Martin
Stage 6 – Chézard-St-Martin to Neuchâtel
Stage 7 – Neuchâtel to Murten
Stage 8 – Murten to Laupen
Stage 9 – Laupen to Bern
Stage 10 – Bern to Worb
Stage 11 – Worb to Lützelflüh
Stage 12 – Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E.
Stage 13 – Langnau i.E. to Eggiwil
Stage 14 – Eggiwil to Schangnau
Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg
Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil
Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft
Stage18 – Flüeli-Ranft to Stans
Stage 19 – Stans to Seelisberg
Stage 20 – Seelisberg to Erstfeld
Stage 21 – Erstfeld to Wassen
Stage 22 – Wassen to Andermatt
Stage 23 – Andermatt to Passo del San Gottardo
Stage 24 – Passo del San Gottardo to Airolo
Stage 25 – Airolo to Osco
Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico
Stage 27 – Anzonico to Biasca
Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona
Stage 29 – Bellinzona to Tesserete
Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano)
Stage 31 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote
Stage 32 – Morcote to Mendriso

Getting There

The Trans Swiss Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 26 picks up right where stage 25 left off, at the Osco bus station. However, the first part of stage 26 is currently detoured due to forest work. When we finished stage 25, we had an hour to wait for the bus, so we decided to hike the first half of the detour and and take the bus from Mairengo instead. These are some picture from the stage 25 hike, that show the detour from Osco to Mairengo.

We picked up the trail this time in Mairengo right by the bus stop.

We then continued on the detour back up the valley side until we met up with the original trail.

The Trail

Once we reached the original trail, it followed along the side of the valley. Here the trail had some minor ascents and descents as it made its way through the forest. Occasionally, the trail would open up to stunning views.

At the stream in the picture above, we stopped to have our picnic lunch. We didn’t linger because we really needed to stay on track time-wise to make sure we got to the bus at the end. The busses run rather sporadically here and we either needed to catch the 14:56 bus in Anzonico or wait two hours for the next one. So, after a quick lunch we were on hour way, following the trail through forests, fields and past some adorable town.

I saw a sign pointing a bit off the trail for self-service cheese hut. When I went down to buy some cheese, I was able to get the picture below. I love the picture. Wish I could say the same things about the cheese. Unfortunately it was one of the worst cheeses I have ever eaten. So disappointing! Other hikes have had some of the best cheeses I’ve ever eaten, so it is always worth a try. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

As the trail continued, we passed a pretty waterfall. The first of three we passed on this hike.

The second two weren’t quite as nice as the first one, but they were still pretty. It was also nice to see that there were still some leaves on the trees.

This trail went through several small towns. It was a little depressing to see how many of the restaurants/hotels along the way were for sale. Towards the end of the hike, there was a bit of a steep section and it was really nice to have our poles for it.