Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 28 Biasca to Bellinzona
Stage 28 of the Trans Swiss trail is 25 km long with 120 m ascent and 170 m descent and goes from Biasca to Bellinzona. This stage is a long, flat, but pleasant walk alongside the Ticino river. While this stage wasn’t one of my favorites, I enjoyed the day out and the exercise.
Where: | Biasca to Bellinzona Canton Ticino, Switzerland |
Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Biasca – 2 hr 2 min Bellinzona-> Zürich HB – 1 hr 40 min |
What: | Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona Yellow trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2 |
Skill: | Medium – About 6 hrs 00 min Length 25 km, Ascent 120 m, Descent 170 m |
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 28 picks up right where stage 27 left off, at the Biasca train station.
After a short walk through town, we were back to walking along the banks of the Ticino river.
The Trail
This stage is long but it is an easy flat walk along the river. It was nice to do this stage this time of year as there were no leaves on the trees to obstruct our views of the river.
The trail occasionally diverted from the riverside, but not for long. I’m always surprised at how many palm trees there are in this part of Switzerland. So different than Zürich.
I noticed on the map that that there is an official canoeing route on the Ticino river (Route 25, Cresciano to Albedo). When we passed the put-in point (picture 3), we decided to check it out and stop for our lunch break.
After we went back to the trail, we were immediately walking through the Fluvio Roth sculpture garden. I liked the twisty sculptures with the little chairs on them. As we left the sculpture garden, I thought it was interesting that there was old farm equipment which could almost be sculpture, parked near the entry sign.
As we continued on the trail, we stayed close to the river.
Along the way, the trail passed several industrial sites – recycling centers, gravel pits, and such. We’ve hiked a few other sections like this, and I suppose it is not possible to cross an entire country and never see an industrial area.
When the trail crossed the point where the Mosea river joined the Ticino, we noted how the sandy beach area looked like a great take-out point. We checked the map, and it was indeed the official take-out point.
As we approached Bellinzona, I tried to get a photo that captures the castles. You can sort of see them in the first picture below, but as hiked I never got a good shot.
When we arrived in Bellinzona, we left the main trail along the river and followed the trail to the train station.
Getting Back
The walk to the train station started off on the elevated walkway seen in the first picture. I was hoping we would pass directly by the castle, but picture two is as close as the trail gets.
We have been to the castles in Bellinzona before and they are worth a trip to see. (I may do a future post on visiting them.) But because we had seen them before and our feet were tired, we simply continued the walk to the train station and headed home. The next stage is the longest and most difficult stage of the entire Trans Swiss trail. I’m going to plan it as a two day hike. Looking forward to it!
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